Racing Junky

The Sprint Cup Series stayed out east last weekend as the teams headed to Dover International Speedway for the 2nd race of the year at that track, the AAA 400. It was also the 2nd race in the Chase to the Championship and there in laid the hopes of 12 drivers to hold course or to make up for the first race at New Hampshire. Jimmie Johnson won the first race this year at Dover and was the favorite to win the 2nd race. Well, he did not disappoint the experts as he pretty much dominated the whole weekend, taking the pole on Friday and winning the race on Sunday with another dominating Johnson performance. Mark Martin finished 2nd which was enough to hang on to the points lead but Johnson, who has won the Championships the last 3 years, closed with just 10 points of Martin. Johnson was ranked 2nd in last weeks Top 10 list for Dover. This Sunday, we move out west to the Kansas Speedway for the Price Chopper 400. We will examine who among the drivers have done very well at that track and just which driver just can't buy any luck there. The Kansas track is a 1.5 mile tri-oval track with banking in the turns of 15 degrees in the turns, 10.4 degrees in the front stretch and 5 degrees in the back stretch. It is considered a very fast track with qualifying speeds that are in the 180 mile per hour range, while the race record is 119 miles per hour. This race will go 267 laps or 400 miles. There has been only eight races held at the Kansas track and it's track surface should now be seasoned with more then one groove which should lead to some good racing and easier passing then we have seen in previous races. If however, the race goes to long green flag runs by the drivers, you will see a lot of single file racing. With that in mind lets look at the last five races that have been held at the Kansas Speedway.

In the last 5 races at Kansas, there have been four different pole winners at Kansas; Joe Nemechek, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and finally Jimmie Johnson, who has won the last two poles at Kansas. Of the four, Nemechek turned his pole position into a win in 2004 and Johnson pulled off that same feat last year. Of the four pole winners, they all have finished the race in the Top 10 except Kahne, who finished his pole winning race in 33rd place. The average finish of the pole winner is a very respectable 8.60. In the last five races that have been held at the Kansas Speedway, three of the race winners started in the Top 10 but the other two started 19th and 21st. The average starting position of the race winner is 9.80. Matt Kenseth, believe it or not, is the king of qualifying at Kansas with a 5.80 average start in his last five races there. Kenseth has never been known to qualify well but at Kansas he is No#1. Next up is Jimmie Johnson, who has a 6.20 average in his last five races there. He took the pole there last year and parleyed that into yet another win. Elliott Sadler has the 3rd best average, a 8.20 average in his last five starts at the Kansas track. Jeff Gordon is next up with 12.20 and rounding out the Top 5 is Martin Truex Jr with a 12.33 average start.

The top driver at Kansas is none other then one of our Chase drivers, Greg Biffle, who checks in with an impressive 4.20 finishing average. Greg has been great at qualifying here also with an average of 13.60 average so he ends picking up an average of about nine positions per race. He has won here in 2007, finished 2nd, finished 3rd in two races and his worst finish of 12th came back in 2006. Considering how he has done so far in the two other Chase races, it would lead you to believe that he might once again be a threat to for at least finish in the Top 10 on Sunday. The Roush cars have yet to prove that they can win a race this year at tracks they used to excel at so If he does it would come as a surprise to many. Next up as the 2nd best driver is an RCR guy and that guy is Clint Bowyer. Bowyer has been in just three race at Kansas but has established a 7.67 finishing average. He qualifies well there also with a 13.33 average start so he motors forward to the tune of about 6 positions per race. He has finished 9th, 2nd and last year finished 12th so he has been up front of the field. Like the Roush teams, the RCR teams have really struggled this year but Bowyer has proven to be the best of that lot. I am not thinking that Bowyer will be a threat to win the race on Sunday but I think that a Top 10 is certainly possible if all the chips fall just right.

Pulling up with the 3rd best average at Kansas is AJ Allmendinger. AJ hasn't been doing so hot on any of the tracks this year so he has to feel good coming into Kansas with his 9.00 finishing average, in the only race he has been in at Kansas. He qualified fairly well too, checking in with a 14.00 starting average so he ended his day at Kansas by picking up five positions. AJ has done pretty well occasionally on these 1.5 mile cookie cutter tracks so you need to keep an eye on him Sunday to see if he can improve on his averages here and set the stage for better things next year. Mark Martin, has the 4th best average at Kansas with a finishing average of 10.80 finishing average in the five races he has been in at this track. Mark is just a so-so qualifier here with a 19.40 average start. Once the races get under way he averages picking about nine positions a race on average. He has won here at Kansas, back in 2005 and then has tacked on a 3rd place finish, a 12th, an 18th and his worst finish was a 20th place finish. Mark is sitting at the top of the points right now and has done very well on these types of tracks this year. I would not be surprised at all to see him win the pole this weekend and compete for another win. The Hendrick cars should be up front all race and one of them I am betting will come away the winner.

The next driver also comes from the Hendrick stable and that may tip you off the Hendrick cars do pretty good on the Kansas track. In a 5th place is Jimmie Johnson, who also has established a 11.20 average finish in his last five races here. He is an excellent qualifier here with one of the best averages in the series, a 6.20 starting average. He manages to lose an average of five positions per race. He won this race last year from the pole. In his other four races, he 3rd, 6th, 14th and his worst finish came back in 2004, a 32nd place finish. Jimmie runs all tracks well and runs the cookie cutter tracks better then 99% of the drivers in the series. The fact that he won last wee at Dover and is coming back to a track he won at last year just has to send shivers thru the rest of the Chase field. Johnson would be my favorite to repeat again this year baring a hiccup somewhere in the race. Casey Mears checks in with the 6th best average at Kansas with a 11.80 average finish. He struggles in qualifying here, checking in with a 22.80 starting average. He has been aggressive here and that has allowed him to march past better qualifiers, as he picks up an average of ten positions per race. In his first race here of the five that we are looking at, he recorded his worst finish, a 31st back in 2004. He followed that up with an 8th place finish, a 2nd and then a 4th place finish. Last year he was able to muster his way to a 14th place finish. It would be interesting to see if he can duplicate any of his previous success here considering how much those RCR cars have struggled this year. I think anything in the Top 15 this weekend would make for a satisfying weekend for Mears and team.

David Ragan is next up as the 7th best driver at the Kansas Speedway with a 12.00 finishing average. David is a good qualifier on the Kansas track with a 15.00 starting average so he ends up picking up positions on average before the race ends, to the tune of three positions a race. David has been in just two races at the Kansas Speedway and he has a 16th place finish to go with an 8th place finish last year. There were high expectations for David coming into this season but as with the rest of the Roush crowd, he has struggled all year. The biggest problem is that he has struggled worst then the other Roush drivers and I don't think anyone knows the reason why. I don't expect a lot out of him this weekend so if he does do something special, like a Top 10 finish, I would be pleasantly surprised. The 8th best driver this week at Kansas is another Chase driver, Brian Vickers with a 13.25 finishing average. Vickers is an excellent qualifier here checking in with a 13.75 average start although he failed to qualify for the race back in 2007. So he has been in four races in the last five with his best finish coming in 2006, an 8th place finish. In his other three, he has a 11th place finish, a 19th and then last year he finished 15th. Vickers and team are much improved this year and he has done extremely well on the cookie cutter tracks this year. I would look for him to qualify in the Top 10 and also finish in the Top 10 on Sunday. Anything less would be a disappointing weekend for Vickers.

The final two drivers to crack the Top 10 list are Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon. The next guy in our Top 10 list this week is Carl Edwards, who is another one of our Chase drivers to make the list this week. Edwards cracks the list this week with the 9th best finishing average of 14.00. Carl isn't the greatest of qualifiers here with a 21.80 starting average but he has made the most of that, moving forward by an average of seven positions per race. In his five races here, Carl has finished 22nd, 3rd, 6th, 37th and last year he broke thru to take a 2nd place finish at Kansas. Carl like the rest of the Roush crowd has struggled and it is a huge surprise that he has yet to win a race this year. I would expect at least a Top 10 finish out of Carl this weekend but considering how the year has went so far, anything is possible for Carl. The final driver in our Top 10 list this week is Jeff Gordon. Jeff is the 3rd member of the Hendrick crowd to crack the Top 10 list this week and he does so with a 14.20 finishing average. Jeff is another excellent qualifier at Kansas with an 12.20 starting average. So he averages losing about two positions a race. Jeff won the first two races that were held at Kansas but in the last five races, his best finish was a 4th place finish last year. In the other four races he has a 13th place finish, a 10th, an awful 39th place finish and then rebounded to finish 5th in 2007. Jeff needs to have a big weekend at Kansas to keep himself in the Chase picture but perhaps his biggest competition will come from his Hendrick teammates, Martin and Johnson. He will have his hands full trying to race against these two guys but I think he will at least crack the Top 10 and with luck, maybe get himself a Top 5 finish.

Rank	Driver	Races	Avg Start	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Avg Finish
1	Greg Biffle	5	13.60	0	1	4	4	4.20
2	Clint Bowyer	3	13.33	0	0	1	2	7.67
3	A.J. Allmendinger	1	14.00	0	0	0	1	9.00
4	Mark Martin	5	19.40	0	1	2	2	10.80
5	Jimmie Johnson	5	6.20	2	1	2	3	11.20
6	Casey Mears	5	22.80	0	0	2	3	11.80
7	David Ragan	2	15.00	0	0	0	1	12.00
8	Brian Vickers	4	13.75	0	0	0	1	13.25
9	Carl Edwards	5	21.80	0	0	2	3	14.00
10	Jeff Gordon	5	12.20	0	0	2	3	14.20

Now that was the 10 best drivers at Kansas in the last 10 races, now lets look at the drivers, who just haven't done real well at the Kansas Speedway and they just don't have real good records here.

I normally don't spend a lot of time going over the drivers who are not the best at certain tracks and you can pretty much see for yourself who the are. Some make the list every week and other make a rare appearance in the Bottom 10. There is a few drivers that really jump out at you at the bottom of this list I think. Joey Logano, the obvious choice for Rookie of the Year, Marcos Ambrose and Martin Truex Jr. All are capable of much better finishes and have much better finishes on the cookie cutter tracks. Keep you eyes on all three of them on Sunday to see if maybe they can improve their averages here.

Rank	Driver	Races	Avg Start	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Avg Finish
41	Michael Waltrip	5	27.40	0	0	0	0	30.20
42	Terry Labonte	3	28.00	0	0	0	0	30.67
43	Martin Truex Jr.	3	12.33	0	0	0	0	30.67
44	Scott Wimmer	2	20.50	0	0	0	0	31.50
45	Regan Smith	1	35.00	0	0	0	0	32.00
46	John Andretti	1	28.00	0	0	0	0	33.00
47	Sam Hornish Jr.	1	23.00	0	0	0	0	33.00
48	Mike Wallace	1	15.00	0	0	0	0	35.00
49	Marcos Ambrose	1	20.00	0	0	0	0	36.00
50	Joey Logano	1	28.00	0	0	0	0	39.00

So there you have the best and the worst drivers at the Kansas Speedway. How well they do in the Price Chopper 400 is anybodies guess but this is a good barometer. I hope all these drivers will have better luck this Sunday at Kansas.

Rank	Driver	Races	Avg Start	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Avg Finish
11	Jeremy Mayfield	3	14.33	0	0	1	1	14.33
12	Elliott Sadler	5	8.20	0	0	1	3	14.80
13	Mike Bliss	1	28.00	0	0	0	0	15.00
14	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	5	15.00	0	0	0	3	15.20
15	Matt Kenseth	5	5.80	1	0	2	2	17.00
16	Kevin Harvick	5	23.20	0	0	0	2	17.20
17	Kurt Busch	5	16.40	0	0	0	1	17.20
18	Jeff Burton	5	27.60	0	0	1	2	18.20
19	Kasey Kahne	5	16.40	1	0	0	1	18.80
20	Tony Stewart	5	22.80	0	1	2	2	19.60
21	Bill Elliott	2	23.00	0	0	0	0	20.50
22	David Stremme	2	38.00	0	0	0	0	21.50
23	Jamie McMurray	5	23.40	0	0	0	1	21.60
24	Joe Nemechek	5	20.40	1	1	1	1	22.20
25	Sterling Marlin	3	23.00	0	0	0	0	22.33
26	Denny Hamlin	4	16.75	0	0	0	0	22.50
27	Tony Raines	3	34.33	0	0	0	0	23.00
28	Dave Blaney	4	28.00	0	0	0	0	23.00
29	Juan Montoya	2	31.50	0	0	0	0	24.00
30	Travis Kvapil	3	35.67	0	0	0	0	25.00
31	David Reutimann	2	32.50	0	0	0	0	25.00
32	Reed Sorenson	3	19.00	0	0	0	1	25.33
33	David Gilliland	3	24.67	0	0	0	0	26.00
34	Kyle Busch	5	20.60	0	0	0	1	26.80
35	Paul Menard	2	14.50	0	0	0	0	27.00
36	Bobby Labonte	5	22.60	0	0	0	0	27.60
37	Ryan Newman	5	18.00	0	0	0	0	27.80
38	Scott Riggs	5	19.60	0	0	0	0	29.00
39	Patrick Carpentier	1	19.00	0	0	0	0	29.00
40	Robby Gordon	4	36.25	0	0	0	0	30.00

Top 10 drivers - Bottom 10 Drivers

at the Kansas Speedway

by Skip Jefferson