KANSAS SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE TRI-OVAL)
LOCATION: KANSAS CITY, KANSAS
EVENT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 31 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 2:15 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16 (NBC/MRN/SIRIUSXM)
No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS / Kasey Kahne
Driver Kasey Kahne Hometown Enumclaw, Washington
Age 36 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2016 Season
17th in standings
30 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
11 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
Career
462 starts
17 wins
27 pole positions
89 top-five finishes
167 top-10 finishes
4,607 laps led
Track Career
18 starts
0 wins
3 pole positions
5 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
102 laps led
KAHNE AT KANSAS: Kasey Kahne enters Kansas this weekend coming off of his best finish of the 2016 season at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kahne earned a third-place finish at the 1.5-mile track, giving him five top-10 finishes in the last six races. Kahne is still looking for his first win at Kansas but has two second-place finishes – April 2013 and October 2011.
POLE POSITION: Kahne has captured three of his 27 pole awards at the Kansas City, Kansas, track. He’s tied with Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick for the most poles at the 1.5-mile speedway. The 36-year-old earned his last pole position at Kansas in October 2012, and has started on the outside pole position twice — most recently in May 2015.
KANSAS LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR’s loop data, Kahne has an average driver rating of 91.8, which ranks him eighth among his peers. He’s tied for first with Johnson for green-flag passes with 1,250. The Enumclaw, Washington, native is sixth in the laps run in the top 15 category with 3,060 and seventh in fastest laps run with 169.
WELCOME ABOARD: UniFirst has joined Hendrick Motorsports as a primary partner on the No. 5 Chevrolet SS. As the new Official Workwear Provider of Hendrick Motorsports, UniFirst will be a two-race primary sponsor in both 2016 and 2017, with the relationship increasing to three primary races annually from 2018-2023. In addition, UniFirst will be a full-season associate sponsor of the No. 5 team. UniFirst will make its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series primary sponsorship debut next week with back-to-back races Oct. 23 at Talladega Superspeedway and Oct. 30 at Martinsville Speedway.
KASEY’S KAROLINA KAHNEWICH: Kahne and the Kasey Kahne Foundation have partnered with PDQ (People Dedicated to Quality) restaurants to create the Karolina Kahnewich. Kahne’s revved-up BBQ sandwich will be served exclusively at all 11 PDQ locations throughout North and South Carolina from Oct. 4 through Nov. 30. The sandwich is $5.99 with $1 from each sandwich sold benefiting the Kasey Kahne Foundation in its effort to raise funds to support chronically ill children and their families.
GREAT CLIPS PROMOTION: Longtime partner Great Clips is working in conjunction with Levi Strauss to give fans the chance to win a VIP race experience with Kahne, free haircuts for a year, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. jeans or a Wal-Mart gift card. Fans have until Nov. 1 to enter for their chance to win by visiting www.greatjeansgreathaircuts.com.
No. 24 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet SS / Chase Elliott
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 20 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia
2016 Season
10th in standings
30 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
9 top-five finishes
15 top-10 finishes
342 laps led
Career
35 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
9 top-five finishes
15 top-10 finishes
342 laps led
Track Career
1 start
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
0 laps led
SUNENERGY1: This will be the third and penultimate primary paint scheme weekend of the year for SunEnergy1 on board Chase Elliott’s No. 24 Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports. SunEnergy1 was the primary partner for Elliott at Daytona International Speedway and Watkins Glen International. They will also be the primary for Phoenix International Raceway in November.
2017 PAINT SCHEME DEBUT: Tuesday afternoon Elliott unveiled his 2017 NAPA AUTO PARTS paint scheme via his Instagram channel. The blue-and-yellow design features the same five blue stripes that mimic Ron Capps’ NAPA AUTO PARTS NHRA Funny Car. The design also incorporates new stand-out elements such as yellow racing stripes surrounding the existing light blue and red stripes on the side panels, yellow stripes on the A-frames and a complete yellow wash on the rear panel. To see the design Elliott will pilot next year, click here.
CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER: Elliott’s bid for the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup continues in Kansas after a late-race incident last Sunday stopped his day short at Charlotte. Elliott led 103 laps – second most only to teammate Johnson – in the rain-postponed race. The rookie driver is ranked 10th as he heads to the second race in the Round of 12 at Kansas Speedway this weekend. He is only three points outside of eighth – the cutoff spot for the Round of 8. Thus far in the playoffs, Elliott has led 179 laps while also securing two top-five finishes both coming in the Round of 16. He’s looking to keep that momentum going as he heads to Kansas, where he finished ninth earlier this year.
SNAPCHAT TAKEOVER: Elliott took fans under the hood Tuesday, giving them a glimpse of his daily life by taking over NASCAR’s Snapchat handle. Fans and media members can follow along for a behind-the-scenes look into the rookie driver’s day by following NASCAR on Snapchat and clicking on their story.
TOP-RANKED ROOKIE: Elliott leads the 2016 Rookie of the Year contender standings heading into the race at Kansas Speedway by 62 points over second-place Ryan Blaney and 91 points over third-place Chris Buescher. Elliott has accumulated a total of 284 rookie points this year through the first 30 points-paying races.
CHASE UNIVERSITY: “Chase University” – Elliott’s collegiate ticket package program – made its debut this past weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The exclusive ticket package will return again at Talladega Superspeedway featuring pre-race concerts, food, beverages and tailgating games. Elliott will even make an appearance on race day prior to the green flag. Students with a valid college ID can enroll in Chase University with a special $24 party pass available online at http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/ChaseU. Share the fun using #ChaseU on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 41 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2016 Season
1st in standings
30 starts
3 wins
1 pole position
8 top-five finishes
13 top-10 finishes
629 laps led
Career
537 starts
78 wins
35 pole positions
215 top-five finishes
327 top-10 finishes
18,338 laps led
Track Career
20 starts
3 wins
3 pole positions
8 top-five finishes
16 top-10 finishes
601 laps led
MOVING ON: Last weekend in Charlotte, Johnson advanced to the Round of 8 by winning his fourth fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and eighth overall at the 1.5-mile track. It’s the first time since NASCAR began this format of the Chase in 2014 that the No. 48 has made it through to the final eight contenders.
FOLLOW THE LEADER: So far in the four Chase races, Johnson and team have turned up the wick and have led a total of 363 laps – 118 at Chicago, 90 at Dover and 155 at Charlotte. Prior to that, in the 26-race regular season, Johnson led a total of 266 laps.
SERIES BEST: Johnson has the series-best driver rating at Kansas Speedway with a score of 110.4. He has an average finish of 7.882 and an average running position of 9.513, both of which are series-best.
78 WINS AND COUNTING: Johnson’s win at Charlotte was his 78th win of his career. Earlier this season he passed the late Dale Earnhardt for seventh most wins of all time with 77. The next record in line for all-time wins is 83, currently occupied by NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough.
TIED WITH GORDON FOR MOST WINS: Johnson has three wins at Kansas Speedway and is tied for the most all-time wins at the track with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon.
1.5-MILE TRACK MILESTONES: Johnson currently holds the record for all-time wins on 1.5-mile tracks. He has earned 26 victories, which include eight at Charlotte Motor Speedway, six at Texas Motor Speedway, five at Atlanta Motor Speedway, four at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and three at Kansas Speedway.
JIMMIE JOHNSON WELLNESS VIRTUAL TRIATHLON: Being a part of #TeamJJF means staying involved and being up-to-date with the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and its events not only by participating, but also by following through social media. The Jimmie Johnson Foundation is launching its first “virtual triathlon.” Joining #TeamJJF is a perfect way to support the Jimmie Johnson Foundation’s mission of assisting children, families and communities in need while taking on a personal athletic challenge. The Jimmie Johnson Foundation Virtual Triathlon takes place during the month of October. The challenge is to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles. Learn more here.
No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS / Alex Bowman
Driver Alex Bowman Hometown Tucson, Arizona
Age 23 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2016 Season
5 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
6 laps led
Career
76 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
9 laps led
Track Career
4 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
CHARLOTTE RECAP: Alex Bowman — who was filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. while Earnhardt is out for the remainder of the season continuing to recover from a concussion — had a great race weekend going in the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway after qualifying second – a career-best and just 0.004-seconds off of the pole — but a flat left-front tire while he was running third relegated him to a 39th-place finish.
KANSAS STATS: Kansas Speedway will mark Bowman’s sixth start in the No. 88 Chevy, which will be Nationwide’s primary blue and silver scheme this weekend. In the first five races, he earned one top-10 and two top-15 finishes and has run inside the top 10 in every event. Bowman has four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas with a best finish of 31st. He has one start in the NASCAR XFINITY Series with a best finish of 11th. In the ARCA Racing Series at Kansas, Bowman has a win record of 100 percent, with two victories in his two starts (2011 and 2012).
UPCOMING – MARTINSVILLE VICTORY TOUR: On Wednesday, Oct. 12, Earnhardt is scheduled to be at Martinsville Speedway for his second Victory Tour appearance. There will be a media portion of the event, so interested media members can contact Tiffany Daniels for more information.
CLOSEST TO HOME: Jacob Conley, fueler for the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS, considers Kansas Speedway to be his home track on the Sprint Cup circuit. Conley grew up about three hours away in Omaha, Nebraska, and played football at Doane University before joining Hendrick Motorsports as a backup pit crew member for the Nos. 5 and 24 teams. He then became a starter for the No. 88 Nationwide team in 2016 as one of the six primary over-the-wall crew members.
DALE JR. TRUCK: The Dale Jr. No. 88 Special Edition Silverado was on display at Hendrick Motorsports last week. Inspired by the No. 88 driver’s personal journey with his favorite Chevrolet trucks, the eye-catching special edition features premium GM accessories, a horsepower upgrade and a custom No. 88 graphics package. For more on the special edition Silverado, created with Earnhardt and exclusively available at participating Chevrolet dealerships, click here.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT KANSAS: At Kansas Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has amassed six wins, five pole positions, 28 top-five finishes and 48 top-10 finishes in addition to 1,071 laps led. Johnson, who leads active drivers in wins, top-five finishes and top-10 finishes at the track, most recently won for the organization at Kansas in 2015.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 243 victories, 209 pole positions, 1,005 top-five finishes and 1,684 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 66,054 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
“Kansas is one of my better mile-and-a-half tracks – especially since they repaved it. We were good right off of the bat with the repave, and now it has changed a good bit over the years, but it’s still one of my best tracks.”
Kasey Kahne on racing at Kansas
“I definitely don’t look at Kansas as a stellar race track for me. I feel like it’s a very unique repave and the way the asphalt feels there to me is a little different than a lot of race tracks. I think I still have a lot to figure out at Kansas. I’m happy we got to run a Cup race there this year. I learned a few things and hopefully that will help going back. I lean on my teammates a lot, really for any of the races in general, but definitely at Kansas which is a place I haven’t run at a lot. Jimmie (Johnson) has had a lot of success there over the past couple of years having won a race and I think a lot of that can help. I’m also always leaning on Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) any way I can. He’s been a huge help all year long and I appreciate everything he has done for me to get going.”
Chase Elliott on racing at Kansas
“Heading into Kansas, the win in Charlotte certainly opens up the possibility for whatever opportunities may present themselves. We can go there to race and to win without pressure. This win at Charlotte also allows me go to Talladega and not worry about anything, which is fantastic. I can just get up in the race and mix it up, and race hard. We’ve also been very competitive at Texas, Martinsville, so good things ahead for us.”
Jimmie Johnson on his win at Charlotte and moving forward in the Chase
“We had a really fast race car at Charlotte last weekend, so I’m looking forward to getting to another mile-and-a-half track and seeing what this No. 88 team can do. I like racing at Kansas and we know we’ve got speed, now we just need a little luck to go our way.”
Alex Bowman on racing at Kansas
