After a trip to the Lone Star State for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and a visit to “The Rock” for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last weekend, both series join up this weekend in America’s Heartland for a weekend of racing at Kansas Speedway. After being reconfigured in 2012, the track has become super fast and should provide two great races for the race fans in the Midwest.
Sprint Cup Series
The Sprint Cup Series will make its 15th appearance at Kansas this Sunday, but only the second race since last year’s reconfiguration. With new track records being set last fall on the new track and the Gen6 making its Kansas debut, this race should be a good one to keep an eye on to see just what will happen when the STP 400 goes green on Sunday.
Driver | Races | Win | Top 5 | Top 10 | Pole | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
Jimmie Johnson | 13 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 547 | 10.6 | 8.0 |
Greg Biffle | 13 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 346 | 15.2 | 9.5 |
Brad Keselowski | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 17.0 | 9.8 |
Carl Edwards | 11 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 72 | 18.5 | 10.8 |
Jeff Gordon | 14 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 208 | 11.6 | 11.0 |
Tony Stewart | 14 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 152 | 18.1 | 11.7 |
Kevin Harvick | 14 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 83 | 19.9 | 12.9 |
Clint Bowyer | 9 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 48 | 15.2 | 14.0 |
Kasey Kahne | 11 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 78 | 11.0 | 15.0 |
Mark Martin | 14 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 212 | 16.4 | 15.3 |
Who To Watch: As is the case at the majority of tracks the Sprint Cup Series visits, Jimmie Johnson is at the top of the board once again with two wins, five top fives, 11 top tens, three poles, an average start of 10.6, and an average finish of 8.0 in 13 starts. However, Johnson does have some competition in the Ford camp with drivers Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski, and Carl Edwards having average finishes of 9.5, 9.8, and 10.8, respectively. Biffle also has two wins at the track with Keselowski taking the win once. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart also join Johnson and Biffle in the two win club at Kansas. One last driver to keep an eye on would be Dale Earnhardt Jr, due to the fact that this race would be his first start on the reconfigured track after missing last year’s race with a concussion that all started in a wreck while tire testing on this very track last summer.
Camping World Truck Series
The Camping World Truck Series’ 13th race at Kansas will feature the series debut on the new reconfiguration, as the track was reconfigured after the series lone race at the track last spring. This should level the playing field for the Trucks, as all of the teams will be trying to get a handle on the new track for the first time.
Driver | Races | Win | Top 5 | Top 10 | Pole | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
Kyle Busch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 6.0 |
James Buescher | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 104 | 7.8 | 8.2 |
Ty Dillon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 9.0 |
Johnny Sauter | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 112 | 8.0 | 9.0 |
Todd Bodine | 9 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 108 | 16.3 | 9.4 |
Joey Coulter | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7.5 | 9.5 |
Ron Hornaday Jr | 8 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 265 | 8.0 | 9.8 |
Miguel Paludo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14.0 | 11.5 |
Brendan Gaughan | 8 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 21.6 | 12.2 |
Dakoda Armstrong | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20.0 | 15.0 |
Who To Watch: With a top ten finish in his lone start at the track, Kyle Busch is at the top of the heap as far as stats at Kansas. Four former winners at Kansas, James Buescher, Johnny Sauter, Todd Bodine, and Ron Hornaday join Busch as ones to watch in the SFP 250 on Saturday. Also, keep an eye on Ty Dillon, who also has a top ten start and finish in one start at the track.