Kansas 400 Race Preview

Kansas Speedway -- 09/28/08

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Wednesday Sep 24 2008 7:25pm

This Sunday, the Cup series heads to Kansas Speedway, a 1.5-mile D-shaped oval with flat banking. Many drivers compare Kansas to Chicagoland (where Kyle Busch won in July), as the two tracks were built by the same company and share similar, though not identical, characteristics.

Kansas is also similar to Kentucky, where many Cup teams have been heavily testing, including the 24 team of driver Jeff Gordon (+1800).

"We had a great test in Kentucky last week and I think we learned some things there that we can apply to Kansas," Gordon said. "If any track is similar to Kentucky, it's Kansas. I'm really looking forward to seeing if what we learned last week translates over to Kansas … This will be the first time we've raced the Impala at the track, and I feel like all the testing we've done at Kentucky should transfer over to Kansas better than any track we go to."

Kansas Speedway is one of a handful of racetracks that currently hosts just one Cup race per year and, with the first race held here in 2001, we have just seven races in the record books to look over.

Jeff Gordon won the first two races at Kansas in 2001 and 2002. Subsequent winners were Ryan Newman (+5000), Joe Nemechek, Mark Martin (+2500), Tony Stewart (+1200), and Greg Biffle (+500) in '07.

Biffle's victory last year was controversial though. The race was interrupted by rain and ended under caution, with Biffle declared the winner though he was reportedly short on fuel and had been passed by other drivers heading to the checkers.

A few of those drivers, Jimmie Johnson (+400) and Clint Bowyer (+2500) in particular, crossed the finish line before Biffle and argued that he should not have won because he failed to maintain pace car speed, but NASCAR certified him the winner.

Biffle led the third-most laps here last year - Kurt Busch (+5000) was the overall lap leader, followed by Matt Kenseth (+1200).

How does Biffle size up his chances for a repeat Kansas win, which would give him three straight Chase victoriesΔ "The feeling that we have together as a team right now is indescribable," said Biffle. "If we can keep it going, which I think we can, we will be unstoppable. As a driver, you dream of having a team like this at this point in your career. We're not finished winning and I don't see why we can't make it three in a row at Kansas this weekend."

In terms of average finish at Kansas, Clint Bowyer, the near-winner here last year, leads all drivers with an average finish of 5.5 in two starts - specifically, finishes of 9th and 2nd. Clint is followed in this category by Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson.

Bowyer, a Kansas native, will have a little extra motivation this weekend, as this is his home track. Carl Edwards, from nearby Missouri, also considers it his home track.

It's interesting to note that eight of the 12 Chase contenders are on the entry list for Saturday's Nationwide race at Kansas, including Bowyer. The others are Jeff Burton (+3500), Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards (+450), Denny Hamlin (+1600), Kyle Busch (+500), and Kevin Harvick (+3500).

That leaves the three Hendrick drivers - Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. - along with Tony Stewart, as the only Chasers not running the NWS on Saturday. Of the four, Gordon and Stewart have won Cup races here - Johnson and Earnhardt have not.

Will it make a differenceΔ Perhaps. Only one driver has swept the weekend at Kansas and that was Joe Nemechek in 2004. But with the Chase competition as tight as it is, every little advantage could have an impact.

Overall, Hendrick Motorsports and Roush-Fenway Racing have each won two races here, the most of any teams.

Looking at the last five Kansas races, Greg Biffle leads all drivers in terms of points accumulated, including bonus points. He is followed by Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears.

This race has come down to fuel mileage in the past, so crew chiefs who handle pit strategy well (Chad Knaus comes to mind) may have an advantage.

Statistics notwithstanding, driver Jeff Burton indicates that this race could be a crapshoot, as it is the first race for the COT at Kansas. "We live in an era that data is really important and information to work off of is significant," Burton said. "None of the teams have Kansas data for the new car. I believe some will have it for Homestead, because we had a test there last year and some people had the car there. Track information is really important and I’m not sure that anybody will have it for Kansas, so that’s a huge point to pay attention to. Kansas is a tough race track. It’s slick and it’s hard to get a hold of, so I think Kansas will be really interesting to watch. I think you could see some people really struggle at Kansas that have run well at other places."