FYI WIRZ: NASCAR's Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and More Talk No. 18 at Kentucky

When the green flag drops at Kentucky Speedway's Sprint Cup race, drivers will make a historic first lap for the series. When the checkered flags waves, only one driver will claim the distinction of being the first winner. 

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) brings its top-level Sprint Cup racing to the 1.5-mile tri-oval with 14 degree banking for the Quaker State 400 in Sparta, Ky., for the first time since the track was built in 2000. This race, 18th of 36, marks the halfway point for the NSCS season. 
 
Television fans can view packed stands and the field of stock cars when they rev up at 7:30 p.m. on TNT Saturday night.  

Although the track has hosted NASCAR Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series and IZOD IndyCar Series races over the past decade, it has never had a Sprint Cup Series event.

Many Sprint Cup drivers have tested at Kentucky and others have race experience in NNS and NCWTS there, so the track won’t be new to most. 

This week, Kevin Harvick nudged Carl Edwards for the top spot in the NSCS points lead, with Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth rounding out the Top 5 positions. All had comments going into the Quaker State 400.      

FYI WIRZ is the select presentation of topics by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com. 

     
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Chevrolet)

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“I’d say every one of us has been there in some way, shape or form. Some of the guys may not have raced there, but I know for me, when I first raced there was in 2001. Through the years, there has been a lot of testing that has taken place at that particular race track. I think it’s a racetrack everyone is pretty familiar with, but not familiar with this new-style car there, as everything was probably done with the old car. So it’ll still be a challenge for sure.

“I think just knowing that the tire is good. It’s a very durable tire. You’re not on edge. I think the biggest thing is just putting that to bed and knowing that we’re not going to have any tire issues. For me, I’m a rhythm racer. I’m not going to be one of those guys who’s just going to go out there and shove the thing in the fence by just trying to go fast right off the bat. I’m going to creep up and kind of know the limits of my car and keep pushing them until I feel like that’s the edge.”

 

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Carl Edwards (No. 99 Ford)

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“I think everyone is in for a surprise with the fans. The fans there will be just insane. That is one of the neatest parts about going to Kentucky.

“Also the track has so many bumps and different lines you can run that I think it will be a lot better racing than we see at a lot of these 1.5-mile race tracks. I think it will be a great race and one that people look at and think that anybody can win it. I think we will have more passing there because of the bumps and you go through turns one and two and there are places with huge bumps and also really smooth lines. In the Nationwide race it was real hit and miss. If you go through a line perfect you would be fast. If you missed it you would be slow. In the Cup series the gap between cars is so small that if a guy misses a line one time, one or two guys might get by him. It is going to be neat and a little more old school.”

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Kyle Busch (No. 18 Toyota)

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“It’s a great opportunity for the speedway to have the triple there this weekend—the Trucks, the Nationwide cars and the Sprint Cup cars there, all together. For their first Sprint Cup weekend, it’s not just a standalone event, and it’s not just a Nationwide Series and Cup Series event. It’s all three. It’s big for the speedway.

“I couldn’t expect anything but some good, hard racing. Kentucky is a fast racetrack. There are a lot of sweeping corners, there, so you’ve really got to keep your momentum going and it’s a big momentum-type racetrack. There’s a lot of throttle-on time there. You carry a lot of good speed but, yet, the place is really wide, so you’ve got room for maneuverability. You can run the bottom. It seems like you can run the middle. I don’t know how great the top will be, but we’ll have to see once we get there and what kind of tire we’re on.”

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Kurt Busch (No. 22 Dodge)

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“This is unchartered territory for the Cup teams, that’s for sure. It’s true that most all the drivers in the Cup garage have probably tested there at one time or another. But testing there and racing there are two completely different animals. I’ve actually raced there before, but it was in the trucks during my first year out and I was just a hard-charging Vegas kid trying to make it to the big league.

“This is definitely a weekend that I’d label as being ‘cautiously optimistic’ in that it’s a new adventure for everyone. The Penske marketing guys tell me that the speedway says it’s a complete sellout for Saturday night at Kentucky and that’s just the shot in the arm that our sport needs right now.”

 

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Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Ford)

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“I really don't have any experience with the track at Kentucky. We used to test there quite a bit before the testing rules came into place but I've probably only been there three or four times in my career. I've never raced there and I’ve never been in competition at Kentucky so I don't know a lot about the track. But I'm looking forward to getting there, getting on the track. It's always really fun to go to a new racetrack and to run the first Cup race they ever have there because there's so much excitement from the fans and the people from the surrounding areas and cities and all that, for us to come there and race.”

 

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Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained from official release materials provided by NASCAR.

Photo credit: Dwight Drum at Racetake.com