NASCAR Sprint Cup at Kansas: Greg Biffle and 10 Top Contenders to Win at Kansas
After two exciting weeks of racing in Charlotte, it is time to move on to the midwest, where the drivers will race at Kansas this weekend in the STP 400. The race has been moved from the Chase to the summer this season, which promises for some exciting racing as racers take a no holds barred approach to the track.
In the next slides, we will look at 11 drivers who seem to have a good chance to win this race based on past performances at the track and/or their current work this season.
Greg Biffle
1 of 11
Two time winner of this race Greg Biffle starts us off. Biffle won here last season and has a win in 2007 as well. He has a good record at this track, finishing third in 2008 and 2009. He's done about everything here he can do (he also holds the track record) except win a Pole.
Kansas is definitely Biffleland.
Tony Stewart
2 of 11
"Smoke" also has two wins at the track (2006 and 2009) and finished fourth here in 2010. He's still looking for that elusive first win this season but sits ninth in points with four top tens (the lowest of any of the current top tens).
His past success here make him ripe for a good placing, and the No. 14 may find it's place in Victory Lane after the race.
Jeff Gordon
3 of 11
Jeff Gordon won the first two races at this track during the 2001 and 2002 seasons, and though he hasn't found Victory Lane here since then, he has come extremely close in the last few years.
In 2008, Gordon pulled off a fourth place finish, in 2009 he moved up two spots to second, and in 2010, he finished fifth.
While Gordon hasn't visited the Kansas Victory Lane in almost a decade, he has come close quite a few times. This year may be the one where luck is on his side.
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Jimmie Johnson
4 of 11
We've arrived at another track where Jimmie Johnson excels. He won here in 2008, finished ninth in 2009, and second in 2010, plus he has three Poles here (one in 2008 when he won).
The only downside to those placings are that they were all in the Chase, where Johnson historically excels.
Johnson is looking for another win right now and if Knaus can get the car to perform like it has in the past, this may be the place the No. 48 gets it.
Kevin Harvick
5 of 11
Kevin Harvick has never won at this track, but in the past three years, he has grabbed a sixth (2008) and a third (2010).
Even though he is winless here, the driver is on fire this season, winning three races and having seven top tens, so there's nearly no way to leave him off this list right now. His success this season plus his past performances lead me to believe that he can get to Victory Lane on Sunday.
Dale Earnhardt Jr
6 of 11
Dale Earnhardt Jr may seem to be a long shot for this race (he's only finished top 15 here once in the last three Kansas races), but his strong performances this season, especially last weekend, lead me to believe that he could see Victory Lane this weekend.
Junior has six top tens this year and two top fives plus a Pole. It is only a matter of time before he gets the checkered flag, and that time may be Sunday.
Carl Edwards
7 of 11
The points leader is coming to another track where he has done well, and with his record this year (six top five finishes, nine top 10s), it'd be no surprise to see him go into the stands with the fans.
Edwards hasn't won here, but he did finish second to Johnson in '08, finished 10th in '09, and sixth last year. He didn't complete the All Star sweep last weekend at Charlotte, but he can get back to his winning ways here.
Matt Kenseth
8 of 11
Matt Kenseth once again sneaks into the picture with no one really realizing he's there. In the last three Kansas races, he's finished fifth ('08) and seventh ('10). He also grabbed the Pole here in 2005.
Kenseth sits in seventh in the points with five top tens and two wins. He could definitely catch up to Kevin Harvick in the wins department this year at Kansas.
A.J. Allmendinger
9 of 11
A.J. Allmendinger may be a bit of a surprise in here, but he has gathered two top tens at this track in the three recent Kansas races. He also has three top tens this year and only sits 18 points out of the top 10.
He's been running pretty well this season and may be the one to get the No. 43 back in Victory Lane.
Denny Hamlin
10 of 11
Denny Hamlin has had trouble after trouble this season, only finishing in the top 10 four times with no wins. That may be good to other drivers, but to Hamlin it's unacceptable.
Hamlin has finished fifth and 12th here in the past three years (surprisingly, it''s a track he hasn't won at), and he has run well this season when he doesn't get caught up in a mess or has equipment failures. This could very well be the place Hamlin gets over whatever voodoo was placed on him this season.
Kasey Kahne
11 of 11
Kasey Kahne has been on fire since having knee surgery in late April. Since his surgery, he has earned two top fives and taken his top 10 count from three to five. Kahne also won the Pole here last year (he finished 37th after getting involved in an accident), but did finish in sixth in 2009.
With Kahne's recent success this season, he could be taking Red Bull to Victory Lane Sunday.
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