NASCAR Cup Series

“This elimination race didn’t produce quite the excitement NASCAR had hoped,” Keselowski said. “In fact, it was yawn-inducing. It was so boring that fans didn’t give a hoot; it was so boring that I didn’t give a tweet.”

This weekend marks the beginning of NASCAR’s Contender Round, which includes the next three consecutive races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Harvick advanced into the Contender Round with the top-12 drivers following Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway and is seeded third, behind drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano.

TOP SEED STEED: Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion have held the top seed in the Chase since winning the final race of the regular season. The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship-winning squad has four top-two finishes in the last six races, including two victories.

In what is his last full-time season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Marcos Ambrose wants to enjoy the high-speed tracks left on the 2014 season schedule, including this weekend at the Kansas Speedway. Driving the STANLEY No. 9, Ambrose will make his 11th start at the Kansas Speedway this weekend.

Despite failing to advance to the Contender Round, Aric Almirola and the No. 43 team still have a chance to fight for points positions as high as fifth. Re-energized and focused after last weekend, the team heads to one of their best tracks, Kansas Speedway.

Roush Fenway Racing has registered all four of Ford Racing’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories at Kansas Speedway. Greg Biffle leads the way with two wins (2007,’10) while Roush has also celebrated triumphs with Mark Martin (2005) and Matt Kenseth (2012).

In 53 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has one win, visiting victory lane in 2013 with Kevin Harvick, among five top-five and 15 top-10 finishes.

Dover International Speedway officials announced today that the track will install a new catch fence that will be in place for the May 29-31, 2015 NASCAR race weekend. The process of removing the current fence began on Monday, Sept. 29, one day after the “AAA 400” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Monster Mile, is scheduled for completion by Jan. 1, 2015.

"Kansas is another track that's been changing since it was repaved. I'm looking forward to see how it's different from how it was six or eight months ago. It was very much like Chicagoland until the repave. Now it races more like a Charlotte or a Michigan. With that fresh pavement, it's got a lot of grip, a lot of banking and a lot of speed.

"Historically, Kansas has not been one of my favorite tracks, but earlier this year we were actually running OK. And then we got into one of the worst accidents I've ever been in. It tore up our race car, which is now sitting in Dale Jr.'s car graveyard.