2016 NASCAR Week 18 Preview: Kentucky

Quaker State 400

Kentucky Speedway

By Richard Tix

Who want's to place a bet that according to Jeff Gluck's twitter pole after this race, that it places as one of the lowest six rated all season (don't get this line, check out the last power rankings)? Another week and another night race. I do enjoy seeing car's under the lights, but prime time races are hard to catch live and seem to have lost their luster.

However, maybe Kentucky can change that trend? Again, my money is on it might not be remembered as one of the better races of 2016. Why? Because Kentucky just repaved it's surface and we know how those first new races typically go, poorly.

I will leave the judgement up to you as I will be in Northern Minnesota this weekend and will have to catch the race via twitter. Hopefully I am wrong and the race out produces expectations!

**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

• Kyle Busch- In five Kentucky races only four drivers posted a top 10 every race and Kyle is one of those guys. Actually, he has two wins and four top 5's in all five Kentucky races. He has been the best driver here since Cup started making a yearly stop.
• Brad Keselowski- BK is actually not one of those four drivers with top 10's in every stop here, but he does have two wins and four top 10's in those five races.
• Matt Kenseth- Kenseth has five top 10's in the first five stops here and a win to go with those. He has the second best average finish behind Kyle Busch (4.6).

The Middle

• Kasey Kahne- Kahne seems like a driver stuck in the middle a lot latetly. Actually, some of his fans would welcome him averaging finishing around 13th right now. Kahne has two top 10's and four top 10's in five races.

The Bad

• Austin Dillon- Everyone has limited data here at Kentucky, so Dillons three career starts here actually falls in line with many other guys (only five Cup races at Kentucky). In those three two of them have been outside the top 20 and none of them were top 15's.
• Tony Stewart- Kentucky's five races just happen to coincide with Smokes poor seasons, so he finds himself down here. Smoke only has two top 15's and three top 20's in five career Kentucky races.
• Greg Biffle- Biffle only has one top 15 and two top 20's in his five career starts here at Kentucky.

About the Track: Kentucky

Track Stats

• Brad Keselowksi (2), Kyle Busch (2), and Matt Kenseth are the only 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.
• Ky Busch has lead the most career laps at Kentucky (437) followed by BK (408), and Jimmie Johnson (203).
• Kyle Busch is the only driver to have 4 top 5's in the first five races at Kentucky (four drivers have two). 
• Only 7 drivers have run every lap at Kentucky in the four Cup races.

Track Info

• Surface
• Asphalt
• Length
• 1.5 miels
• Banking
• Turns: 14 degrees
• Tri-Oval: 8-10 degrees
• Straight: 4 degrees

2016 NASCAR Kentucky Entry List

Quaker State 400

Photo: Tommy Grassmann/CIA

By Richard Tix

The official entry list for the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway (From: Jayski.com)

2016 Kentucky NASCAR Schedule: Quaker State 400

Quaker State 400

By Richard Tix

**All Times are Eastern Time Zone (ET)**

Wednesday July 6, 2016

• 1-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice (Follow live)
• 5-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series second practice (Follow live)
• 7-7:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice (Follow live)

Thursday July 7, 2016

• 10-11:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series first practice
• 1-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series second practice- NBCSN
• 2:30-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series first practice- NBCSN
• 4-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series third practice- NBCSN
• 5 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying- FS2
• 7-7:50 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice- NBCSN
• 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 (150 laps)- FS1

Friday July 8, 2016

• 11 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series second practice- (will air taped starting at noon at NBCSN)
• 1:30-2:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice- NBCSN
• 4:45 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- NBCSN
• 6:45 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- (watch live on the NBCSports.com
• 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Alsco 300 (200 laps)- NBCSN

Saturday July 9, 2016

• 7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts (267 laps)- NBCSN

2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 17: Daytona

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Coke Zero 400

Photo: John Raoux /AP

By Richard Tix

Has the age of the NASCAR Night race passed us by? After every race Jeff Gluck (NASCAR writer for USA Today) runs a poll on twitter on "was it a good race?" The poll is taken after the race and it is always interesting to see the results.

Dover, Sonoma, and Auto Club all received 90% or better in approval, while the ASR, Coca-Cola 600 (both Charlotte), Kansas, and Texas were all 50% or below (all night races).

This weekend the Coke Zero 500 rounded out the night races so far of 2016 with only a 52% approval rate. So, what was interesting is when Jeff tweeted out the list with a far right column on if it was a day or night race. The five night races all go 52% or worse by the fans on Twitter, while the worst day race was Michigan with a 68% approval rating.

Has NASCAR lost it's touch on Saturday night racing? I for one enjoy the occasional night race, but I'll be honest many of them are hard to catch live. Summer evenings on the weekend are valuable time with friends and family. Look, I love NASCAR, but when it comes to making memories with my friends and family, they come first, always.

Photo: Chris Trotman

Sunday's are normally a much quieter time where many folks are happy to sit back and relax to watch a race (and maybe get some yard work in). In the USA we have been groomed to sit in front of a TV on Sundays (Sunday morning cartoons, NFL, NASCAR, etc). So, asking fans to take 3 hours out of a Sunday isn't as much to ask as a Saturday is. Heck, I bet people would have rated Daytona better if it was on a Wed. night (just ask Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr how they feel about a schedule mix up).

Maybe it's time to start looking into reviewing a few night races and moving them to new times (Sunday afternoon? Week night?). I have been in favor for a few years now of at least trying a weeknight race. During the NFL season it gives viewers something to watch during the week, a stand alone sporting event not competing with the NFL Sunday.

Maybe it works, maybe not, but it's worth trying once at the rate Saturday night races are going.

Oh, and Brad Keselowski won on Saturday.. Right now he is one of the best plate racers driving and it was a nice site to see him enjoy a win with his daughter in VL.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 17 (Week 16)

1. Joey Logano (LW-3)- Oh, how I hate power rankings after plate tracks. Wrecks ruin days but it's tough to count too much against a guy for getting in a wreck at Daytona. Just ask Kurt Busch... Well, JoLo pushed his teammate and Kurt to finish out the race and take a weak week 17 No. 1 spot. Finish: 4th
2. Kurt Busch (LW-2)- Just ask Kurt how he feels about the guy ahead of him in the rankings this week... If it wasn't for Joey moving him Kurt would have had a nice finish and most likely the top spot this week. Finish: 23rd
3. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Another guy done in by a wreck. Not a ton to say about many of these guys. They have been the best drivers all year and wrecks happen all too often at these tracks. Finish: 39th
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-7)- BK finally got the Daytona bug off of his back. Some of us (me included) have noticed how well BK normally runs at resrictor plate tracks, but it is in full focus after his Firecracker 400 win on Saturday. Finish: 1st
5. Carl Edwards (LW-4)- Add Carl to the list involved in some sort of wreck on Saturday night. Interestingly Jeff Gluck's poll of the weekly races all have night races rated the worst...Finish: 25th
6. Kyle Larson (LW-8)- Larson was actually a guy to keep it mostly clean on Saturday and it paid off with another nice finish. He is putting it together, but its looking more and more like he will still need a win to get in. Finish: 6th
7. Kyle Busch (LW-10)- Kyle was a legit challenger to BK's win on Saturday. He hung out front with him a ton and even lead a few laps. Rowdy has started to turn it back around in his last two races. Finish: 2nd
8. Chase Elliott (LW-5)- This is the first time in a few weeks that Chase actually fell outside the top 5 on the NBTW rankings. However, a road course and plate track back to back is nothing to freak out about. Lets see how he bounces back this weekend. Finish: 32nd
9. Martin Truex Jr (LW-6)- Truex spent some time up front early but ended up being a part of the biggest wreck of the night like many others. Finish: 29th
10. Austin Dillon (LW-NR)- Austin started the race in the top 10 (6th) and ended it right about where he starter. Dillon has been a pretty good plate racer so it isn't a hug surprise to see a top 10 at Daytona. Finish: 7th
11. Matt Kenseth (LW-9)- Once again, another victum of the biggest wreck of the night, Kenseth just tried to salvage the race. It's dissapointing too, because he normally ends up being a factor at the front towards the end of plate races some way or another. Finish: 28th
12. Tony Stewart (LW-12)- For old times, Smoke is keeping his last spot in the rankings. To be honest, not a lot of guys are worthy of the 12th spot after a wreck filled Daytona, so Tony gets to keep the spot dispite a poor run. However, his finish still left him in the top 30 so he is in the Chase as of this race. Finish: 26th

Dropped Out: Jimmie Johnson (LW-11)