NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart
The Place: Kentucky Speedway
The Date: Sunday, July 12
The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)
2019 Race Winner: Kurt Busch
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Shady Rays 200
The Place: Kentucky Speedway
The Date: Thursday, July 9
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Alsco 300
The Place: Kentucky Speedway
The Date: Friday, July 10
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
Next Race: Buckle Up In Your Truck 225
The Place: Kentucky Speedway
The Date: Saturday, July 11
The Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 6 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 225 miles (150 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 35),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)
2019 Race Winner: Tyler Ankrum
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Up: Kentucky Speedway
Up next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart this Sunday, July 12, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
This weekend’s event will mark the 10th time the NASCAR Cup Series has competed at Kentucky Speedway, dating back to the inaugural race on July 9, 2011 – the race was won by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch.
The nine previous series races at Kentucky have produced six different pole winners – Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Daniel Suarez – and five different race winners led by Brad Keselowski with three wins (2012, 2014, 2016); followed by Kyle Busch with two (2011, 2015), Martin Truex Jr. with two (2017, 2018), Matt Kenseth (2013) and Kurt Busch (2019) each have one.
Daniel Suarez became the youngest series pole winner at Kentucky Speedway last season (07/13/2019) at the age of- 27 years, 6 months, 6 days. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is oldest series pole winner at Kentucky (06/30/2013 – 38 years, 8 months, 20 days).
With Kyle Busch’s win in the inaugural series event at Kentucky (07/09/2011), he became the youngest series driver to win at Kentucky at the age of 26 years, 2 months, 7 days. Matt Kenseth holds the record for the oldest driver to win at Kentucky with his 2013 victory at the age of 41 years, 3 months, 20 days.
In total four different organizations have visited Victory Lane at Kentucky Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series; led by Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing, who are tied for the series-most wins at Kentucky Speedway with three each. Furniture Row Racing also has two wins and Chip Ganassi Racing got their first win last season at Kentucky with driver Kurt Busch.
Happy Harvick is running away from the competition
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick is off to strong start in 2020. Not only does the veteran lead the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings by 85 points over second place Chase Elliott, but he also is now tied with Denny Hamlin for the series-most wins this year with four victories each. Harvick has held the top spot in the points since Phoenix back in March.
Harvick’s four wins this season are just the tip of his dominance this year, he also has collected 22 Playoff points, put up two stage wins and the series-most top fives (nine) and top 10s (13). Plus, he has led the series-most laps this season (640 laps led, 14.81% of his laps completed).
Kentucky Speedway and the Charlotte ROVAL are the only two tracks on the active schedule Harvick has yet to win at. In nine starts at Kentucky he has posted one top five, six top 10s and an average finish of 10.8. He finished 22nd in this event last season.
Hamlin on the rebound after Indy
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is looking to rebound this weekend at Kentucky Speedway, after leading late in the race last Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway only to lose the lead with late-race tire trouble that sent his No. 11 Toyota into the Turn 1 wall.
Hamlin is now fifth in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 109 point behind Harvick in the standings lead despite being tied with him for the series-most wins this season with four each.
This season, Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart have been clicking on all cylinders, in 16 starts they have produced four wins, four stage wins, nine top fives and 10 top 10s. His average finish this season is 10.2 and leads the series in Playoff points with 23.
Kentucky has been pretty good to Hamlin in the past. He has made nine series starts at the 1.5-mile facility, posting four top fives and an average finish of 14.9.
Kyle Busch looks to snap 2020 winless streak
Surprisingly, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch, is still winless through the first 16 races of the 2020 season. Busch has won at least one race per season since competing fulltime in the NASCAR Cup Series back in 2005.
This season the Las Vegas native, Busch, is 10th in the series driver standings, having posted seven top fives and nine top 10s; including three runner-up finishes.
But Busch has been so good at Kentucky Speedway, this weekend could be when he gets his first checkered flag of the year. In nine series starts at Kentucky, he has posted two wins, seven top fives and eight top 10s. He finished runner-up to his brother Kurt in this event last season.
And to boot, he leads the series in average finish at Kentucky with a 4.7.
Team Penske, Joe Gibbs Racing have found success at Kentucky
Of the nine NASCAR Cup Series races held at Kentucky Speedway, the majority of them (six) have been won by two organizations – Team Penske (three wins) and Joe Gibbs Racing (three wins). This weekend both organizations will look to get their fourth victory at the 1.5-mile track and take the series lead in owner wins at the facility.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s three wins began with the inaugural series event in 2011; when Kyle Busch started from the first position due to qualifying being cancelled and then won. Then in 2013, veteran Matt Kenseth brought JGR their second victory from Kentucky and Busch again visited Victory Lane in 2015.
All four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have run well at Kentucky in the past. In nine starts, Busch has amassed two wins, seven top fives and eight top 10s. Martin Truex Jr. has also made nine starts, posting two wins (in 2017 and 2018 with Furniture Row Racing), two top fives and five top 10s. Denny Hamlin has made nine starts at Kentucky, putting up four top fives and an average finish of 14.8. And Erik Jones has made three series starts at Kentucky posting one top five and three top 10s. He also the series second best average finish (5.3) at Kentucky; behind only his teammate Kyle Busch.
In last season’s race, Busch finished runner-up, Jones was third, Hamlin was fifth and Truex finished 19th.
Team Penske’s three wins at Kentucky have all come from Brad Keselowski; who leads the series in victories at the track (2011, 2014, 2016). In total, Keselowski has made nine starts at Kentucky posting one pole, three wins, four top fives and six top 10s. His average finish 12.3.
Though Keselowski’s teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney have yet to win at Kentucky in the NASCAR Cup Series they have found success at the track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Logano winning three times and Blaney taking home the checkered flag twice. In the Cup Series Logano has made nine starts at Kentucky posting two top fives and six top 10s. Blaney has made four series starts at Kentucky posting one top five and two top 10s. In last season’s race Team Penske drivers finished seventh (Logano), 13th (Blaney) and 20th (Keselowski).
Jimmie Johnson returns to racing
Hendrick Motorsports driver and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will return to competition this weekend at Kentucky Speedway after being sidelined last weekend due to testing positive for COVID-19.
Per NASCAR rules, a competitor that tests positive for COVID-19 must be able to provide two negative tests 24 hours apart from each other to be granted access to return to racing. It was announced on Wednesday morning that Johnson medically cleared to return to NASCAR competition. He has also been granted a Playoff eligible waiver.
Johnson is currently 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 30 points up on 16th place Austin Dillon, and 36 points up on Erik Jones in 17th – the first spot outside the Playoff cutoff.
Kentucky Speedway is one of just four tracks (Charlotte ROVAL, Chicago and Watkins Glen) on the schedule Johnson has yet to win at yet. He has made nine starts at Kentucky, posting one pole, one top five and five top 10s. He finished 30th in this event last season.
Kurt Busch returns to defend last season’s Kentucky win
Heading into Kentucky Speedway last season, Kurt Busch was still working out the kinks with his new team at Chip Ganassi Racing and was riding a 30-race winless streak that dated back to Bristol in 2018, but all that changed when he grabbed the lead in overtime and took the win. Now the Las Vegas native returns looking to defend his Kentucky win from last season and snap an even longer winless streak that has reached 33 races.
Busch is currently 11th in points, four points behind his brother Kyle in 10th. In 16 starts this season Kurt Busch has collected three top fives, nine top 10s and a pole.
Busch’s win last season was not only first victory for Chip Ganassi Racing at Kentucky Speedway but also the first for Chevrolet. In nine starts at Kentucky, Busch has put up one win (2019), two top fives and six top 10s.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Doubling up at Kentucky Speedway
The NASCAR Xfinity Series kicks off a five-race weekend at Kentucky Speedway on Thursday evening, July 9, for the Shady Rays 200 (8 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as the first race of the doubleheader for the series. The second race for the series at Kentucky will be on Friday, July 10, at 8 p.m. for the Alsco 300 (FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
This weekend will mark the second doubleheader weekend for the series since the return to racing in mid-May after the break in sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first was at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The doubleheader comes after a weekend of road course racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, the inaugural race on the road course for the series. Chase Briscoe was victorious for the fourth time this season and the third time in the last four events.
The Indiana native led 30 laps and won Stage 2. Briscoe also won the second race of the doubleheader at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Austin Cindric was the only driver who finished in the top five who doesn’t have a win so far this season.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Top Five Results:
Chase Briscoe*
Justin Haley*
Noah Gragson*
AJ Allmendinger*
Austin Cindric
Thursday’s Xfinity Series race will be 201 miles and 134 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 30 and Stage 2 ending on Lap 60. Friday evening’s Xfinity Series race will be 300 miles and 200 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 45 and Stage 2 ending on Lap 90.
This will be the 26th NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kentucky, with the inaugural race on June 16, 2001, won by Kevin Harvick in a Chevrolet.
Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch hold the record for the most wins at Kentucky (three), Austin Dillon and Logano have the record for the most poles (three), Busch has the most top fives (nine) and Keselowski, Busch, Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier have the most top 10s (nine). Chevrolet has the most wins by a manufacturer with 10.
Last season’s race has the fewest finished on the lead lap with five.
Eight of the 25 races run at Kentucky have been won from the pole. Joe Gibbs is the winningest car owner with six wins.
Busch holds the qualifying record at the track from July 8, 2016 at 187.318 mph. Tyler Reddick holds the race record from September 23, 2017 at 151.728 mph.
The track 1.5-miles in length with 17 degrees of banking in Turns 1 and 2 and 14 degrees of banking in Turns 3 and 4. The frontstretch has eight degrees of banking and the backstretch has four degrees of banking. The frontstretch is 1,662 feet and the backstretch is 1,600 feet.
Driver to Beat: Chase Briscoe dominating Xfinity Series
It is very clear that Chase Briscoe seems to be the driver to beat week in and week out. With five wins in 13 starts, Briscoe has the most wins of any other driver in the series.
As the series heads to Kentucky Speedway, taking a look at Briscoe’s stats at the track show that this could be another strong showing for the driver of the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Last season was his first start at the track for the Xfinity Series and he started ninth and finished fifth. He also led 14 laps.
With momentum on his side after having won the last two races (Pocono, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course), making Kentucky Speedway the third win in a row doesn’t seem too far off.
Briscoe mentioned having a goal of winning eight races this season to prove himself and with five wins to his name already, he’s within reach of obtaining his goal.
“It’s weird to say but I feel like I’ve always thrived under pressure. I set a goal for myself and the team has stuck behind me, but it’s kind of like Babe Ruth calling his shot. I knew if I did that, I had to back it up. I’ve always fed on the pressure. You go back to the Roval and I won it. A lot of people don’t realize I didn’t have a ride if I didn’t win that race. Sleeping on couches, volunteering in race shops, and only having one race to prove myself, I had to do the best I could. So, I put a number out there. I want to win more races and prove my worth. I felt like that was an attainable goal and that if I put the pressure on myself it would give me something to shoot for,” Briscoe said.
Chase Briscoe’s back-to-back wins at Pocono Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course have kept him at the top of the Playoff standings with his fifth win of the season. He is now sitting 21 points ahead of second-place Noah Gragson in the standings and has 13 more Playoff points (28) than his nearest competitor.
Ross Chastain is still holding onto the third spot in the standings and is the highest-ranked driver in the standings without a win this season. Austin Cindric’s performance at Indianapolis pushed him back up to fourth in the standings, 61 points back from the leader.
Brandon Jones dropped to eighth in the series standings but is already locked into the Playoffs with a win this season. He’s the lowest-ranked driver with a win this season.
Harrison Burton dropped significantly in the standings after Indianapolis and is now in seventh, but he is still the highest-ranked rookie. Riley Herbst, another Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, is sitting in 11th and Brandon Brown jumped up one spot and is currently holding onto the last Playoff slot. Myatt Snider has dropped to 13th but is only six points below Brown in 12th.
JR Motorsports’ Noah Gragson currently has the best driver rating in the Xfinity Series at 112.0. Briscoe is right behind him in second at 109.6 and Cindric has the third-best at 105.9. Burton has the best driver rating of the rookies in sixth at 97.4.
Chevrolet is currently dominating the Xfinity Series points with six drivers in the top 10. Ford only has two drivers in the series and both of them are in the top 10, too. Toyota has two in the top 10 and Harrison Burton is the only rookie in the top 10.
All in on Allgaier
Justin Allgaier hasn’t seemed to be able to catch a break so far this season. The driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet has been pushing to get out of a streak of bad luck but unfortunately, it didn’t happen last weekend at Indianapolis.
Allgaier, who has been running up front in a majority of the 13 races so far this season, has been involved in multiple crashes, pit road penalties and a few cases of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He has, however, been able to rally for decent track position before the final lap of a race and still has two top fives, six top 10s and an average start of 9.5. He’s led 319 laps so far this season, too.
Allgaier heads to Kentucky Speedway this weekend as one of the veterans. He has 13 starts at the 1.5-mile track with four top fives, nine top 10s and 62 laps led. Allgaier hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 at Kentucky in the last five races. He has a best finished of fourth from 2018.
His average start at the track is 7.2 and average finish is 10.5. With two chances to get it done this weekend, this could be the weekend Allgaier turns his season around. Although he’s sitting fourth in the points standings, the only way he knows he’s in the Playoffs for sure is with a win.
Allgaier had a big weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he also filled in for seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson on Sunday for the Brickyard 400. Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 and was unable to race and Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports announced that Allgaier had been on standby and would be filling in for the No. 48. Unfortunately, Sunday didn’t go so well for Allgaier as he was involved in a wreck on pit road that put him out of the race early. He is definitely on the hunt for redemption this weekend.
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
Buckle up for Gander Trucks at Kentucky
The Gander Trucks return to the track this weekend for a Saturday night showdown under the lights race at Kentucky Speedway.
The Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 will take place on Saturday, July 11 at 6 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The race will be 150 laps and 225 miles.
Tyler Ankrum is the defending race winner and this weekend will mark the series 23rd race at the track.
The 1.5-mile, Sparta, Kentucky track has 17 degrees of banking in corners in Turns 1 and 2 and 14 degrees of banking in corners of Turns 3 and 4.
There’s eight degrees of banking on the frontstretch and four degrees of banking on the backstretch. The frontstretch is 1,662 feet and the backstretch is 1,600 feet.
The inaugural Gander Trucks race at Kentucky was won by Greg Biffle on June 17, 2000.
Noah Gragson holds the qualifying record at the track from July 2018 at 183.955 mph. Ben Rhodes holds the race record, also from July 2018, at 146.739 mph.
Ron Hornaday Jr. has the most wins at Kentucky (three), Austin Dillon has the most poles (two), and Matt Crafton has the most top fives (six) and top 10s (15). The most lead changes at the track was in 2011 with 18 and the fewest was in 2013 with five.
Only three of 22 races have been won from the pole and Kyle Busch has the most wins as a truck team owner with four.
The closest margin of victory in the Gander Trucks at Kentucky was in 2009 at 0.135-second and the greatest margin of victory was in 2002 at 18.197 seconds.
This weekend will be the seventh race of the season for the Gander Trucks. Grant Enfinger is the only fulltime driver in the series to have won so far this season (Daytona, Atlanta). The other five races were won by drivers that are fulltime in other series. Most recently, Xfinity Series regular Brandon Jones got his first Gander Trucks career win at Pocono Raceway.
Toyota has three of the wins, Ford has two and Chevrolet has one.
Saturday’s Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 will be 150 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 35 and Stage 2 ending on 70.
Home cooking for Ben Rhodes
Ben Rhodes just made his 100th career Gander Trucks start at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This weekend, he’ll make his 103rd career start at his home track of Kentucky Speedway.
Rhodes, who is from Louisville, not only has the connection to Kentucky for growing up just outside of the track’s location but it’s also the place where he got his second career win.
In 2018, Rhodes started third at Kentucky and won the race. Rhodes’ first career win was in 2017 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Rhodes has quietly moved his way up to second in the points standings this season, 51 points behind points leader Austin Hill. Although he doesn’t have a win so far this season, he has two top fives, four top 10s and is also ranked third in the Playoff standings.
He is even sitting in front of his ThorSport Racing teammate Grant Enfinger in the points standings without a win.
Rhodes has four starts at Kentucky with one win, one top five and one top 10. He led 43 laps and has an average start of 6.2 and an average finish of 15.0.
Eyeing the Playoff Outlook Following Pocono Raceway
With six NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races in the books, the Playoff picture is coming into focus. Grant Enfinger’s two wins have him atop the Playoff standings as he is the only driver locked in on wins. That leaves nine spots still up for grabs on points.
Among the nine vying for a Playoff spot on points, series driver standings leader and Hattori Racing Enterprises driver, Austin Hill, has the most comfortable points cushion heading into the weekend break with 94 points up on the postseason cutoff.
Right behind Hill is Ben Rhodes with ThorSport Racing, who is 43 points ahead of the Playoff cutoff following Pocono. Rhodes’ Pocono performance put him up a spot in the standings. Sheldon Creed made the biggest jump, going from ninth in the outlook to fourth with his two stage wins and third-place finish at Pocono. Christian Eckes is the highest-ranked rookie in the Playoff outlook right now in sixth but fellow rookie Zane Smith is sitting two points behind him in seventh.
Then down in the Playoff bubble hotseat sits veteran and former series champion Johnny Sauter, 10th in the driver standings just nine points ahead of 11th place Derek Kraus.
Reigning NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series champion Matt Crafton is sitting all the way down in 14th in the standings, 31 points back from Sauter in 10th.
Sunoco rookie standings update
Christian Eckes still leads the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings with 179 points following Pocono Raceway.
Zane Smith currently holds second in the rookie standings with 177 points; followed by Derek Kraus with 159 points, Tanner Gray with 142 points, Raphael Lessard with 119, Ty Majeski with 114, Spencer Davis with 86 and Tate Fogleman with 70.
Every rookie except for Davis will be making their Kentucky Speedway debut in the Gander Trucks next week. Davis ran at Kentucky last season and finished in eighth.
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, Etc.
First one for Smith: After turning 18 last month, Chandler Smith will make his first Gander Trucks start on a mile-and-a-half oval. In limited Gander Trucks starts last season, Smith’s impressive results included a runner-up finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. In three ARCA Menards Series starts this season, Smith has two wins at Phoenix Raceway in March and Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis last weekend.
Long Motorsports new sponsor: American Mask & Sanitizer is partnering with Long Motorsports and Dawson Cram beginning this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. American Mask & Sanitizer specializes in medical supplies. They will also be on board the No. 55 truck at Texas and Kansas Speedway.
The Wounded Blue partner with Angela Ruch: America’s only national organization dedicated to assisting officers injured in the line of duty announced that they will partner with Angela Ruch at Kentucky Speedway. Donations to The Wounded Blue help fund the organization’s Code 4 Wellness program, including medical appointments, COVID-19 testing, PTSD and more.
