Hollywood Casino 400
Kansas Speedway
By Richard Tix
This time NASCAR heads to Kansas Speedway with a little less SpongeBob around them. Earlier this year SpongeBob and friends were crawling all over Kansas Speedway for a Jimmie Johnson win, this time Kansas sponsor is all about the Hollywood Casino (far different).
The bigger issue at hand is that it is the second Chase race of this second round. Thing will start to heat up as drivers position themselves better going into the final race of this round of 12. Only 8 will come out the end and you want to be in good position because next race is Talladega and anything can happen there.
So, can Kenseth make up the ground after a 42nd place finish without a win? Or will he need a win to survive. Who will take all the Dega pressure off themselves with a win at Kansas?
The Good
- Jimmie Johnson- Last time around he made this list before the SpongeBob race, this time he makes it again coming off a win. He has 12 top 10's in his last 13 Kansas starts.
- Carl Edwards- Earlier this year it was a struggle for Edwards at Kansas (finished 20th), but this time around JGR is still running well and Edwards has a good track record here. He has 11 top 10's in 16 career Kansas starts.
- Jeff Gordon- Earlier this season Gordon notched a top 5 at Kansas (4th) which has helped him keep his current trend of running well here going. He has 3 top 5's in his last 4 starts here including a win in 2014.
- Kevin Harvick- (Bonus) It is hard to leave Harvick off of this list this time around. In his last four here he has three poles, one win, and two runner up finishes. With the way he has been running he could win again this weekend.
The Middle
- Denny Hamlin- Earlier this year he had a tough finish, but most of the time Hamlin has quality, not great, finishes at Kansas. Seven times in 14 races Denny has finished 7th-18th. In those 14 races he has only 4 top 10's. He does have a Kansas win (2012) so he can't be counted out, but he normally isn't a top 5 runner here.
The Bad
- Justin Allgaier- His first three starts here all resulted in wrecks... Earlier this year he finished the race but still only finished 30th. It just doesn't seem to be in the cards for Justin at Kansas.
- Kyle Busch- For awhile Kansas was not Kyles track. He struggles here it seemed every time. Things have started to turn the corner, but it is good to note in his last 5 starts here he has three finishes of 30+.
- Casey Mears- As always, guys in underfunded cars get looked at differently for these categories, but in the last 6 races here Casey has only one top 20 and two top 25's. However, that top 20 was earlier this season (19th).
About the Track: Kansas
Track Stats
- Kansas has 12 different career winners in 19 Cup races
- Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are tied for most career Kansas wins with 3
- In 2011 Kansas started to have two races a year.
- Manufacture win count: Chevy 10, Ford 5, Toyota 2, and Dodge 2
- Brad Keselowski won after starting 25th in 2011, the furthest back a winner has come from
- JJ, Harvick, and Kahne are tied for most career Poles at Kansas (3)
- Most cautions in a Kansas race was 2013 in the Fall Chase race (15)
Track Details
- Surface: Asphalt
- Length: 1.5 mile
- Banking
- Turns: 24 degrees
- Straights: 5 degrees
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Kansas
Speedway
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Race
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Date
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Cars
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Winner(s)
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St
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Make
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2001-28
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9/30/2001
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43
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Jeff Gordon
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2
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Chevrolet
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2002-29
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9/29/2002
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43
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Jeff Gordon
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10
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Chevrolet
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2003-30
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10/5/2003
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43
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Ryan Newman
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11
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Dodge
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2004-30
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10/10/2004
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43
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Joe Nemechek
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1
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Chevrolet
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2005-30
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10/9/2005
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43
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Mark Martin
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19
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Ford
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2006-29
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10/1/2006
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43
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Tony Stewart
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21
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Chevrolet
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2007-29
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9/30/2007
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43
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Greg Biffle
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7
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Ford
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2008-29
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9/28/2008
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43
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Jimmie Johnson
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1
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Chevrolet
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2009-29
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10/4/2009
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43
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Tony Stewart
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5
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Chevrolet
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2010-29
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10/3/2010
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43
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Greg Biffle
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5
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Ford
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2011-13
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6/5/2011
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43
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Brad Keselowski
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25
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Dodge
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2011-30
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10/9/2011
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43
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Jimmie Johnson
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19
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Chevrolet
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2012-08
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4/22/2012
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43
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Denny Hamlin
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4
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Toyota
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2012-32
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10/21/2012
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43
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Matt Kenseth
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12
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Ford
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2013-08
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4/21/2013
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43
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Matt Kenseth
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1
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Toyota
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2013-30
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10/6/2013
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43
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Kevin Harvick
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1
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Chevrolet
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2014-11
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5/10/2014
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43
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Jeff Gordon
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13
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Chevrolet
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2014-30
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10/5/2014
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43
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Joey Logano
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4
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Ford
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2015-11
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5/9/2015
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43
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Jimmie Johnson
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19
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Chevrolet
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