NASCAR at Kansas 2015: Preview and Prediction for SpongeBob SquarePants 400
Somehow, we've already found ourselves in May this year, which means it's time for NASCAR's first stop of the year at Kansas Speedway.
Coming off an exciting Sunday at Talladega that saw Dale Earnhardt Jr. notch an emotional win and Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard, Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. round out the top five, the drivers will hopefully put on another entertaining show under the lights Saturday night.
If they need some help in the entertainment department, this year's race will have a very famous sponsor, as SpongeBob SquarePants will make his NASCAR debut.
With 10 races in the books in 2015, we have eight drivers who look to be safely in the Chase. However, many of last year's biggest names, including Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson, are still looking for their first trip to Victory Lane this year.
Here's everything you need to know to prepare for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400.
By the Numbers: Kansas Speedway
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Spongebob Squarepants 400
Place: Kansas Speedway
Date: Saturday, May 9
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox Sports 1
Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM Channel 90
Distance: 267 laps, 400.5 miles
Defending race winner: Jeff Gordon
Youngest Kansas winner: Joey Logano (24 years, 4 months, 11 days)
Oldest Kansas winner: Mark Martin (46 years, 9 months, 0 days)
Defending pole winner: Kevin Harvick
Youngest Kansas pole winner: Jason Leffler (26 years, 0 months, 14 days)
Oldest Kansas pole winner: Mark Martin (50 years, 8 months, 25 days)
Track Notes
- There have been 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway: one NSCS event each year from 2001-2010 and two races per year since 2011.
- A total of 117 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas; 89 have been in more than one.
- Five drivers have started all 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway: Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman.
- Eleven drivers have Coors Light poles at Kansas; Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne each have three.
- Twelve different drivers have won at Kansas Speedway; Jeff Gordon has three wins.
- Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-five finishes at Kansas Speedway with 10; Greg Biffle follows with seven.
- Jimmie Johnson leads the series in top-10 finishes at Kansas Speedway with 14, followed by Jeff Gordon (12) and Carl Edwards (11).
- Joey Logano leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Kansas Speedway at 10.818.
- Kyle Larson (7.000) leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Kansas Speedway; Jimmie Johnson (9.529) is the only other driver with an average finish inside the top 10.
Statistics courtesy of NASCAR media relations
Key Storylines
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Will Jeff Gordon Finally Get That Win?
OK, this is getting ridiculous now. We're 10 races into the season, and Jeff Gordon still doesn't have a victory in his swan-song season. Gordon has raced well, but silly mistakes have derailed him—two late pit-road speeding penalties in particular.
However, No. 24 is the defending champion at the spring Kansas race, and he'll be looking to recapture that magic. Until he gets a win this year to get into the Chase, this will be the storyline to watch.
Can Dale Earnhardt Jr. Win Back-to-Back Races for the First Time in His Career?
Junior had an incredibly emotional victory at Talladega last week, winning on the track his dad loved so much for the first time in over a decade. With the pressure of making the Chase off of his shoulders and momentum on his side, he'll be looking to get back-to-back victories for the first time in his career.
Is Erik Jones Ready For the Big Leagues?
A couple of weeks ago, 18-year-old Erik Jones got thrown into the fire when he was called up as a replacement for Denny Hamlin during a rain delay in Bristol. He didn't even have a chance to adjust the seat to his specifications.
This week, Jones will take over Kyle Busch's No. 18 car and is expected to stay there for Joe Gibbs Racing until Busch returns from his injury. It will be interesting to see how Jones does in his first Sprint Cup start, particularly since he'll have a bit more time to prepare this week.
How Will Sam Hornish Jr. Adapt to a New Crew Chief?
Just days after his first top-10 finish of the season, Sam Hornish Jr. is facing a big transition, as Richard Petty Motorsports has announced Kevin "Bono" Manion will replace Drew Blickensderfer as crew chief of the No. 9 car.
Hornish drove in Sprint Cup with Penske a few years ago but hasn't had a full-time ride in the sport's premier division since 2010, until RPM picked him up in the offseason. The 35-year-old former Indy Cup driver has to hope this is the change that will help his second chance take off.
Drivers to Watch
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Kasey Kahne
The often-overlooked Hendrick Motorsports driver has been under the radar this season, notching four top-10s and a current 11th-place spot in the Chase standings. He'd like to justify his offseason contract extension with a victory, though.
While he hasn't won at Kansas in his career, Kahne has driven well on this track; he's won the pole twice and notched four top-five finishes in his last seven starts there. This could be a great weekend for him.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Junior was the favorite last week at Talladega, but he's rightly not one this week. Not only has he never won back-to-back races in his career, but he's also never driven well at Kansas—he has only two top-five finishes at the track and zero victories. Still, if he can use his emotions as fuel instead of distraction, he could be dangerous.
Greg Biffle
It hasn't been a great start to the season for Greg Biffle (or, really, the entire Roush Fenway Racing organization). The 45-year-old's best finish of the season was 10th in the Daytona 500. But Biffle has two career wins at Kansas and seven top-fives. I don't see him having the speed to get his third win at the track, but Biffle is certainly a threat to get his first top-five finish of 2015 on Saturday night.
Danica Patrick
Patrick had tough luck last week, as transmission woes killed her momentum on restarts and saw her finish 21st after running as high as sixth late in the race. But she's having her best Sprint Cup season so far and is currently lucky 16th in the Chase standings, with two top-10 finishes under her belt. She finished seventh at this race last year, so keep an eye on the No. 10.
To say it's been a rough season for Smoke would be putting it mildly, but he has shown signs of life the past couple of weeks, particularly at Talladega, where he was in the mix before a late aggressive move saw him drift back in the pack. He has two wins at Kansas in his career, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him get the No. 14 back on track this weekend.
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Kevin Harvick
Harvick has won the last three poles at Kansas and has a win and a runner-up finish in those three races. It's safe to say he feels comfortable there. The No. 4 already has seven top-fives and two victories in 2015 and could easily add to that impressive tally Saturday.
Jeff Gordon
Last year, Gordon got the first win of his season in this race, and that's certainly what the future retiree is hoping to replicate Saturday. Gordon has a total of three wins at Kansas and an impressive 10.28 average finish in 18 races. If he can avoid the mistakes that doomed him earlier this year, he could finally make his way to Victory Lane.
Brad Keselowski
Keselowski has one victory and four top-10s at Kansas Speedway in just 10 starts, but last year, he did not have any success at the track, finishing 13th in the spring and 36th in the fall. The aggressive Penske driver will be bound and determined to improve upon that, especially after struggling the past three weeks with finishes of 22nd, 17th and 35th.
Kurt Busch
Since coming back from his suspension, the elder Busch brother has had one of the fastest cars. It would be a surprise if he wasn't a factor late in the race at Kansas. The only problem is, inexplicably, he hasn't done well at this track in his career, with only one top-five and four top-10s in 18 starts.
Jimmie Johnson
Johnson has two wins at Kansas, and he had an incredible streak of 11 straight top-10 finishes at the track until a crash in the race last fall caused him to finish 40th and all but ended his dreams of advancing in the Chase.
After playing second fiddle to his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. last week in Talladega—controversially so, according to some who thought he "let" Junior win—Johnson will be eager to get back to his winning ways this week.
Joey Logano
Remember this year's Daytona 500 champion who looked so unstoppable earlier in 2015? Well, two crashes in the past three races have put a mild damper on his impressive season. However, Logano won at Kansas last fall in the Chase, and with eight top-10s and five top-fives in 10 races this year, it would be simply nuts to count him out.
The Dark Horse
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That's right—I think this will finally be the week Tony Stewart puts together a full race and makes his case for a spot in Victory Lane.
Smoke's slump has been well-publicized, and rightly so. The three-time Sprint Cup champion hasn't won a race in almost two years, and this year, he has only one top-10 finish in 10 races. However, that particular finish was sixth place at Bristol three weeks ago, and his finishes in the last two weeks aren't necessarily reflective of his competitiveness during the races.
Two weeks ago at Richmond, he was running well until a crash with Dale Earnhardt Jr. took him out of the race and led to a 41st-place finish. Last week at Talladega, Stewart led a few laps and was driving as high as third late in the race until an attempted pass saw him drift back and finish 19th.
He's been struggling to figure out the new racing package this year, but if the last three weeks are any indication, he's getting closer to comfort.
"It's like I'm in the middle of a calculus equation, and I didn't take pre-calculus," Stewart told Holly Cain of NASCAR.com. "I'm working on it."
Stewart has had success at Kansas Speedway before, and I expect Smoke to put on a show under the lights Saturday night.
And the Winner Is: Joey Logano
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At the end of Saturday night, I expect we'll see a familiar smile in Victory Lane: Mr. Joey Logano.
I already mentioned Logano has had some rotten luck the last few weeks, with crashes ruining his days at Bristol and Talladega. However, as long as his car has gotten through the race intact, he's been a contender—all of his other finishes are top-10s, with five top-fives.
He's also been completely dominating the Xfinity Series—in five starts this year, he has three victories and two runner-ups.
Yes, it's simply good to be Logano these days—particularly at Kansas, where his last three starts have all ended in top-five finishes, including the big-time Chase win last fall. He's fast, he's confident and he's strategic, which is a lethal combination.
I predict the driver of the No. 22 will join Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon as repeat winners at Kansas Speedway this weekend.
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