Week 8 Preview

Kansas Speedway

So Nascar leaves Texas after its first night race of the season but no fire works went off (at least because of the racing).  The race may have been long and not as entertaining as the rest of 2013 has given us, but the story lines have not stoped. The Penske team was apparently "targeted" in the garage according Brad Keselowski. Some think this could be straight from the #48 team and Chad Knaus, but the ruling is still out. Also my thoughts and prayers go out to those who were effected by the Suicide in the Texas Motor Speedway infield but that has also caused a storyline. Unfortunately it somehow changed from a suicide story into hot bed story on the NRA and sponsorship (Nothing that had to do with what happened). Oh, and Kyle Busch won the race.

So moving onward to our first trip to Kansas Speedway in 2013.  Only time will tell how the Penske team will handle themselves after Texas and how the other stories shake out, but maybe this week we will get back to storylines that happen on the track.

Kansas Speedway has had a short 14 race Nascar history that has produced 10 different winners, the most recent being Matt Kenseth.  Four drivers have two Win's at Kansas and no driver has more then that (Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Greg Biffle). Kansas is a 400 mile race that has made two stops every year since 2011 (one now, and one later in the year that is a Chase race). The past four races have resulted in a different car manufacturer winning each and Chevrolet has won the most (7 times).

Matt Kenseth at Kansas in Fall race 2012

Take a look at last years Spring race results, that had Denny Hamlin finishing in Victory Lane. Now lest get on to the Good, Middle, and Bad Categories at Kansas Speedway.

The Good:

• Jimmie Johnson- Another track and another JJ spotting on the "good" list. He can not be left off the list considering he is one of 4 drivers with a track record two wins. He also has the best average finishing position (8), best average starting position (10.6), most laps lead (547), most top 10's (11), and tied for the most poles (3). Best Chance Forecast: 11 top 10's in 13 career starts, I would say top 10 is a safe bet.
• Jeff Gordon- The second Hendrick driver on the "good" list, Gordon holds on record at Kansas that JJ doesn't have, top 5's. Gordon has 8 top 5's in 14 career starts here, but none in his last three. Best Chance Forecast: History says Gordon normally only has a bad day at Kansas if he has car problems. This Sunday their is a good chance Gordon gets back on track after late race troubles last week and gets a top 10.
• Tony Stewart- Now I could have picked Biffle (2 wins), Keselowski (avg finish of 9.8), or Matt Kenseth (win last year) for this spot, but I will give it to Smoke. Stewart is tied for the track record in wins (2) and has an average finish of 11.7. He also has finished in the top 10 9 out of 14 times, but I give him the nod because no one in Nascar needs a good finish more than him. Best Chance Forecast: Well given his bad start you can say anywhere. I will be bold, he will get his first top 5 of the year.

The Middle:

• Kasey Kahne- I will keep the middle short. Many drivers can fit in this spot each week so I will just spotlight Kahne. Kahne has been hot as of late, even salvaging a mediocre race at Texas for a top 15. Kahne is tied with JJ for 3 poles, so if he wasn't already fast on the 2013 season, this track will bring out the best. What I am saying is, he could get another pole. Best Chance Forecast: I like Kahne to get into the top 5. (His last three here: 4,8, and 2).

The Bad:

• Aric Almirola- This is all out of sample size, but Almirola hasn't been very good at Kansas in his two career starts. Finishes of 23rd and 29th leave a lot to be desired. He did qualify 5th in his last start here (Fall of last year).
• Casey Mears- Mears has 3 top 10's and 2 top 5's in 12 career starts, so what is so bad? Well his last 5 at Kansas look like this (37, 26, 42, 37, and 24). All of these 5 were with Germain Racing and it doesnt look like Mears will find his way out this time around.
• Joey Logano- JoLo keeps finding himself on this list, but he ahas also been rewriting this list. This season it seems like things are coming together for him and he is learning new tracks. That doesn't mean I will leave him off the list, facts are facts. In 7 career starts at Kansas JoLo has 1 top 15. The plus side, that was in this race last year. Another plus, JoLo has started in the top 10 4 of his 7 races so he knows how to be fast.

Laying Low:

• Martin Truex Jr- Guess who was runner up in both races at Kansas Speedway last year? You guess it, Martin Truex Jr. Last year he just could not snap his win less streak but came oh so close at Kansas. Last week he made a strong run (and then failed post race inspection) for a win, can he do it this week?
• Kevin Harvick- He has yet to really break out in the 2013 season, so maybe a trip on the "laying low" list will get him going. 6 is the magic number. In 14 career starts here, Harvick has finished 6th 5 times. He also has a top 5 and two 11th place finishes. Kind of like this season, Harvick just cant break into the top 10, this week might be the week.
• Paul Menard- Laying low is something he has done this whole season. Menard is still in the Chase hunt and in the top 12. Last time around Menard finished 3rd, 18th in the Spring race. Menard does seem to qualify well at Kansas with 4 top 10 starts in 8 career starts.

Need more?
Check out this weeks paint scheme's at Kansas: Here
Check up on Brad Keselowski's trip to the White House: Here from Nascar.com
Don't know who is running this weekend? Check out the Entry List for Kansas
Check out my Twitter for more stats from Kansas Speedway and Nascar Updates.

**Edit note: Penalties were assessed for the Penske team after I finished this article. So here it is: each team loses 25 points, Crew Chiefs, Car Engineer, and Team Manager for 6 races. Also Crew Chiefs fined $100,000 each. BK moves from 2nd to 4th and JoLo moves from 9th to 14th in points standings. Penske will appeal. Ryan Truex was docked 6 points and will not appeal. (Side note, Ron Hornaday gets a $25,000 fine and 25 points docked while on probation).**

Also, as you have taken a moment to follow a sport we love, don't forget about those affected in Boston.