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Keselowski Rules the Kansas Lottery 300

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SM Staff
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It was a near perfect day for Brad Keselowski, a front row starting spot, a car with an excellent feel from the beginning. When the green flag dropped it became evident that it was a perfect car too.

[media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]As a matter of fact if it hadn’t been for a miscue that caused him to stall the car on pit road and come out of the pits in 14th position; it would have been a perfect day. But  the miscue didn’t slow him down for long, as he made an incredible run from 14th to 1st in 6 laps. He came out of the pits for the last time in 4th spot.

If Carl Edwards thought on lap 180 on the restart in front of Keselowski that he had the advantage, he didn’t think it for long because before lap 190, Keselowski’s Discount Tower Dodge would again be leading the way.

When the checker flag waved, Keselowski would claim his first Nationwide Series (NNS) win at Kansas Speedway.

Keselowski had the dominant car and lead four times for 173 of the 200 laps run. It was his fourth win and 17th top-10 finish in the season.

Keselowski who compares his commitment to the NNS to helping family keep jobs and be successful, showed why it is he is the current reigning champion of the series and why he as won the last 2 races at Kansas. “Once you win at a track and figure out what you need it makes it easier to go back with a better car everytime. But this was a perfect car. And I was doing everything I could to not screw it up. ” said Keselowski. “It’s just an unbelievable car and unbelievable day and to Nationwide and all the fans, thank you so much. It’s a privilege to get to do this.”

Edwards, also knew that Keselowski had the perfect car. “I just think he didn’t realize how fast his car was and I think he was maybe trying to just try every little trick he could to make sure he won. It is my opinion he didn’t have to do that.” stated Edwards who posted his fourth top 10 finish in seven races at Kansas, and his 23rd top 10 finish in 2011.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished 5th and maintained the series points lead. “It was and up and down day. We didn’t start out very good, not like we wanted to or normally do. We were on the loose side, on the tight side and couldn’t hit it in the middle like we needed to. To battle back from three pit road issues that we had, I stalled it once, got a penalty for speeding and had a slow stop. To still come back and run top five is not too bad. ” stated Stenhouse Jr. after the race.

All in all the race had it’s moments. There was the side by side race between Edwards and Keselowski that could easily have ended in disaster. Instead the talent of both drivers brought them through to the end. There was the dust up between Aric Almirola and Brian Scott that ended with Scott confronting Almirola on pit road after the race. But for the most part the race was a snoozer.

From the drop of green flag it was obvious that the Penske Dodge was the dominate car. At one point Keselowski had a four second lead over second place Edwards. Though there was some hard core racing going on in the back of the pack for the most part it was a race of conservation. Conservation of car. Conservation of points. And maybe even conservation of sanity.

 

Unofficial Race Results
Kansas Lottery 300, Kansas Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=30
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Pos. No. Driver Make Points
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1 2 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
2 1 60 Carl Edwards Ford 0
3 12 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 41
4 4 33 Paul Menard Chevrolet 0
5 9 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 39
6 19 4 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
7 8 18 Joey Logano Toyota 0
8 14 32 Brian Vickers Chevrolet 0
9 17 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 35
10 3 20 Ryan Truex * Toyota 34
11 21 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 33
12 7 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 33
13 10 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 32
14 6 70 David Stremme Chevrolet 0
15 15 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 29
16 25 62 Michael Annett Toyota 28
17 5 11 Brian Scott Toyota 27
18 28 30 James Buescher Chevrolet 0
19 11 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 25
20 16 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 24
21 13 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 23
22 23 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 22
23 27 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 22
24 32 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 20
25 18 81 Blake Koch * Dodge 19
26 24 182 Reed Sorenson Dodge 18
27 33 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 17
28 37 52 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 16
29 41 39 Joey Gase Ford 0
30 39 28 Derrike Cope Dodge 14
31 36 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 13
32 42 23 Angela Cope Chevrolet 0
33 40 40 Josh Wise Chevrolet 11
34 31 15 Timmy Hill * Ford 10
35 35 171 Matthew Carter Ford 9
36 22 103 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 8
37 38 175 Carl Long Ford 7
38 34 141 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 6
39 26 146 Chase Miller Chevrolet 5
40 30 147 Charles Lewandoski * Chevrolet 4
41 20 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 3
42 29 150 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 0
43 43 127 J.J. Yeley Ford 0

Ford Kansas NNS Post Race (Carl Edwards Presser)

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SM Archive
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Morris Keeps Hot Streak Alive With Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 Pole Victory

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SM Archive
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TOYOTA NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Post-Race Notes & Quotes Kansas Speedway

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SM Archive
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Ford Kansas NNS Post Race Quotes

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SM Archive
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Talladega Superspeedway Creating Special Award For 100 Lead Changes

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SM Archive
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Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes – Keys for Success – Kansas 2

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SM Archive
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Edwards grabs the NNS Kansas Lottery 300 pole

By
SM Staff
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Carl Edwards took the pole position for Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Kansas Lottery 300. This was Edwards’ 27th pole award in 240 starts in the series. He is third on the all-time pole list and just one away from second, held by the legendary Tommy Ellis.

This is Edwards 6th pole and 27th top-10 start in 2011. Previous to today his best start had been 3rd at Kansas.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”246″][/media-credit]Pulling the outside front row was the 22 of Brad Keselowski. This will be Brad’s 19th top ten start of 2011 and his second in six races at Kansas. Keselowski’s lap was 31.527 (171.262 mph).

Starting third is Ryan Truex in the Joe Gibbs #20. This is Ryan’s first top 10 start at Kansas and his sixth in his 15 races this season. Truex’s lap was a quick 31.566 trip around the mile and half track.

The NNS field is separated by 1.254 (6.57 mph).

Dennis Setzer, Tim Andrews, Danny O’Quinn, Jennifer Jo Cobb, and Mark Green failed to make the field.

 

Starting Lineup
Kansas Lottery 300, Kansas Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/qual.php?race=30
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Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
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1 60 Carl Edwards Ford 171.521 31.483
2 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 171.282 31.527
3 20 Ryan Truex* Toyota 171.07 31.566
4 33 Paul Menard Chevrolet 170.697 31.635
5 11 Brian Scott Toyota 170.342 31.701
6 70 David Stremme Chevrolet 170.175 31.732
7 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 170.132 31.74
8 18 Joey Logano Toyota 169.593 31.841
9 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 169.396 31.878
10 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 169.231 31.909
11 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 169.141 31.926
12 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 169.019 31.949
13 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 168.45 32.057
14 32 Brian Vickers Chevrolet 168.361 32.074
15 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 168.34 32.078
16 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 168.104 32.123
17 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 167.89 32.164
18 81 Blake Koch* Dodge 167.884 32.165
19 4 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 167.874 32.167
20 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 167.79 32.183
21 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 167.619 32.216
22 103 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 167.048 32.326
23 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 167.022 32.331
24 182 Reed Sorenson Dodge 166.945 32.346
25 62 Michael Annett Toyota 166.697 32.394
26 146 Chase Miller Chevrolet 166.589 32.415
27 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 166.559 32.421
28 30 James Buescher Chevrolet 166.246 32.482
29 150 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 166.072 32.516
30 147 Charles Lewandoski* Chevrolet 165.975 32.535
31 15 Timmy Hill* Ford 165.904 32.549
32 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 165.883 32.553
33 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 165.827 32.564
34 141 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 165.558 32.617
35 171 Matthew Carter Ford 165.492 32.63
36 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 165.365 32.655
37 52 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 165.36 32.656
38 175 Carl Long Ford 165.355 32.657
39 28 Derrike Cope Dodge 165.239 32.68
40 40 Josh Wise Chevrolet 164.634 32.8
41 39 Joey Gase+ Ford 164.288 32.869
42 23 Angela Cope+ Chevrolet 162.323 33.267
43 127 J.J. Yeley Ford 164.951 32.737

Talladega Sweetens The Pot

By
SM Staff
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In the world of the tandem draft, Talladega just sweetened the pot with $100,000 bonus, to be paid to the driver who takes the lead the most number of times throughout the race at the 100th lead change at the the Good Sam Club 500. In case of a tie they will go to laps led to break it. If there is still a tie the money will be split between the two drivers that are tied.

[media-credit name=”talladegasuperspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]The rule change with the larger restrictor plate and the pop off value, won’t make a big difference in the way they race at Talladega according to Brad Keselowski. But Kurt Busch does think it will change the way that mid pack runners race. He stated that he felt that it would intensify the race and the intensity with which everyone approaches the race.

It is interesting to note that the bonus is not covered by a sponsor and is being paid by Talladega Speedway itself and is not covered by an insurance policy. It is an actual cash bonus from Talladega Speedway.

The past three races at Talladega saw 87 and 88 lead changes, which is the NASCAR record.Talladego also holds the NASCAR records for leaders with 29, and fastest average race speed of 188.354 mph and the fastest Qualifying speed of 212.809.

“We believe that this will add to the excitement of the race at Talladega. We already have the most exciting racing in Nascar.” stated the Chairman of Talladega Speedway, Grant Lynch,. “This is is just going to add to it. Our fans look forward to seeing a lot of lead changes. It makes sense to put an extra incentive on giving our fans what they want. The new rules package, that includes a larger restrictor plate opening, should give drivers the opportunity to really mix it up and pass even more in traffic.This is going to be an exciting race on Oct. 23rd and we look forward to potentially setting another NASCAR record.”

Matty’s Picks Vol. 21 – Kansas – Hollywood Casino 400 – October 9, 2011

By
SM Staff
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“We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto”

I figured I would add some kind of excitement to this week’s race by using a famous movie quote to break the ice in this week’s column.

There were 17, uneventful lead changes among 9 drivers during the STP 400 earlier this year at Kansas Speedway, a race that I chose to watch the back of my eyelids rather than the on-track activities. According to this week’s media advance from NASCAR, Kansas Speedway was Brad Keselowski’s coming out party, winning there in June during the series’ first trip to the 1.5-mile track.

[media-credit name=”Kansasspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]Apparently, I missed Keselowski’s run to the front in June, as he was only shown in the top spot for the last 9 laps, the only laps he lead all day. Keselowski’s run to the front started around lap 165, after the 5th and final caution flag flew during the STP 400. The final 102 laps would be run under green-flag conditions and Keselowski would go on to win by a margin of 2.813 seconds over second-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr.

My picks for June’s race at Kansas Speedway were Jeff Gordon as my Winner Pick and A.J. Allmendinger for my Dark Horse. Gordon finished 4th, and Allmendinger flirted with a Top-15 for the majority of the race, but failed in the fuel-mileage game and ended up finishing 26th.

I can’t say that I’m overly-excited for the race on Sunday, partly due to the fact that it’s almost guaranteed that that race will come down to fuel-mileage in the end. I AM excited for the second-half of The Chase to start, and to finally visit some tracks that will keep me awake on Sunday Afternoon.

Dover Recap

There was no place to go for me but up after my performance two weeks ago at New Hampshire. I had my worst combined total finishes two weeks ago with a 25th and 26th-place finish for my picks. I half-rebounded last week at Dover, scoring a top-5 for my winner pick.

Let’s start with the bad news this week.

Greg Biffle was my Dark Horse pick last week at the Monster Mile after an intense look at his statistics prior to last week’s AAA 400. In the prior 5 races at the Monster Mile, Biffle’s finishes were: 19th, 6th, 19th, 3rd, and 16th. In the 5 races prior to the start of the 2009 season, Biffle’s finishes were: 1st, 3rd, 6th, 2nd, and 8th.

After getting off to a solid start it appeared that Greg Biffle was headed for a top-10 finish in Dover today. He was running seventh when the field restarted on lap 358 following a caution but lost control of his 3M Cubitron II Ford three laps later and made contact with the inside wall. Biffle brought the car to pit road for repairs but went two laps down in the process. When the checkered flag dropped Biffle was in the 27th position. He dropped one spot in the points to 15th.

“We had a fast car from the start,” said Biffle. “The guys worked hard in the pits all day and we should have had a top-10 finish at the least. We had a pit road penalty early on and were able to bounce back from that but we were just too loose on that last run.”

My winner pick faired a lot better than Biffle last week, finishing in the runner-up spot. Spinning his tires on the final restart might have cost Jimmie Johnson his seventh victory at Dover International Speedway, but it didn’t hurt his run for a sixth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

Johnson had led a race-high 157 laps coming into the final restart at Dover’s one-mile concrete oval. He lined up on the front row with Kurt Busch and spun the tires slightly, giving Busch the edge. Johnson crossed the finish line second, improving five spots in the championship standings to fifth.

Johnson spoke of his troubles on the final restart following the AAA 400 last Sunday “I just got a poor restart when I was the leader, and for the last restart, I didn’t get a good one again,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t race (Busch) through Turns 1 and 2. The cars were very equal. We saw that.”

I look to parlay my half-rebound last week at Dover into full-on success this weekend at Kansas.

Kansas Picks

Chevrolet has claimed 6 victories in the 10 Hollywood Casino 400’s, the most of any other manufacturer, but Chevy hasn’t seen Victory Lane at Kansas since October of 2009. Chevy’s recent lack of success has me looking at a Dodge and a Ford on Sunday.

Winner Pick

Due to his success at Kansas in June, and his lack of success in The Chase thus far, Brad Keselowski is receiving my Winner Pick this week. Even though he led just 9 laps en route to his victory at Kansas in June, his teammate Kurt Busch led a race-high 4 times for 152 laps.

Busch’s soaked up Penske Racing’s pool of luck last week at Dover, and I think its Brad’s turn to hit the spotlight this weekend. He raced his way into the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup in dramatic fashion, but has failed to reach Victory Lane since his win at Bristol in late-August.

Keselowski is ready to put his name back in the discussion for the Driver’s Championship this year and I say he is the favorite to win on Sunday. “We do want to send a message this weekend that we are going to fight to the finish,” Keselowski said.

At this point in the season, Keselowski is looking to rebound from a disappointing power-steering issue and 20th place finish last week, and put his name back in the mix to take home the Sprint Cup.

Dark Horse Pick

David Ragan will be making his 175th Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Sticking with my trend of not picking a Chase driver for my Dark Horse pick, I think Ragan stands the best shot of bringing home a Top-5 out of all non-chasers this weekend.

His past finishes at Kansas are less than impressive but Ragan and his Crew Chief, Drew Blickensderfer seem to have the fuel mileage game down to a science. In the prior two races decided by gas (Geico 400 at Chicagoland and Sylvania 300 at Loudon), Ragan finished 11th and 7th respectively.

Ragan has five prior Sprint Cup starts at Kansas Speedway. With those five starts, Ragan has an average starting position of 16.8 and finishing position of 17.6.

Ragan said earlier this week “We always look to improve at tracks from the first event there and Kansas is a track that really fits our program. Our engines run well there and our cars are fast. Drew and I are going to work hard to try and grab another win for our UPS team.”

He will be piloting the car that finished 13th at Kansas Speedway earlier this year, and I think Ragan is a driver ready to pounce on the chances of playing spoiler on Sunday.

That’s all for this week, stay tuned next week as I make my first trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway with SpeedwayMedia.com editor, Ed Coombs and Photo Journalist, Brad Keppel. I look forward to an exciting week next week, so be sure to stay tuned for live updates on my trip on Twitter @ML_B_Lo.

Until Next Week…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

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