Heading to Kansas Speedway this weekend, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin are locked in a tight battle in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Guess who has won the past three Sprint Cup races at Kansas Speedway?
You guessed it — Keselowski, Johnson and Hamlin.
Hamlin won the April race, while Johnson was third and Keselowski 11th.
They'll face a whole new challenge on this week as drivers must adjust to a new, faster racing service after the track was repaved. Green flag for Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 is scheduled for 2:16 p.m. ET. Qualifying is 4 p.m. ET Friday.
But after two days of testing, the cream should rise to the top again.
What to watch for
1. Running on empty
Clint Bowyer won last week’s race at Charlotte when it developed into a fuel-mileage gamble — his third fuel-mileage win of the year.
We could see much of the same this week. Another 1.5-mile track, Kansas also is prone to fuel-mileage finishes.
Keselowski won the June race at Kansas last year on fuel mileage and seems to be better than the top three — excluding Bowyer — at conserving fuel. Though he lost that game last week, he won the Chase race at Dover by stretching his fuel.
Just saying.
2. Darlin' Danica
Some marketing “experts” believe Danica Patrick has lost some of her marketing star power and will wind up in a diminished role with sponsor Go Daddy.
I’m not buying it. I think Patrick will have even more star power when she gets to Sprint Cup full time next year and will find herself in plenty of new, “sexy” commercials for her edgy sponsor.
But first she must step it up a bit in her transition to Cup cars.
Patrick struggled in each of her first seven Cup races, but showed progress on the 1.5-mile tracks. After finishing five laps behind at Charlotte and six laps down at Atlanta, she was two laps back last month at Chicagoland Speedway, where she finished 25th, her best in a Cup race so far.
Patrick also fared better on 1.5-mile tracks in the Nationwide Series, so the race at Kansas — which is similar to Chicago — presents an opportunity for her to gain more ground and perhaps produce her best Cup finish yet.
3. Mr. Smith goes to Kansas
Regan Smith got a raw deal last week when his engine blew in his first race filling in for the concussed Dale Earnhardt Jr.
He gets another chance this week as Earnhardt continues to recover after two concussions in a six-week span.
Earnhardt finished seventh at Kansas in April, so Smith should have a good car and a shot at producing a good finish.
Who’s Hot ...
Kyle Busch — Too bad Busch didn’t make the Chase, because he put together a nice run in the past few weeks. Fifth at Charlotte, Busch has three consecutive top-10 finishes and four in the five Chase races.
Mark Martin — Though he doesn’t run every race, Martin has been a factor recently when he does. He finished sixth at Charlotte and has been in the top 10 in four of his last five races.
Greg Biffle — After getting off to a slow start in the Chase, Biffle has finished in the top 10 in the past two races.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Kansas preview: Kyle Busch didn't make the Chase field, but he's a large part of races every week. (AP Photo)Who’s Not …
Tony Stewart — If Stewart is going to make a miraculous comeback to win the championship, he better start now. After getting off to a decent start in the Chase, Stewart has finished 20th, 22nd and 13th in his past three races and has fallen to eighth in the standings — 50 points behind.
Kevin Harvick — Harvick has finished outside the top 10 in each of the five Chase races and has gradually fallen to 10th in the standings — 56 points behind the leader.
Marcos Ambrose — After competing for a Chase wild card, Ambrose is suffering through his worst stretch of the season. He has finished outside the top 10 in seven consecutive races and has five consecutive finishes of 18th or worse, including 33rd last week at Charlotte.
Favorites
Denny Hamlin — Hamlin has been the year’s best driver on 1.5-mile tracks, where he has two wins and five top-three finishes. He established his prowess on the intermediate tracks by winning at Kansas in April. Now, if he can just get over having his bell rung Thursday in a crash at Kansas.
Martin Truex Jr. — Truex had his best chance to win this season in the April race at Kansas, where he led 173 of 267 laps before finishing second to Hamlin.
Jimmie Johnson — Johnson won this race last year, has two career victories at Kansas and leads in most statistical categories at the track. He has five top-five and 10 top-10s in 12 starts there.
Winningest Active Drivers
Greg Biffle: 2
Jeff Gordon: 2
Tony Stewart: 2
Denny Hamlin: 1
Mark Martin: 1
Joe Nemechek: 1
Ryan Newman: 1
Nationwide Series
Race: Kansas Lottery 300
Track: Kansas Speedway
When: Saturday, 3:46 p.m. ET
Fast facts: Elliott Sadler leads Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 13 points with four races left in the season. … Among series regulars, only veteran Mike Bliss has ever won at Kansas Speedway, and that was in a truck race. … One driver to watch, though, is rookie Austin Dillon, who has two wins and an average finish of 5.1 on 1.5-mile tracks this year. … Only three Sprint Cup regulars will be in this week’s race — Joey Logano, Paul Menard and Kyle Busch.
Favorites
Joey Logano — Logano may be the biggest favorite this weekend that the series has seen all year. He has a series-high eight wins. He won last week’s race at 1.5-mile Charlotte. And he has won two of the last three Nationwide races at Kansas. Enough said.
Austin Dillon — He swept the two races this year at 1.5-mile Kentucky and has the best record among Nationwide regulars at 1.5-mile tracks.
Kyle Busch — He has a Nationwide win there and his winless streak in the series has got to end sometime.
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