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Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle are the only Kansas winners in ths year's Chase.By the Numbers: Kansas
Kansas known for rewarding non-Chase drivers with win
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And then there were three.
Forget the three drivers who have dominated the season, or the three drivers within 100 points of Carl Edwards' lead in the standings.
There have been just three drivers in this year's Chase who have won at Kansas: Jeff Gordon (2001, 2002), Tony Stewart (2006) and Greg Biffle (2007). Biffle is coming off consecutive wins and is the defending race winner at Kansas. Both Gordon and Stewart are winless this season.
Only once has a driver won consecutive races -- or two at all, for that matter -- at Kansas, and it was Gordon. And the last time a driver won three consecutive races: Jimmie Johnson last year when he won four in a row en route to the title.
Chase Drivers at Kansas
1. Carl EdwardsEdwards has finished third and sixth in two of his four Kansas starts. The other two were in an unsponsored car (22nd in 2004) and ended in a crash (37th), which was last year.
2. Jimmie JohnsonThe last two Kansas races have resulted in Johnson leading 105 laps before running out of gas and finishing 14th (2006), and starting from the pole and leading just one lap in a third-place finish.
3. Greg BiffleBiffle is the defending winner of this race and has finished in the top three in three of the last four Kansas races: third (2004), second (2005), 12th (2006) and first (2007).
4. Jeff BurtonJust once has Burton finished in the top 10 at Kansas (fifth, 2006), and he has the worst Driver Rating (70.4) of all the Chase drivers at the track.
5. Kevin HarvickAlthough he has just two top-10 finishes, Harvick has gotten progressively better at Kansas in the last four races: 35th, 24th, 15th and sixth.
6. Clint BowyerThe hometown driver is the only one with an average finish of better than 10th (5.5), although he has just two starts at Kansas. His finishes: ninth and second.
7. Tony StewartStewart crashed and finished 39th last year, but otherwise he's earned five top-10s in seven career starts at Kansas. He won there in 2006.
8. Jeff GordonGordon won the first two Kansas races in 2001 and 2002, but since then he's led just six laps at the track -- all of which came in last year's fifth-place finish. His 175 laps led are the most of all drivers.
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.Two consecutive 10th-place finishes have provided stability for Junior. Before that he was down (33rd) and up (sixth) and down (18th) and up (ninth) and down (34th).
10. Matt KensethKenseth has the worst average finish (22.1) among the six Chase drivers who have started every Kansas race. He has two top-10 finishes (seventh in 2002; fifth in 2005). He was 35th last year.
11. Denny HamlinIn three starts at Kansas, Hamlin's finishes have been 32nd, 18th and 29th. He has never finished on the lead lap, and he has never led a lap at Kansas.
12. Kyle BuschBusch has one top-10 finish at Kansas (seventh in 2006) when he led 64 laps, but his other races have ended in finishes of 37th (2004), 21st (2005) and 41st (2007).
Five Chase Facts
1Time in the Chase era that a driver entered Kansas with the points lead but left without it. Last year Jeff Gordon entered with a two-point lead on Tony Stewart, but left trailing Jimmie Johnson by six points. In the three other years, Kurt Busch extended his lead by 17 points (2004), Stewart extended his lead by 71 points (2005) and Jeff Burton extended his lead by 63 points (2006).
1Chase driver who has won at Kansas since the points format was introduced in 2004: Mark Martin, 2005. Martin finished fourth in the Cup standings that year.
3Chase drivers with average finishes at Kansas that are 20th or worse, which happen to be the bottom three drivers in the Chase standings: Matt Kenseth (22.1), Denny Hamlin (26.3) and Kyle Busch (26.5).
165Points that Jimmie Johnson overcame with seven races remaining in 2006 to win the championship, the largest deficit. With eight races remaining this year, three drivers are 167 or more points behind. The most a driver can make up in one race is 161 points.
849Points scored by Greg Biffle in the last six Kansas races, more than any other driver. Jeff Gordon has scored the most points overall in Kansas' seven races (984).
Non-Chase Nugget
3Drivers not in the Chase who have won at Kansas: Ryan Newman, Joe Nemechek and Mark Martin. The same number of non-Chase drivers who have average finishes of better than 15th: Mark Martin (12.4), Brian Vickers (12.7) and Casey Mears (13.8).
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Kansas Speedway
Chase Driver Statistics
| Pos. | Driver | Starts | Wins | Avg. Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Carl Edwards | 4 | 0 | 17.0 |
| 2. | Jimmie Johnson | 6 | 0 | 12.0 |
| 3. | Greg Biffle | 6 | 1 | 11.0 |
| 4. | Jeff Burton | 7 | 0 | 19.6 |
| 5. | Kevin Harvick | 7 | 0 | 16.1 |
| 6. | Clint Bowyer | 2 | 0 | 5.5 |
| 7. | Tony Stewart | 7 | 1 | 11.1 |
| 8. | Jeff Gordon | 7 | 2 | 10.6 |
| 9. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 7 | 0 | 17.1 |
| 10. | Matt Kenseth | 7 | 0 | 22.1 |
| 11. | Denny Hamlin | 3 | 0 | 26.3 |
| 12. | Kyle Busch | 4 | 0 | 26.5 |
Sprint Cup Series
Official Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Carl Edwards | 5390 | -- |
| 2. | -- | Jimmie Johnson | 5380 | -10 |
| 3. | -- | Greg Biffle | 5380 | -10 |
| 4. | +1 | Jeff Burton | 5308 | -82 |
| 5. | +5 | Kevin Harvick | 5289 | -101 |
| 6. | +3 | Clint Bowyer | 5284 | -106 |
| 7. | -- | Tony Stewart | 5277 | -113 |
| 8. | +3 | Jeff Gordon | 5272 | -118 |
| 9. | -5 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 5261 | -129 |
| 10. | +2 | Matt Kenseth | 5223 | -167 |
| 11. | -5 | Denny Hamlin | 5197 | -193 |
| 12. | -4 | Kyle Busch | 5180 | -210 |
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