GoBowling.com 400
Kansas Speedway
By Richard Tix
It's been a long week on Behind the Wall which can mean only one thing... I am super excited it's almost race weekend! I know many fans feel the same way as I do. Nothing is better then getting done with a long work week, finding an ice cold refreshment, and knowing that NASCAR will be on all weekend long.
This weekend NASCAR get's back to night racing on Saturday. I love night racing, personally. The lights bouncing off the cars it a sight to see. However, for me it is normally harder to catch all of the race because life gets in the way. On Saturday evening's, life always gets in the way! However, I wouldn't change a thing about night racing so each season I make it work.
So, Brad Keselowski added his name to the list of multiple winners in 2016 with a win last week at Talladega. That is four Talladega wins in his career and his 19th win overall. 19 wins ties him with Greg Biffle, Davey Allison, Buddy Baker, and Fonty Flock.
Speaking of wins, I once wrote an article three years ago about the magic number of 50. Since, Tony Stewart has gone win-less. Now the question is will Stewart every get to 50? If not, who is the next one to 50 wins? The easy and common answer is Kyle Busch (36 total). JGR teamates Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin both have 27 and have a good stretch of their peak years ahead of them. BK only has 19, but has put together some runs in bunches. Meanwhile Joey Logano has 14 total but is only 26 with a lot of great years in front of him.
Who will make 50? Will any of them? Will multiple guys make it? I don't see how Kyle Busch won't eventually get there, but that is the interesting about a NASCAR career, anything can happen.
This weekend NASCAR get's back to night racing on Saturday. I love night racing, personally. The lights bouncing off the cars it a sight to see. However, for me it is normally harder to catch all of the race because life gets in the way. On Saturday evening's, life always gets in the way! However, I wouldn't change a thing about night racing so each season I make it work.
So, Brad Keselowski added his name to the list of multiple winners in 2016 with a win last week at Talladega. That is four Talladega wins in his career and his 19th win overall. 19 wins ties him with Greg Biffle, Davey Allison, Buddy Baker, and Fonty Flock.
Speaking of wins, I once wrote an article three years ago about the magic number of 50. Since, Tony Stewart has gone win-less. Now the question is will Stewart every get to 50? If not, who is the next one to 50 wins? The easy and common answer is Kyle Busch (36 total). JGR teamates Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin both have 27 and have a good stretch of their peak years ahead of them. BK only has 19, but has put together some runs in bunches. Meanwhile Joey Logano has 14 total but is only 26 with a lot of great years in front of him.
Who will make 50? Will any of them? Will multiple guys make it? I don't see how Kyle Busch won't eventually get there, but that is the interesting about a NASCAR career, anything can happen.
**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- With Jeff Gordon retiring (3 Kansas wins), JJ now becomes the driver with the most win's who is still active (3 wins). He has a top 10 in 13 of his last 14 races here and it is almost a lock that happens again.
- Kevin Harvick- Kansas was not always Harvick's best track, but lately he has turned it around. He has three straight poles from 2013-2014. He also has had a win and two runner up finishes in the last five races.
- Joey Logano- In the last four races JoLo is the only one with four top ten finishes. Actually, he has five straight which include's two win's and all five also happened to be in the top 5. In that five race span only three drivers even have three top 5's.
The Middle
- Carl Edwards- 12 top 10's in 17 career Kansas starts. Not too bad right? Well, all the good Carl has done here and he has yet to notch a win. Maybe this time is finally his time to get a Kansas win?
The Bad
- A.J. Allmendinger- Over 12 career Kansas starts A.J. only has 2 career top 10 finishes. Worse yet is his average finish of 21.4 over that time. Only one time in 12 races has he ran over 50% of the race in the top 15.
- Jamie McMurray- JMac has five straight races at Kansas without a top 10. During that span he also only has one top 15. In his career he only has three top 10's in 18 tries.
- Clint Bowyer- Bowyer have five straight races at Kansas withotuh a top 10 as well (see McMurray above). He only has one top 15 and two top 20's during those same five races.
About the Track: Kansas
Track Stats
- Kansas has 12 different career winners in 20 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 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
Martinsville
Speedway
|
|||||
Race
|
Date
|
Cars
|
Winner(s)
|
St
|
Make / Model
|
2001-28
|
9/30/2001
|
43
|
Jeff Gordon
|
2
|
Chevrolet
|
2002-29
|
9/29/2002
|
43
|
Jeff Gordon
|
10
|
Chevrolet
|
2003-30
|
10/5/2003
|
43
|
Ryan Newman
|
11
|
Dodge
|
2004-30
|
10/10/2004
|
43
|
Joe Nemechek
|
1
|
Chevrolet
|
2005-30
|
10/9/2005
|
43
|
Mark Martin
|
19
|
Ford
|
2006-29
|
10/1/2006
|
43
|
Tony Stewart
|
21
|
Chevrolet
|
2007-29
|
9/30/2007
|
43
|
Greg Biffle
|
7
|
Ford
|
2008-29
|
9/28/2008
|
43
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
1
|
Chevrolet
|
2009-29
|
10/4/2009
|
43
|
Tony Stewart
|
5
|
Chevrolet
|
2010-29
|
10/3/2010
|
43
|
Greg Biffle
|
5
|
Ford
|
2011-13
|
6/5/2011
|
43
|
Brad Keselowski
|
25
|
Dodge
|
2011-30
|
10/9/2011
|
43
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
19
|
Chevrolet
|
2012-08
|
4/22/2012
|
43
|
Denny Hamlin
|
4
|
Toyota
|
2012-32
|
10/21/2012
|
43
|
Matt Kenseth
|
12
|
Ford
|
2013-08
|
4/21/2013
|
43
|
Matt Kenseth
|
1
|
Toyota
|
2013-30
|
10/6/2013
|
43
|
Kevin Harvick
|
1
|
Chevrolet
|
2014-11
|
5/10/2014
|
43
|
Jeff Gordon
|
13
|
Chevrolet
|
2014-30
|
10/5/2014
|
43
|
Joey Logano
|
4
|
Ford
|
2015-11
|
5/9/2015
|
43
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
19
|
Chevrolet
|
2015-31
|
10/18/2015
|
43
|
Joey Logano
|
14
|
Ford
|
Weekend Articles:
