2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 32: Kansas

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Hollywood Casino 400

By Richard Tix

One more round to go until NASCAR heads to Homestead for the finale. If this round is anything like last round than we're in for a huge outcry from the fans. What do I mean? Well, if you missed Sundays race at Kansas you would have missed the fact that Kyle Larson, one of the top drivers of 2017, is now out of contention for the Championship. One hit of bad luck at the wrong time can do that to you now, and it's what all of social media was talking about. 

I 100% get it as well. But, one bad key race if you didn't lock it up earlier is also a threat to any driver including the No. 78. So, the complaints will only get larger if the No. 78 gets knocked out this round.

This does bring back into play out important the regular season was, because maybe a win or two more (or winning the regular season points) would have been enough extra points to keep Kyle Larson in the hunt. Most likely the engine failure still would have done the No. 42 in on Sunday, but it's not like they also didn't have other times in this season, in these playoffs, to lock themselves in. It sucks, its a downfall of this format, but it isn't the end all be all and Larson handled it like a vet.

Not that this makes a difference, but to anyone wanting to go back to straight up points on the season should realize Larson would be all but out of it already as well (143 points back) and this would have been a huge blow to his Championship contention either way.

Anyways, lets move onto the Power Rankings. Remember, this week NASCAR cut down to eight drivers which means the top eight below are all playoff drivers. The remaining four spots are fair game to anyone!

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 32 (Week 31)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Personally I am pulling for my favorite driver, however I would be disappointed if the 78 doesn't at least get to the Championship and it would be a format fail if he doesn't.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-8)- Kyle went from the edge of elimination to back in the hunt with just one race and one set of eliminations. 
3. Chase Elliott (LW-3)- Chase is the last remaining zero win driver in the playoffs. However, he has finishes of 2nd, 2nd, 16th, and 4th in his last four to get him this far.
4. Kevin Harvick (LW-7)- In a season of transition from Chevy to Ford, Harvick is just hanging around. That's all it may take until Homestead.
5. Denny Hamlin (LW-5)- Hamlin keeps riding around to nice finishes week after week. Sunday marked his third straight top 10 (two of them top 5's).
6. Brad Keselowski (LW-4)- BK's win at Talladege locked him into this round, but he will need more speed to make a push for Homestead.
7. Ryan Blaney (LW-10)- What a crazy weekend for the No. 21. Everything had to fall into place the right way for them to advance, and it did.
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW-9)- Here we are again, JJ just lurking in the back... Can he do it again?
9. Kyle Larson (LW-2)- I'm at a loss for words. We knew something like this could happen, but we never thought it would. The odds, especially in this day in age where engine failures are few and far between, had to have been so small.
10. Matt Kenseth (LW-6)- A wreck ended Kenseth's playoffs, but he left a lot on the table in 2017 that put him in this spot. He fought hard to hang on this long. So, here's to hoping he can find a decent ride in 2018.
11. Kasey Kahne (LW-NR)- Under the radar, Kahne has been running well in his last rides in the No. 5. 9th, 8th, and 15th round out this round.
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-NR)- Junior has three seventh place finishes in his last four and somehow it feels overlooked. I am not sure how that happens with Junior, especially in his final season, but it kind of has.

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 11: Kansas

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

GoBowling 400

By Richard Tix

Let's start this Pit Road into out with a note on Aric Almirola. First, I an glad to hear he is doing ok and I am hoping for a quick and safe rehab back to full health. Man, those images Saturday night are ones that stick with you for a long time. All in all, I am glad all three involved are fine and well for the most part and can walk away to talk about it.

Unfortunately wreck's happen but I am glad safety has made strides to get where we are today. Also, it's unfortunate the wreck happened because it overtook the fact that Kansas was producing some really entertaining racing, which in my opinion had been lacking at the track in the past. I missed the first and second stage but heard from a large percentage of fans on social media that the stages were filled with quality racing and some exciting moments.

The fight between Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr was a fun storyline to watch during the closing laps and in the end one of the best cars of the night won, Truex. All in all it was a good race that will forever be remembered by images of a terrifying wreck that thankfully everyone came away with their lives from.

Get better soon Aric!

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 11 (Week 10)

1. Brad Keselowski (LW-1)- In my personal opinion no single driver has taken total control of being the dominate driver for a large period of time in 2017, making the top of this list a tough call each week. BK held the top spot last week and most of Saturday looked like a candidate to tumble, but the No. 2 team fought back and somehow finished second.
2. Martin Truex Jr (LW-8)- I apologized last week to Truex fans for having him too low, so a huge jump up the standings shouldn't be surprising. He has the best car all night at Kansas and proved it by taking it to VL.
3. Kyle Larson (LW-5)- He is still the points leader and keeps knocking out playoff points as well, but will he get back to his top 2 prowess? 
4. Kevin Harvick (LW6)- Four top fives in his last five races, like I said last week, "I feel a win coming."
5. Jimmie Johnson (LW-2)- JJ hit a lull in Kansas, but don't forget he still is third in playoff points accumulated with 10 and it's the end game that matters.
6. Jamie McMurray (LW-9)- JMac is fifth in points without a win in 2017, only Chase Elliott (fourth) is higher without a win. Jamie's seven top 10's are already more than half way to his total in an season from 2005-2016 (in 2004 he had a career best 23).
7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-4)- Stenhouse was close to his fourth straight top 10 on Saturday (11th) and it also would have made five in his lasts six, Instead he will settle for six straight finishes of 14th or better which is light years ahead of where this team was last year and even further than 2015.
8. Joey Logano (LW-3)- What a tough hit for Aric, Danica, and Joey. None of them nor none of us will forget that one in quite some time.
9. Kyle Busch (LW-NR)- Don't look now but Rowdy has been having "poor runs" that have given him some nice finishes. Kyle has back to back top fives and has lead at least one lap in six of the last eight races.
10. Chase Elliott (LW-7)- The little miscues have been leading to bad, bad days at the track. This week it was on pit road while exiting his box (some miscommunication I assume). It's been too many weeks of saying "they will learn to close," they need to start doing it to hang out in the top five of these rankings.
11. Clint Bowyer (LW-12)- Consistency. That's pretty much all that needs to be said for Bowyer. He hasn't been great, he hasn't been bad. 
12. Ryan Blaney (LW-NR)- Blaney's bad luck finally turned around as he won a stage and ran up front for most of the evening. Unfortunately the 78 had a better car late and the 21 couldn't hold him, or a few others, off.

Dropped Out: Denny Hamlin (LW-10) and Kurt Busch (LW-11)

Just Missed: Trevor Bayne and Kasey Kahne

2017 NASCAR Week 11: Kansas

GoBowling 400

Kansas Speedway

By Richard Tix

This weekend NASCAR leaves the short tracks and plate tracks behind for another look at the predominate 1.5 mile tri-ovals on the schedule. The topic of schedule make up when it comes to track sizes has become a hot topic lately (even though we have been all talking about it including on here for years). No matter the side of the debate you're on this weekends race location won't be changing.

After a surprise first career win from Ricky Stenhouse Jr at Talladega last weekend and a season that has brought us eight different winners in ten races we are entering the discussion of, "how many winners will we have in 2017?" Even bigger, could we have more then 16 winners and a race winner misses the Playoffs?

Season's have started out like this before, but not many times does the winners list not include such fast cars like the 4, 24, 88, 11, 18 and 20 with guys like the 1, 47, 21, and 14 also being threats to win at some point. That same list also includes a guy like Ricky Stenhouse, Ryan Newman, and a struggling Kurt Busch. With eight winners the playoff window is closing pretty early and a focus on more wins/points will be a hot topic.

I can't see this season not ending with the 4, 11, 18, 20, and 24 not getting a win. That is 13 winners so we would still have three open spots, but that's not including the 88, 14 (strong cars), 21 (young gun with good equipment), or 47 (short track and Martinsville pro). None of that even mention's Daytona or Mother Nature who can throw wrenches into a race.

I still think we will be just short of 16 winners (before the Playoffs), but the idea is starting to creep into my mind. The fact remains that only 16 races remain before the playoffs and squeezing eight more first time 2017 winners in that span only get's harder the more first time winners we have (smaller sample of strong cars left) especially with guys like the 2, 22, 48, 78, and 42 running so strong and looking for even more wins.

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Jimmie Johnson- A win and three top fives in his last four, JJ has a long track record hear of good finishes. In his last 16 starts here he has 14 top tens, nine top fives, and three wins.
• Kevin Harvick- Harvick is the last Cup winner here at Kansas and has two wins and three runner up finishes since 2013.
• Joey Logano- JoLo didn't notch a single top ten while he was with JGR at Kansas. Since joining Team Penske he has 6 top tens, 6 top 5's, and two wins in eight races.
• Kyle Busch- Yes, a fourth driver this week. This is a special occation because this track and stating facts is why I am Twitter blocked by Kyle. I happened to tag him in a stat about his poor finishes and his occational spin outs awhile back... Apparently that was enough to get the D. Mutombo on Twitter. Well, its only fair to point that he has turned that luck around and has four top fives in his last four including a win in this race last year.

The Middle

• Dale Earnhardt Jr- Juniors avaerage finish of 16th here at Kansas says it all for the most part. Looking at his finishes from 2016 on back to 2011 it shows even more incosistency (15th, 21st, 3rd, 39th, 5th, 8th, 16th, 7th, 14th, and 7th). Which Junior will finish on Saturday?

The Bad

• Jamie McMurray- It's tough not to think JMac will turn it around here after his hot start to 2017. But the simple fact remains he has one top 15 in his last seven starts here including only three top 20's, rough.
• Kyle Larson- Small sample size alert, but JMac's CGR teammate has three straight finishes of 29th or worse here at Kansas. His other three career starts are a 12th, 2nd, and 15th respectfully.
• Trevor Bayne- One way to look at this is Bayne and RFR have creeped into my mind enough to be brought up in these sections....Bayne will be looking for his first top 15 at Kansas in his seventh try on Saturday after only having two top 20's in six starts here.

About the Track: Kansas

Track Stats

• Kansas has 13 different career winners in 22 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 11, Ford 6, Toyota 3, and Dodge 2
• Brad Keselowski won after starting 25th in 2011, the furthest back a winner has come from
• JJ, Harvick, Kenseth 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 

2017 NASCAR Schedule: Kansas

GoBowling 400

By Richard Tix

All Times are Eastern Timezone (ET)

Thursday May 11th, 2017

• 3-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice
• 5-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice

Friday May 12th, 2017

• 11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy Series practice- FS1
• 1:30-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy Series final practice- FS1
• 4:35 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying- FS1
• 6:45 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- FS1
• 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundra 250 (167 laps)- FS1

Saturday May 13th, 2017

• 7:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling 400 (267 lap)- FS1

2016 Pit Road Week 31: Kansas

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Hollywood Casino 400

Photo: Jason Hanna Getty Images

By Richard Tix

Hard racing and post race interviewing don't always go as well as you think they would in your head. Not wanting to answer a question right after a heated race and answering with "that's racing, I guess." It's a line every NASCAR Cup driver has used almost every season they have raced at least once. Sometimes a driver let's out exactly what they're thinking and gets bashed by social media couch critics. Other time's they use a generic line like above and we all move on and thinking of it as just another boring interview. But, Sunday social media didn't move on.

Why is that? Well because it was Kyle Busch that said that line after his racing run in with teammate Carl Edwards late in the race at Kansas. The one thing we know about Kyle Busch is no move goes without a social media outrage.

Sure, he may have a past where he was looked at as whinny (maybe even some of you still think that), but a whole ton of drivers have said the same things and been applauded for holding back and being a bigger man and not in the shade of "crying."

Kyle gets lambasted from social media because of his past (I guess), but 99.9% of the time if the comment "that's racing, I guess" came out of another drivers mouth we would take it with a grain of salt and move on. Would we know that driver probably didn't fully mean it? Sure, we can see past typical BS lines and know their is more, but for some reason we keep nitpicking Rowdy for every single thing he does.

I get it if you don't like him, almost every fan in the sport has a guy they dislike, but cut him some slack because if your driver said that you would be looking at this 180 degrees the other way. I would say 80% of the time (yes making up numbers here) the social media outrage on Kyle Busch is total fan hypocrisy. Hate on him when it's a valid reason, but answering the question with a generic line is what most drivers do when they don't want to talk about it, just be happy he didn't walk off (one of those times I get being upset with him).

Now, lets get to the Power Rankings since my rant backing a driver I am not even a fan of has gone long enough. 

A review of the Chase Power Ranking Rules:

For the first three races we will have 16 drivers ranked and they will all come from the Chase field. Once NASCAR cuts the field to 12 so will Behind the Wall (again, all Chase drivers). Once we cut to 8 drivers I will still rank the top 12, but the top 8 will be only drivers left in the Chase and the remaining four can be anyone (previous Chase drivers OR someone who was never in the Chase). This type format will continue all the way down to the final (so in the end the Champion will be number one and the other eleven can be anyone in the Sprint Cup.

We're down to 12 Chase drivers so only those 12 are in the rankings this week.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 31 (Week 30)

1. Jimmie Johnson (LW-4)- This is the best I have seen the No. 48 run in awhile. Sunday he wasn't going to win (and didn't need to), but he worked his way to the front and stayed clean, something he will want to do again at Dega (though he is already in the final eight). 
2. Kyle Busch (LW-5)- I'm not sure Kyle was catching Harvick even if he got around the No. 19, but he was fast to end the race. He has been good all Chase long.
3. Kevin Harvick (LW-10)- Was he too low last week? Probably. But that's how this Chase has gone so far for "Happy." It's been up and down, but this team fights through adversity by bringing speed every week. Oh, and check out last weeks quote on ole No. 4: "Heads up No. 4 fans, he can win at anytime." See, all is good for the moment with Harvick.
4. Matt Kenseth (LW-3)- Five Chase races and five top 10's, Kenseth is staying out of trouble and not mixing it up with anyone, which is a good Chase formula. 
5. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- After two wins in the first round, Truex now has two finishes of 11th or worse in the second round.
6. Carl Edwards (LW-7)- 12th and 2nd this round, that doesn't seem great but with Talladega on the schedule if he does it again he should be safe.
7. Joey Logano (LW-11)- He raced his way back to the top 8 (tied with Dillon), but still has to stay clean and run well at Talladega to advance. Weird spot after such a great 2015 season.
8. Kurt Busch (LW-6)- Kurt has flown under the radar all Chase. Mostly because he really hasn't been that good, but he hasn't been bad either. That's how this season may end for him too.
9. Brad Keselowski (LW-2)- "Must win." NBC analysis need to realize we're going to Dega where someone could have trouble like BK did at Kansas. BK has been top 10 fast all year and consistent, he still has a shot without a win.
10. Austin Dillon (LW-12)- What a Chase for AD. Give the man his due, he is sticking in it and is in a nice spot right now. Who would have thought, AD in the round of eight? It's only one great finish away.
11. Chase Elliott (LW-8)- Chase can't catch a break this round. He has been fast and he finished 5th after getting the pole last time out at Dega. He has to be this low in the rankings, but it's not crazy to think he could win..
12. Denny Hamlin (LW-9)- Trouble at Charlotte did DH no favors and his 15th place finish this weekend didn't help. The other guys who were in a hole helped themselves out unlike Hamlin. He needs to stay clean and have a great finish at Dega.

2016 NASCAR Week 31 Preview: Kansas

Hollywood Casino 400

Kansas Speedway

By Richard Tix

Week 31.... Let that sink in for a moment. Another season has come and gone as we round up the final twelve drivers and crown a Champion. Another year of writing in this space about just about anything that I feel is relevant in my life or the world of NASCAR. 

With all of that being said why are you still here!? For real though, I appreciate all of you that do come weekly to check out the Power Rankings and Race Previews. I also appreciate all of the interaction on Twitter (if you don't already follow me, check out @NASCARBTW and @UNC_Coastin). The first is this blogs twitter which I do most of my tweetering, but the second is my personal twitter (which I rarely use). 

It has been a crazy year and an even crazier Fall for me. I felt like I have missed a ton of content on here (sorry guys) and a ton of action on the track. None the less, we continue to push on to Miami and then into the vast offseason where N.O.D. becomes a real scare to fans of the sport (credit @annoyingracefan).

Before we get ahead of ourselves, we still have five more races left including Kansas Speedway this weekend. So, lets get into the "Good, Middle, and Bad" drivers here.

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Jimmie Johnson- Coming off a win at Charlotte, this is not what anyone wants to see except for the No 48 team and Rick Hendrick. JJ has 16 top 10 finishes in 20 Kansas starts including three wins.
• Kevin Harvick- Four times in the last six Kansas races has Harvick finshed first or second (one win). He also has three pole awards in that same time. KH need's it this week after back to back rough finishes.
• Kyle Busch- Kansas hasn't always been a good track for Kyle (19.2 average finish), but he has three staright top 5 finishes here including a win earlier this year.
• Extra Credit: Joey Logano

The Middle

• Carl Edwards- Kansas has been one of Carl's best tracks (10.6 average finish in 18 races), yet he hasn't won here yet. Can he get it done this weekend?

The Bad

• Tony Stewart- On one hand Smoke has two career Kansas wins, on the other he has six straight finishes outside the top 10 and eight out of the last nine. 
• Jamie McMurray- McMurray matches Smokes six straight finishes outside the top 10, but one ups him with only one top 10 in his last 17 Kansas starts.
• Danica Patrick- Eight career Kansas races and only one top 10, and three top 20's. It's not terrible, but it's not great either. 

About the Track: Kansas

Track Stats

• Kansas has 13 different career winners in 21 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 6, Toyota 3, 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 

2016 NASCAR Schedule: Kansas

Hollywood Casino 400

By Richard Tix

All times are Eastern Time Zone (ET)


Friday October 14, 2016

• 1-2:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series first practice- NBCSN
• 2:30-3:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series first practice- NBCSN
• 4:35-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice- NBCSN
• 6:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- NBCSN

Saturday October 15, 2016

• 11-11:50 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series second practice- CNBC
• 12p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- CNBC
• 1:3 0-2:20 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice- NBCSN
• 3 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 (200 laps)- NBC

Sunday October 16, 2016

• 2:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 (267 laps)- NBC

2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 11: Kansas

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

GoBowling 400

Photo: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

By Richard Tix

Thursday May, 26th. Red Nose Day. Over the last 25 years Red Nose Day has raised over $1 Billion Dollars to help kids across the world  fight poverty. They help fund food banks, resource children and schools with books, medical services, and more. All by helping raise awareness and money from people more fortunate then others. 

Why do I bring this up? Well, Kyle Busch won Saturday Night's race at Kansas and his car was also trying to help raise awareness for Red Nose Day (not the first time it has been on Rowdy's car). So, if you can give them a look and help raise awareness or money for this cause. So, have some fun and check it out here: Red Nose Day.

Getting past seeing red noses in victory lane, the race Saturday night had a bunch of up's and downs. Early and often it was all Martin Truex Jr and it truly was his race to lose. He and his crew were on point until one single pit stop ruined the night. 

From there Kyle Busch mostly took over. One late scare for Kyle came when Kevin Harvick charged but it looked like once he got to his back bumper he made the decision not to move Kyle and lost all momentum. From that point on Kyle lead with a nice cushion on his way to his third win of 2016. 

Even on older tires Kyle still held off Harvick with fresh tires, so it proved that clean air still rules a bit, but when won't it? It is important to note that in years past Harvick wouldn't have even gotten as close to Kyle's back bumper as he did (with Kyle in clean air). Maybe this night Kyle was just that much better? 

It will be interesting to watch going forward, but so far the product has been better then in season's past and clean air at least doesn't factor in as much as it had. I just don't see a way that clean air will every fully not factor, but the closer we get to it the better. So far, we have closed that gap a bit and I think if we continue to work at taking down force away and work to match that with track specific tires it could give us a fantastic product. 

**GoBowling.com 400 Race Results**

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 11 (Week 10)

1. Kyle Busch (LW-1)- Rowdy's last six races have included three wins and two second place finishes, not too bad. He has four other top 5 finishes to go along with those five (making it three wins, two runner up's, and nine top 10's. Last year Harvick had two wins, six runner up finishes, and ten top 10's in the same 11 race start. Finish: 1st
2. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- On just points alone (no emphasis on wins), Harvick is still the points leader. However, you can't say he has been as good as Kyle this season. Harvick has been one of the best non JGR driver all season even though he only has one win. Finish: 2nd
3. Carl Edwards (LW-2)- Carl bounced back from a wreck at Talladega with an ok finish at Kansas. Overall it was one of his worse performances on the season, but he found away to still bring in a decent result. Finish: 11th
4. Kurt Busch (LW-4)- As a 2016 non winner, Kurt Busch has to be at the top of the list for strongest driver without a win. Most of that has been overlooked in my mind as well as he sits fifth in overall points (no emphasis on wins) with three top 5's and nine top 10's. Finish: 3rd
5. Brad Keselowski (LW-7)- BK has a strong car most the night, but it wasn't near a winning car. However, the team bounced back after Hamlin's aggressive move left little air to be had and both cars in a synchronized spin. Still, this team is not as strong as it has been in years past and everyone has some catching up to do with JGR. Finish: 10th
6. Chase Elliott (LW-6)- Who would have guessed Chase Elliott would have the most top 10 finishes at HMS through the first 11 races at the start of the season? I was high on him entering the season but I wouldn't have guessed he would already have this much top 10 success. On Saturday he struggled most the race (average running position of 16th) and he still found a way to finish top 10. Finish: 9th
7. Jimmie Johnson (LW-5)- Chase may have more top 10's in 2016 so far, but JJ has been the best HMS driver when it comes to title hopes. He ran better than he finished Saturday night, but he likely wasn't going to win anyways. Finish: 17th
8. Martin Truex Jr (LW-10)- What a night for the No. 78. Most of the race he dominated by having the fastest car and also the best pit stops. Ironically it was a pit stop that lost him the commanding lead (loose wheel/lug nut) and the win. They still fought back after being laps down to a respectable finish. Finish: 14th
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-9)- It has been a rough season so far for Junior and crew. Six of eleven races Jr has an average running position of 14th or worse. He has struggled to qualify strong which is really hurting him and starting him in a hole. Finish: 15th
10. Austin Dillon (LW-NR)- Saturday as a whole was not very good for AD, but the No. 3 found a way to be up front late. He now has three top 5's and six top 10's to start 2016 which are both season long career high's (and we're only 11 races in). Finish: 6th
11. Joey Logano (LW-8)- Not much blame can go on Joey for getting involved in the DH, BK, Larson indecent. It was the second week in a row where JoLo wrecked which resulted in a poor finish. Before being involved he was having a decent night and looked to finish top 10. Finish: 38th
12. Ryan Blaney (LW-NR)- Currently Blaney would be in the Chase, but it is way to early to be talking about that. Saturday Blaney notched back to back top 10's for the second time this season which now gives him four total (it was also his first top 5 of 2016). Finish: 5th

Dropped Out: Trevor Bayne (LW-11) and Jamie McMurray (LW-12)

Just Missed: Matt Kenseth and A.J. Allmendinger

2016 NASCAR Week 11 Stats: Kansas

Current Driver Averages at Kansas

By Richard Tix

Active NASCAR Cup Driver Statistics at Kansas Speedway
#	Driver	Avg FN	Avg ST	Races	W	T5	T10	T20	Lap Led	Pole	DNF
1	Jimmie Johnson	8.74	13.10	19	3	8	16	17	601	3	1
2	Brendan Gaughan	10.00	13.00	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
3	Carl Edwards	10.59	14.00	17	0	6	12	15	115	0	1
4	Kevin Harvick	11.25	15.50	20	1	4	9	17	475	3	1
5	Greg Biffle	11.32	14.50	19	2	7	9	17	346	1	1
6	Brian Scott	12.00	16.00	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
7	Brad Keselowski	12.25	12.70	12	1	2	6	10	155	0	0
8	Kasey Kahne	13.41	12.70	17	0	5	8	13	102	3	1
9	Matt Kenseth	13.80	14.20	20	2	6	11	15	655	1	2
10	Kyle Larson	14.50	13.30	4	0	1	1	3	3	0	0
11	Denny Hamlin	15.40	14.60	15	1	4	5	11	68	0	1
12	Tony Stewart	15.58	16.90	19	2	6	9	14	152	0	1
13	Paul Menard	16.00	13.10	14	0	1	5	11	24	0	0
14	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	16.11	14.10	19	0	3	9	13	146	1	2
15	Clint Bowyer	16.47	17.20	15	0	2	5	10	48	0	2
16	Ryan Blaney	17.00	14.50	2	0	0	1	1	5	0	0
17	Joey Logano	17.23	10.30	13	2	5	5	8	289	1	1
18	Ryan Newman	17.25	13.70	20	1	3	6	13	128	0	3
19	Martin Truex Jr.	17.33	12.90	15	0	4	5	11	346	0	1
20	Kurt Busch	17.80	17.20	20	0	1	6	13	259	1	2
21	Aric Almirola	18.00	13.60	8	0	0	3	4	69	0	1
22	Brian Vickers	19.27	11.80	11	0	0	2	8	0	0	2
23	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	19.83	14.30	6	0	0	0	3	26	0	0
24	Jamie McMurray	19.89	19.40	18	0	0	3	11	53	0	2
25	Kyle Busch	20.38	15.50	16	0	2	4	8	87	0	4
26	A.J. Allmendinger	21.42	21.20	12	0	0	2	6	44	1	1
27	Regan Smith	22.71	26.30	7	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
28	Casey Mears	23.06	28.80	18	0	2	3	6	47	0	4
29	Austin Dillon	23.20	22.80	5	0	0	1	2	0	0	1
30	Trevor Bayne	23.33	27.00	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
31	Danica Patrick	24.57	26.90	7	0	0	1	2	0	0	2
32	David Ragan	24.79	24.20	14	0	0	1	6	2	0	1
33	Ty Dillon	26.00	32.00	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	Michael Annett	26.50	37.50	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
35	Sam Hornish Jr.	26.63	20.00	8	0	0	0	3	7	0	2
36	David Reutimann	27.11	24.20	9	0	0	1	2	1	0	0
37	Matt DiBenedetto	27.50	34.50	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
38	Mike Wallace	27.80	33.00	5	0	0	0	2	1	0	0
39	Travis Kvapil	27.91	35.30	11	0	0	0	2	7	0	1
40	David Gilliland	29.07	31.60	14	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
41	Bobby Labonte	29.33	22.70	15	0	0	0	3	2	0	7
42	Johnny Sauter	29.50	35.50	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
43	Dave Blaney	29.60	33.30	15	0	0	1	2	4	0	5
44	Cole Whitt	30.00	35.60	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
45	David Stremme	31.00	33.00	7	0	0	0	1	1	0	3
46	Boris Said	31.00	32.00	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
47	Timmy Hill	31.20	39.20	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
48	Landon Cassill	31.27	36.10	11	0	0	0	2	3	0	3
49	Reed Sorenson	31.42	31.90	12	0	0	1	1	0	0	4
50	Michael Waltrip	32.44	26.90	9	0	0	0	1	1	0	4
51	Brett Moffitt	33.00	37.00	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
52	Josh Wise	34.00	36.30	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
53	Justin Allgaier	34.40	23.00	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
54	Mike Bliss	35.14	34.00	7	0	0	0	1	0	0	5
55	Alex Bowman	35.25	33.50	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
56	J.J. Yeley	35.54	31.70	13	0	0	0	1	1	0	7
57	Joey Gase	37.50	42.00	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
58	Will Kimmel III	39.00	43.00	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
59	Michael McDowell	39.33	31.70	9	0	0	0	0	1	0	7
60	Jeb Burton	39.50	36.50	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
61	Erik Jones	40.00	12.00	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
62	Ryan Truex	43.00	31.00	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1