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Chase History: Kansas Speedway

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

October 8, 2011 12:00 pm CDT No Comments

#14 Tony Stewart turn 2 Michigan International Speedway heisler sum 11

Can Tony Stewart reclaim the Sprint Cup points lead by taking his third career Kansas win? (Photo: Beth Heisler)

2011 marks the first season that Kansas Speedway has ever hosted two races at NASCAR’s highest level, but its fall race has been a part of the Chase for the Sprint Cup since the format’s inception. All but twice, its winner has been a Chase driver; in one of the exceptions, the winner, Tony Stewart, was the top non-Chase driver on the season.

Stewart, in fact, is one of only three drivers to score two wins at the track, tied for the all-time lead. His victories came in 2006, the season where he just missed the Chase, and 2009, his fourth win in his first season driving for his own team. With eight top-10s in his 11 starts, he has an average finish of 11.9 that’s good for fifth among active drivers.

But the two other drivers to win multiple races have done a bit better. He isn’t in this year’s Chase, but Greg Biffle is the defending race winner (as well as the 2007 winner, under controversial circumstances) and will start from the pole on Sunday. In five of his 10 Kansas starts, he’s led 37 laps or more; in seven of 10, he’s come home with at least a top five finish.

The gold standard, however, is Jeff Gordon, who has nine top-10s in 11 Kansas starts and lays down a consistent run every time he shows up. Gordon won the first two Kansas races, in 2001 and 2002, the first coming on the way to his fourth career championship. In each of his past five starts, he’s finished fifth or better, giving Stewart a run for his money in the 2009 race. Another strong Kansas run could be just what he needs to pull back into the Chase hunt after the first three races have left him ninth in points.

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kansas Speedway, Tony Stewart 

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2011 STP 400

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

June 2, 2011 2:25 pm CDT No Comments

You know, it’s kind of bitterly ironic that I’m writing a preview for a NASCAR race in Kansas just a day after tornadoes pummeled my home state of Massachusetts. The amount of Wizard of Oz jokes that I had to put up with yesterday was simply unbearable, let me tell you. And now that the Sprint Cup Series is officially in Kansas, running its first summer race there, I’m sure that the jokes are going to go even further.

Come on, tell me that the teams are clicking their heels together and saying “there’s no place like home” after being in Charlotte for two weeks. Tell me that crew chiefs are singing “If I Only Had a Brain” after the Coca-Cola 600 became a fuel mileage race. Really, I dare you. Suck the last remaining fun I can still make out of punnery… oh, sorry, I’m just bitter right now, don’t mind me. We’ve got a race to talk about.

Kansas is one of those tracks that’s recent enough of an addition to the NASCAR schedule that some drivers have competed in all of its races, but old enough that there’s still a solid historical base with which to work as far as making predictions goes. And so:

Greg Biffle: In the past seven races at Kansas, Da Biff has finished worse than third only once. That was a 12th-place finish, back in 2006. The next year, he won the track’s only race. We’ll see if his strong showings every October will translate to June as well.

Jeff Gordon: The guy who won the first two races at Kansas has been usurped as king of the track by Biffle, but he’s still a threat every time the Sprint Cup Series swings through. Since a fuel pump gave out and ruined his 2006 race, he’s finished in the top five every time he’s raced at the track. This race could provide the perfect opportunity to regain some of that momentum lost after winning the season’s second race at Phoenix. Doesn’t that seem like an eternity ago?

A.J. Allmendinger: God, this kid is overdue for his first career win, isn’t he? But karma is on his side this week, as he drives an STP-sponsored car for Richard Petty in a race sponsored by STP. By average finish, Kansas is the ‘Dinger’s third best track, with an average run of 12.0; that’s also fifth best of active Sprint Cup drivers, topping such stars as Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, and Kevin Harvick.

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kansas Speedway, NASCAR Fantasy Gaming 

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Price Chopper 400

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

September 30, 2010 11:05 am CDT No Comments

Greg Biffle-pit-stop New Hampshire

Greg Biffle-pit-stop New Hampshire

Get ready for an uncomfortable amount of Wizard of Oz puns – the Sprint Cup Series heads to the Kansas Speedway this weekend for the Price Chopper 400.

We are now two races into this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, and already the contenders and pretenders are beginning to separate themselves. Denny Hamlin will be in the running. Jimmie Johnson, obviously, will too. Carl Edwards could steal the title with a couple of well-timed victories, while Kyle Busch may quietly (believe it or not!) be there at the end as well.

But Hamlin now holds the largest lead in Chase history after two races, 35 points over Johnson, meaning that this weekend’s results will be intensely critical for all Chasers. Can Hamlin extend that lead by beating Johnson and the field, or will a bad day for the No. 11 team, combined with a great day for a mid-Chase car, shake up the points?

My personal pick for the weekend lies within the Roush Fenway camp. I know I’ve gone on the record multiple times saying that Greg Biffle has been anonymous within the Chase, and I still believe he has been. But Juan Pablo Montoya was anonymous all season, and he still managed to dominate at Watkins Glen and Indianapolis. Likewise, Biffle is a Kansas star, with five podium finishes in eight starts and no finishes with Roush worse than 12th. His average finish is a flat 9.0. Safe bet? I think so.

My dark horse pick for the weekend is one A.J. Allmendinger. The ‘Dinger has only made two starts at Kansas, finishing ninth in 2008 and 17th last year, but this pick comes from examining the No. 43 team’s momentum. At Dover last weekend, the Richard Petty Motorsports team was one of the best in the field, qualifying second and battling back from getting caught off the lead lap. They’re beginning to show that the King’s race team is once again respectable and setting some high goals for 2011.

Three more, because we can:

The only driver to outpace Biffle at Kansas is Jeff Gordon, one of those mid-Chase drivers who desperately needs to make a statement with a victory. There’s no better place for him to do it; winner of the track’s first two races, his average finish is a fantastic 8.9, making Kansas his second-best Chase track. You try not to count a guy out of the Chase this early, but judging by the rest of the Chase schedule, this weekend may be now or never for him.

Clint Bowyer, too, has a solid track record at Kansas. He’s got a second place finish, which came during his improbable 2007 run to third in the championship, and an average finish of a respectable 11.0. But most of Bowyer’s mojo will come from an even greater desire to win the championship with NASCAR’s sanctions upon the team. He and RCR aren’t too happy with the perceived dog and pony show in appeals, and will be looking to show everybody that they don’t need to cheat to win.

Finally, Brad Keselowski only has one Cup start at Kansas, but he managed to qualify third and finish 13th in it. Not a bad run for the Kez, who’s been getting a whole lot of love from me since his pole run at Loudon. He gives an excellent press conference. Hate him or love him, he’s the sport’s next big thing.

Filed under: Kansas Speedway, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing 

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 AAA 400

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

September 23, 2010 8:12 am CDT No Comments

This weekend’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway marks the second of 10 races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Dominated last year by Jimmie Johnson, it will be the second consecutive race on a one-mile oval, although unlike New Hampshire the Dover track is heavily banked.

Clint Bowyer shocked us all by winning last weekend’s race at Loudon, but the news that his team altered rear end parts may have dried up all hope for that team. Bowyer’s whopping 150-point penalty basically makes it as if he finished last in the race, and puts him back in 12th in the Chase standings.

Yet again, we’ll stick with the tradition of picking one Chase driver as our lead driver each race in the Chase, and not re-using them for the duration of the event. This means Denny Hamlin (second place last weekend) can’t be my lead pick. So who will be this weekend? And who else looks good at Dover?

I’m going to go with Carl Edwards this time around. While Roush Fenway is struggling in the Chase standings, with all of its three candidates in the bottom half of the standings, Edwards showed a lot in the early to middle stages at Loudon. At Dover, his 7.9 average finish makes him the only driver to keep that stat in the single digits. Might as well use him up while he’s hot.

As for a dark horse pick, consider semi-local boy Martin Truex Jr., the New Jersey native who picked up his first career Sprint Cup win at the Monster Mile. He won the pole for the Dover spring race and has posted a solid 14.9 average finish, buoyed by three top-10s.

Three more for the road:

I’ll state once more that I want to save Jimmie Johnson for the end of the Chase (or as close to it as I can), but he’s statistically the second best finisher at Dover behind Edwards. His 10.2 comes from a magnificent five wins in 17 starts, while he has led at least 100 laps six times (including in each of the past three Dover events). Solid? I think so.

Next up, Greg Biffle hasn’t failed to complete a lap at Dover since the fall of 2005. Even then, that was a single lap. In that stretch of nine races since, Biffle has scored one of his two Dover wins and eight top-10s, with a worst finish of 13th. Despite Roush’s uncertainty after their New Hampshire runs, Biffle’s always a strong Dover contender.

Finally, for a left-field pick, consider Brad Keselowski. Last week’s pole winner has a strong Dover record in the Nationwide Series, scoring a victory in the spring of last year that helped propel his rise to Sprint Cup. Since joining JR Motorsports in that series, and now driving for Penske Racing, he has finished no worse than seventh in six Dover starts.

Filed under: Dover International Speedway, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing 

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Irwin Tools Night Race

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

August 18, 2010 5:59 pm CDT No Comments

If NASCAR had to, for some strange reason, pare down the Sprint Cup season to only five races, this weekend’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway would be almost certain to make the cut.

The rough-and-tumble racing that Bristol is famous for, under the Saturday night lights in the dog days of summer, provides fans with a powder keg that’s ready to explode at any moment – and frequently does, claiming many contenders along the way. Many fans will never forget Dale Earnhardt punting Terry Labonte out of the way to win the 1999 edition, nor the post-race fireworks between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch a couple years ago.

So who’s got a shot at surviving the event and driving into victory lane this year?

Bristol is one of Busch’s best tracks, and its tendency to produce interesting and exciting on-track action makes it a perfect fit for him. His 10.1 average finish trumps all other active drivers. Besides this spring’s aberration, Busch hadn’t failed to lead in a Bristol race since his 2005 rookie season. He has three wins at the track, and top-two finishes in three of the past four Bristol events. He’s my pick.

My dark horse pick for this weekend is Marcos Ambrose, who had finishes of 10th and 3rd at Bristol last year but a dismal 33rd this past spring. Now that he and JTG Daugherty Racing have both announced plans for 2011 that don’t involve one another, they might just mail it in until the end of the year. On the other hand, they could both step up their game, showing their new partners (Richard Petty Motorsports for Ambrose, Bobby Labonte for JTG) a commitment to a strong year next year.

Three more, because we can:

Greg Biffle, despite having never won at Bristol in a Sprint Cup car, has the second best average finish of active drivers at the track, a solid 11.0. He’s got six top fives and nine top-10s in 15 starts. His Roush Fenway Racing team is also peaking at the right time, finding victory lane and the front of the pack these past few weeks in the wake of owner Jack Roush’s plane crash. Roush cars won this race each year from 2005 to 2008, and there’s no reason to think they can’t again.

Kevin Harvick is the only driver to have a Chase berth right now. Coming off that clinch, his Michigan victory, and a lucrative sponsorship deal with Budweiser for 2011, Happy’s gotta be living up to his nickname right now, and the momentum can certainly carry into Bristol. Harvick can be Superman at Bristol – while the box score for his 2005 victory at the track says he started 13th, he actually started dead last due to unapproved impound work and passed every car in the field for the victory.

Finally, Kurt Busch has the second-best winning percentage at Bristol of active drivers, behind only brother Kyle. And while four of his five wins came in 2004 or earlier, he showed us all a thing or two about how to race at Bristol this spring, leading a race-high 278 laps and finishing third. While Jimmie Johnson may have used that race to get the Bristol monkey off his back, Busch showed the field that he had his old Bristol magic back.

Filed under: Bristol Motor Speedway, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing 

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Showtime Southern 500

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

May 6, 2010 10:34 am CDT 1 Comment

The Showtime Southern 500 is one of the most popular races on the Sprint Cup Series schedule. The 11th race on the schedule, it marks Darlington Raceway’s lone stop on the tour, and a win here marks a highlight of most drivers’ careers.

Richmond winner Kyle Busch may have a win at Darlington in five starts, but other than that has had some pretty rotten luck with the Lady in Black. He has three finishes of 23rd or worse, including two finishes in the bottom 10 of the field. It’s safe to say that he hasn’t quite figured out the Track Too Tough to Tame just yet.

One driver who has, though, is Jimmie Johnson. Shocker, right? Yes, Johnson is good just about everywhere, but at only three tracks does he have a better average finish than the 6.9 he’s put up in 11 Darlington starts. Two wins and nine top-10s show remarkable consistency, even for an all-world talent like Four-Time. He’s my pick for the weekend, meaning Jeff Gordon is going to put him in the wall or something. Oh well.

As for a dark horse, I’m going with Brad Keselowski on a hunch. He’s won his past two Nationwide races, and it’s about time that things work out on the Cup side. Consistent top-15 and top-20 finishes in five of the six races since his Atlanta joyride suggest that he’s getting a grasp of what it takes to succeed. He finished 7th in the Southern 500 last year, in his only Cup start at Darlington.

Three more for the show:

Jeff Gordon has seven Darlington wins, tied with Martinsville for the most he has at any track. Gordon’s average finish of 11.3 is fifth-best of active drivers with multiple Darlington starts. It’s more of a testament to how strong he is universally, but that only ranks the track as only his 11th best. Seven wins and 20 top-10s in 29 starts, and only his 11th best track. Food for thought for the Hall of Fame committee in a couple years.

Defending race champion Mark Martin has two wins at Darlington, the other coming in the fall of 1993, the fourth race he had won in a row that year. Martin’s 26 top-10s rank behind only Bill Elliott in quantity, and his average finish of 12.0 puts him eighth of active drivers with multiple Darlington starts.

Finally, when Greg Biffle is on at Darlington, he’s on. Da Biff has an average start of 8.2, ranking behind only Gordon in drivers with multiple starts. He won this race in 2005 and 2006, has led laps in seven of his nine Darlington starts (five times leading 70 or more), and won the pole in 2008. Unfortunately, his engine let go that year and relegated him to last place, hurting his average finish of 14.0. Biffle’s 117 laps led were the most of anybody last year, and his driver rating of 128.3 was tops among the field.

Filed under: Brad Kesolowski, Darlington Speedway, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, jimmie johnson 

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