There are spoilers and there are spoilers. Just 13 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup races have been won by drivers not qualified for the post-season competition, and three have occurred at Kansas Speedway.
It was more surprising that Tony Stewart didn’t qualify for the Chase than that he won the 2006 Hollywood Casino 400. Stewart, after all, won the previous year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. He’s an “in” this year, winning the Chase’s first two races at Chicago and in New Hampshire.
This year’s “outs” that could repeat or imprint their spoiler roles include:
• Greg Biffle, defending winner of the 1.5-mile track’s fall race. In 2007, Biffle failed to make the cut for the second consecutive year after finishing as the runner-up to Stewart two years earlier. Biffle finished 10th at Kansas Speedway in June.
• Joe Nemechek, a veteran of more than 250 races and three victories, was the Kansas winner in 2004. Unlike Biffle or Stewart, Nemechek has yet to qualify for the Chase.
• Mark Martin wasn’t a spoiler when he won the 2005 Hollywood Casino 400. He could become one this week.
• Clint Bowyer, who was raised in nearby Emporia, Kan., hopes to improve on his finish of second here in 2007. He won a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway in June.
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