Kentucky Speedway
Quaker State 400
By Richard Tix
Last weekend at Daytona was, well, memorable to say the least. We have rain delay's, we have Austin Dillon winning the XFINITY race, we had a race start just before midnight on the East Coast, we had Dale Earnhardt Jr winning another race at Daytona, and we had Dillon and his car tearing into the catch fence.
I would say this week will have a heck of a lot less story lines, but heading into it we do have one big one: how will this new car package do? This question became even bigger when NASCAR announced a few more tracks that would also be running this package.
So, will this slow some of the drivers down who have been on fire at 1.5 mile tracks this year (figuratively as we know it literally will slow the cars speed down)? If so, it could be a huge key for some other guys looking to get momentum for the Chase.
The Good
- Brad Keselowski- BK is the only multi time winner here at Kentucky (4 Cup races). Last year he won the pole and the race for his second of five 2014 wins. He actually lead 199 of 267 total laps which is the most anyone has lead in one race here. He has lead 68+ laps in 3 of his 4 starts here.
- Kyle Busch- Kyle has lead the second most total laps here since Cup first started running at Kentucky (274 behind BK with 346). He was the pole and race winner in Kentucky's inaugural race in 2011. All of that to go along with 3 top 5's and 4 top 10's.
- Matt Kenseth- Kenseth is the only other driver to have won here (BK and KB) in four races. He has four total top 10's and since joining JGR (2 races) he has back to back top 5's. However, after that being said he has only lead laps in the race he won in 2013 (38 laps).
- Extra Credit- Jimmie Johnson
The Middle
- Kasey Kahne- With such little data a lot of drivers could make a case for a middle spot just outside of the "Good." Kahne gets the spot because he tends to find himself in the middle a lot on 1.5's. He only has 1 top 5 and 2 top 10's in 4 starts, but has yet to finish outside the top 13.
The Bad
- Aric Almirola- Aric only has three starts here but he only has one top 20 in that time (15th in 2013). I normally judge Aric on finishing top 15 or top 20 and better because he is with RPM and not someone like HMS. But, he has to step up to make it off this list.
- Greg Biffle- For a guy like Biffle, it is unacceptable to have only 1 top 20 in four starts on a 1.5 like this. It's as simple as that. Hard to see it getting much better while RFR struggles.
- Paul Menard- Kentucky Speedway is not one of Menards better 1.5 tracks, and for that he finds the "Bad" list. Two top 20's in four starts (both top 15's) will not be good enough to leave this list.
Track Stats
- Brad Keselowksi (2), Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth are th eonly three drivers to win a Cup race at Kentucky.
- Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon have all finished top 10 in each of the four races.
- BK has lead the most career laps at Kentucky (336) followed by Kyle Busch (274), and Jimmie Johnson (203).
- Kyle Busch is the only driver to have 3 top 5's in the first four races at Kentucky (four drivers have two).
- Only 9 drivers have run every lap at Kentucky in the four Cup races.
Track Info
- Surface
- Asphalt
- Length
- 1.5 mils
- Banking
- Turns: 14 degrees
- Tri-Oval: 8-10 degrees
- Straight: 4 degrees
Kentucky
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 / Model
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2011-18
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7/9/2011
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43
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Kyle Busch
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1
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Toyota
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2012-17
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6/30/2012
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43
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Brad Keselowski
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8
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Dodge
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2013-17
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6/30/2013
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43
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Matt Kenseth
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16
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Toyota
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2014-17
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6/28/2014
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42
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Brad Keselowski
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1
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Ford
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2014 Quaker State 400 Photos
Weekend winner Brad Keselowski
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