Kansas Speedway: Round Three of NASCAR’s Chase

---

Copyright © 2008 Bench Racing Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
If you are not reading this article in a news reader, the website you are viewing it on is guilty of copyright infringement.
Please report this site through the contact link on OnPitRow.com.
(digital signature: 0cfdbe0a46fcc45c1d0ce390e8adfabc)

---

Greg Biffle won this race in 2007.  But Biffle wasn’t in the Chase last year.  Three of the last four Kansas Speedway Sprint Cup race winners were non-Chase contenders in fact. 

The Biff is in the Chase this time and coming off a sweep of the first two rounds of the 2008 Chase to the Cup.  He has the number one Loop Data Driver Rating for Kansas Speedway - 118.5 - and the second best combined Driver Rating - 106.5 - when averaging in the season-to-date stats.  His average position in the three Loop Data races is 6.4 and he has run more laps in the top 15 - 702 for 94.4 percent - than anyone else.  And only one driver has won more races than Biffle - 13 -  on NASCAR’s intermediate tracks in the last five years.  Greg Biffle looks pretty studdly this week.

And so does the only driver with more intermediate track wins than the Biff.  That would be Jimmy Johnson with 23.  Johnson has something else that Biffle wants.  Greg is going for three straight Sprint Cup wins.  The last driver to pull that off is Johnson, who won four in a row at the end of the 2007 Chase.  Jimmy has the second best Kansas Driver Rating - 115.6 - but the top combined DR at 110.5.  Johnson has one top five and four top tens, but is winless at Kansas.

Anybody but Johnson

Carl Edwards leads the Sprint Cup standings.  His Driver Ratings for Kansas are a ninth best 90.2 for the Speedway and a combined fourth - 98.5 - when factoring in 2008 season-to-date.  Carl is part of  the surging Roush-Fenway organization.  Along with Biffle and Matt Kenseth, Edwards heads a three pronged assault on the Cup by the Cat in the Hat.  The trio took the top three spots at Dover International Speedway in race two.

Kenseth’s performance was the biggest surprise, based upon what had been happening with that team.  The no. 17 had the second best Dover Loop stats, but it was hard to look his way before the race.  A strong second at the Monster Mile makes this week’s outlook more positive.  Matt’s DR is eighth best for Kansas and he has the second most top ten finishes on intermediates the last five years.

Is Kyle Busch Really Toast?

Kyle Busch still has the best season-to-date Driver Rating, despite finishing 34th and 43rd the last two races.  But for the third straight week, his track specific DR is sub-top ten at 16th best 80.0, with just one top ten in four races.  The Shrub has been good on intermediates, finishing top ten in nearly half of his starts.  The question is, can the Joe Gibbs Racing no.18 right the ship.  If Kyle was feeling championship pressure, that should be gone - at least for now.

Gibb’s team leader - I think he’s still the team leader - Tony Stewart has the third best Kansas and combined DR.  He has won at Kansas and eight wins on intermediate tracks.  Can Tony win another race before he leaves Joe Gibbs Racing for good? 

Jeff Gordon is the only driver to win more than once at Kansas with two to go with ten other intermediate track wins the last five years.  Gordon has the fifth best combined DR and he’s coming off a solid seventh at Dover. His average finish at Kansas - 10.6 - is better than all but Clint Bowyer’s 5.5.

I’m hearing a lot about the Richard Childress Racing drivers being tough this week.  Bowyer actually has the fourth best Kansas DR at 106.5.  But he’s only races here twice in the Cup Series.  Bowyer finished eighth at Dover.  Kevin Harvick’s DR is 11th for Kansas - 83.3 and Jeff Burton has a 22nd best 70.4.  Their combined DRs are 86.6 and 79.9.  None of the RCR guys has a Kansas Cup win and they have six intermediate track wins between the three of them.

Dale Earnhardt Jr  finished 24th and with a Kansas DR of 82.0 and four intermediate track wins, Junior doesn’t look like a pick this week.  I need to see this team finish a race strong before I can take them.

But if you want a wild, dark-horse pick, go with Hendrick Motorsports’ Casey Mears.  Mears has the tenth best Kansas DR at 88.2 and a category leading Ave Finish of 4.7.

The pick to win here is Jimmy Johnson.  Roush teams are good on the mile and a half tracks but Jimmy is the king.

Looking for other fantasy thoughts on this week’s Kansas action?  Check out Backstretch Motorsports’ Pure Stats for week 3 or go to Roto Experts for their take.  And check out Mike Maruska’s fantasy advice at One Bad Wheel.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media , Inc.