FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: KANSAS PLAYOFF ADVANCE
The NASCAR Playoffs continue this weekend at Kansas Speedway as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series runs an elimination race in the Round of 12 and the NASCAR XFINITY Series conducts its first event in the Round of 8. Here’s a look at where Ford drivers in each series stand going into the weekend, along with key moments from past seasons.
SEVEN WINNERS, ONE FORD
All seven Ford drivers still in contention for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series this season have won a race in 2018 after Aric Almirola made it to Victory Lane on Sunday. This marks the first time since 1997 that seven different Ford drivers have won in the same season. Those who did it back then included Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd, Ernie Irvan and John Andretti.
SWEET 16
Aric Almirola’s win on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway was Ford’s 16th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the year, its most in one year since winning 16 times in 2005. That figure is the third-most in the modern era (1972-present) for the manufacturer with its 19 victories in 1997 and 20 wins in 1994 being the only two seasons with more.
FORD WINS – SEASON
20 – 1994 (31 races)
19 – 1997 (32 races)
16 – 2018 (Through 31 races)
16 – 1992 (29 races)
16 – 2005 (36 races)
15 – 1998 (33 races)
ROUND OF 12 MENCS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 8 Advance After Kansas)
1st – Aric Almirola (Clinched spot in Round of 8 after Talladega win)
3rd – Kevin Harvick (+63 ahead of cutoff)
5th – Joey Logano (+39 ahead of cutoff)
6th – Kurt Busch (+30 ahead of cutoff)
7th – Clint Bowyer (+21 ahead of cutoff)
9th – Brad Keselowski (-18 from final transfer spot)
10th – Ryan Blaney (-22 from final transfer spot)
FORD IN THE MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES AT KANSAS
· Ford has seven all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins at Kansas.
· Kevin Harvick will be looking to be the second straight MENCS driver to sweep both events.
· Logano, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski all have at least one Kansas win.
ROUND OF 8 NXS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 4 Advance After Phoenix)
4th – Cole Custer (-0 ahead of cutoff)
8th – Austin Cindric (-10 from final transfer spot)
FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT KANSAS
· Ford has three NASCAR XFINITY Series wins at Kansas.
· Jeff Green won the inaugural series race in 2001.
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has Ford’s last series win at the track (2012).
KANSAS BACK-TO-BACK
Joey Logano became the first driver to automatically advance to the Eliminator Round of the Chase in 2014 as he took the lead from Ryan Newman with 29 laps to go and held off Kyle Larson to get his career-best fifth win of the season. In 2015, Logano ended up dueling with Matt Kenseth in a well-documented battle that resulted in contact as the two entered turn one with five laps to go. That controversial finish marked Logano’s second straight win in the Chase and led to a sweep of the Contender Round as he took the checkered flag the following week at Talladega Superspeedway.
UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS
A couple of rain delays and impending darkness couldn’t keep Greg Biffle from winning a shortened Lifelock 400 on Sept. 30, 2007. The race was delayed for more than three hours and NASCAR decided to shorten the distance from 267 laps to 210 laps when it became evident there wouldn’t be enough daylight to finish the event. Biffle passed Kevin Harvick on lap 274, but when Juan Pablo Montoya blew a tire to bring out the caution with four laps to go it appeared he would have to survive a green-white-checker finish in order to win. NASCAR, however, decided to end the race under caution due to darkness. The win was Biffle’s first of the season and snapped a 32-race winless drought.
ON THE MARK
Ford went to victory for the first time at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 9, 2005 when Mark Martin took the checkered flag in what was a Roush Fenway Racing runaway with teammates Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards finishing second and third, respectively. Martin led a race-high 139 laps, including 81 of the final 83 circuits, to win by one-half second. It marked the second time in as many months that RFR swept the top three spots, a feat it did two more times during that season. In addition, the victory ended up being Martin’s last with Ford. His 35 series wins with the manufacturer ranks third all-time behind leader Ned Jarrett (43) and second-place Bill Elliott (40).
FORD MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP WINNERS AT KANSAS
2005 – Mark Martin
2007 – Greg Biffle
2010 – Greg Biffle
2012 – Matt Kenseth (2)
2014 – Joey Logano (2)
2015 – Joey Logano (2)
2018 – Kevin Harvick (1)
