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In the aftermath of the tragic events that occurred during Monday’s Boston Marathon, Roush Fenway Racing (RFR) will show its support for the city of Boston with a “B-Strong” tribute this weekend at Kansas Speedway.  All three Roush Fenway Ford Fusions will carry “B-Strong” decals during this weekend’s NASCAR event and RFR team owner Jack Roush has pledged to donate $100 for every lap the team leads during Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.

“When events occur such as what happened earlier this week in Boston, it is our nature to be overwhelmed with a variety of emotions,” said Roush. “To have to withstand an act of such senselessness and cowardice against innocent people is disheartening to us all. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families, as well as the entire city of Boston.

“As Americans we can all be proud of the way the city of Boston – and the entire nation – has banded together in the wake of this tragedy.  We are proud of our Boston connections and feel privileged to be able to play a very small part in supporting the ‘B-Strong’ effort.”

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Only four. 

In the 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races that Kansas Speedway has hosted over the past 12 years only four drivers have ever visited Victory Lane there twice. No driver has ever won there thrice.

And what an impressive foursome it is: Greg Biffle (2007, 2010), Jeff Gordon (2001, 2002), Jimmie Johnson (2008, fall 2011) and Tony Stewart (2006, 2009).

This Sunday during the STP 400 (1:00 p.m. ET, FOX), will one of these four drivers breakthrough and become the first three-time winner in the track’s history or will one of the five past winners currently entered in the race (Ryan Newman, Joe Nemechek, Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth) come out on top or will Kansas welcome a first-time winner to Victory Lane? Denny Hamlin won the spring 2012 event, but will miss this year’s spring event after injuring his back in the race at Auto Club Speedway 

Biffle, Gordon, Johnson and Stewart would all like to become the first driver with three victories at the 1.5-mile track in Kansas City, but none could use the victory more than Stewart. 

After seven races, Stewart, who co-owns Stewart-Haas Racing and owns Eldora Speedway in Ohio, sits in an uncharacteristic 22nd place in the standings, 111 points behind leader Johnson. Biffle is currently third, 30 points back, while Gordon (-98) is 15th.

Stewart is one of only nine drivers who have started all 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas. Outside of two back-of-the-pack finishes in 2007 and 2009 he has never finished lower than 15th. He has six top-five and nine top-10 finishes.

The three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion has had a rough start to the 2013 season with four finishes 21st or lower. His best finish so far came in the second race when he placed eighth.

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Keselowski, Logano each lose 25 points; MWR’s Truex docked six points

Read more: Official Release | Hornaday penalty | Up to Speed

What a contrast the last 24 hours have been for Brad Keselowski. One day after being honored by the president for winning the Sprint Cup championship, he was slammed with a penalty that may jeopardize his ability to defend it.

NASCAR on Wednesday came down hard on Keselowski and Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano for technical violations discovered before last Saturday night’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, docking each driver 25 championship points and unleashing a flurry of suspensions that includes both crew chiefs.

As a result, Keselowski’s crew chief Paul Wolfe has been fined $100,000 and suspended for the next six Sprint Cup events — including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race. Car chief Jerry Kelley, team engineer Brian Wilson and Penske competition director Travis Geisler have been suspended for the same duration. Logano’s crew chief Todd Gordon was also fined $100,000 and suspended six weeks. Car chief Raymond Fox and team engineer Samuel Stanley were suspended for the same length of time as well.

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All the penalized Penske personnel are also on probation until Dec. 31. Keselowski and Logano were among three drivers penalized Wednesday for violations from Texas. Martin Truex Jr. was docked six championships points for his car being too low after last week’s event, while crew chief Chad Johnston was fined $25,000 and placed on probation through June 5.

The steep penalties levied against the Penske organization stem from rear-end housings in the Nos. 2 and 22 cars that failed pre-race inspection. NASCAR confiscated the parts in question, forcing a frantic changeover that had the Penske crews rushing to get the vehicles through inspection before the race began. They made it, although Logano had to start at the rear of the field because NASCAR determined his car was not on the starting grid in time.

According to NASCAR, both Penske cars were found to be in violation of rule book sections 12-1, 12-4J and 20-12, which mandate that all suspension systems and components must be approved by NASCAR. Those sections also state that approval parts cannot be used after NASCAR deems them ineligible for competition, and also stipulate what suspension parts and hardware must be made of (solid magnetic steel), the correct size of round mounting holes, and limitations on movement or realignment of suspension parts beyond normal rotation or travel.

“Our guys are innovative, we’re looking at the rules, looking at areas where maybe we can get an edge like everybody else is," team owner Roger Penske said following the Texas race. “I don’t think we did anything wrong. Obviously it’s a judgment, and we’ll deal with it with NASCAR. But we’re going to move on to the next race."

Keselowski vented following the race, saying his team had been “targeted” by the sanctioning body. “The way we’ve been treated the last seven days is absolutely shameful,” he added. Emotions had cooled considerably by Tuesday, when Keselowski was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House in a ceremony attended by several NASCAR executives, including chairman Brian France.

After the ceremony, Keselowski was asked if there had been any dialogue with NASCAR officials since Texas. “I’ve had some contact,” he said, “and it’s all been a really great conversation.”

The penalties mean both Penske drivers will take a serious hit in the Sprint Cup standings.  Keselowski left Texas second in the Sprint Cup standings, nine points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. After the 25-point penalty, he drops to fifth, 34 behind the leader. Logano departed Fort Worth in ninth place, 62 behind Johnson. With the penalty, he now stands 15th, 87 points behind the leader.

Penske Racing released a statement saying the team would appeal the penalties, which would allow the suspended crew members to work at the track while the appeals are being heard. The point deductions, though, go into effect immediately.

The team said, "Penske Racing received communication today from NASCAR regarding penalties they have issued against the No. 2 and No. 22 teams. Penske Racing will appeal utilizing the appropriate NASCAR process. We have no further comment at this time."

Fellow Sprint Cup Series driver Jamie McMurray reacted to the penalties while testing at Daytona International Speedway.

"I would say my reaction is that’s what I expected," McMurray said. "… But the points are the hardest thing — maybe not so much for Brad, but the 22-car is kinda on the bubble and 25 points can be the difference in making the Chase or not."

Meanwhile, Truex’s penalty comes on the heels of his best race of the season, a runner-up appearance at Texas in which he led 142 laps before finishing second to Kyle Busch. After that event, NASCAR determined the front of the No. 56 car was too low in post-race inspection.

The penalty steepens an already uphill climb for Truex, who has been saddled by several poor finishes this season and is trying to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the third time in his career. He left Texas 18th in the standings, 100 points behind leader Johnson. Following the penalty, he dropped one spot to 19th, 106 behind Johnson.

Truex’s team will not appeal the penalty, Michael Waltrip Racing said in a statement.

“Michael Waltrip Racing is sensitive to working within the guidelines of NASCAR policy,” Waltrip said. “This infraction clearly occurred as a result of a malfunction caused by race conditions. Therefore, we will not appeal. We thank NASCAR for providing a fair and equitable platform for all of its competitors and respect its decisions.”

In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the sanctioning body also docked Ron Hornaday Jr. 25 driver points and fined him $25,000.

Hornaday’s penalty stems from an incident under caution with seven laps remaining in Sunday’s Truck Series event at Rockingham. The four-time champion bumped Wallace to show his unhappiness with how he had been raced, and turned the 19-year-old into the wall — a result Hornaday later said was unintentional.
 
The all-time Truck Series victory leader with 51 race wins, Hornaday was sent to the rear of the field by NASCAR for aggressive driving. He finished 15th and left Rockingham fourth in the series standings, 30 points behind leader Johnny Sauter. With the penalty, he drops to 13th, 55 points back.

In a statement, Hornaday’s team said, "NTS Motorsports received notification of NASCAR’s penalties assessed for the incident involving Ron Hornaday Jr., occurring at Rockingham Speedway. NTS supports NASCAR’s rulings and penalties, will not appeal and has no further comments."

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Rookie takes advantage of test time at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — OK, Danica Patrick sheepishly admitted Wednesday, the task of several-day, single car test runs can get monotonous. But with all eyes on her stock car progress, NASCAR’s high-wattage Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate is more than willing to log as many test laps as she can.

Patrick and eight other Cup drivers took to the Daytona International Speedway high banks this week for a Goodyear tire test of the new Generation-6 cars in advance of the July 6 Coke Zero 400 at the track.

No matter how much the extra track time means to an already busy schedule, Patrick is convinced it will pay off. And already has.

"…Anytime there’s a test available, we’re going."

—Danica Patrick

“It’s a little boring at Daytona at least as far as single car runs,’’ Patrick said Wednesday during a lunch break at the test. “But I learned this from my IndyCar days at Indianapolis. They put all the down force on the car and made it easy to drive — especially the first couple years I was there — and I always knew, while it does feel easy, you still have to respect the machine and the speed and the track and know that something could still go wrong and you need to be ready.

“But anytime there’s a test available, we’re going,’’ Patrick explained. "Anytime I’m able to, I do, although I still have a lot of stuff to do outside the car.

“Whenever you test, if you don’t learn what’s better you learn what’s worse, which is sometimes just as helpful. I felt like we had a really good test at Little Rock (N.C.) and brought that set-up to Martinsville (Va.) and we had a really good car in the race. That’s what we worked on. It reminds you to stay and work it out."

Unfortunately for Patrick, though testing at Rockingham’s Little Rock netted an impressive performance and a good result — a 12th place debut — she and her entire Stewart-Haas Racing team has struggled elsewhere.

Patrick enters Sunday’s STP 400 at Kansas Speedway ranked 26th in points. Except for an eighth place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500 — where she made history as the first woman pole-sitter — her Martinsville performance has been a rare highlight.

Her teammates haven’t fared much better. Ryan Newman leads the trio in the Sprint Cup Series championship standings (16th place) and he’s the only one with a top-five finish (fifth place at Daytona).

Team owner-driver Tony Stewart is 22nd in points with no top-fives and only a single top-10 (eighth place at Phoenix). The three-time Cup champion has two wins at Kansas in 2006 and 2009, but has finishes of 11th and 21st at the other two 1.5-mile tracks the series has visited this season.

So while Patrick’s slow start has been both disappointing and aggravating, it’s endemic of the whole organization right now.

Newman paced the team last week at the fast Texas 1.5-miler with a very hard-earned 10th place finish. At one point all three cars were a lap down to the leaders. Stewart finished 21st in the No. 14 Chevrolet and Patrick was 28th in the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevy. This will mark the first time the series has back-to-back races at the 1.5-mile circuits.

“I think there’s a certain amount of healthy frustration that gets people motivated and gets people working,’’ Patrick allowed. “But there was no need for me at Texas to drive it home how uncomfortable and miserable it was to drive a car that was either loose in, loose off or so tight in the middle you couldn’t do anything and …. at some point in time with the frustration you don’t need to show it anymore.

“I think as a team we’re struggling,’’ Patrick said. “Tony and I had the same comments from Texas about how the car felt and… we need to work it out, go through a process of elimination what it could be… just start crossing things off the list that are not the issue or go testing to try to work on some platforms to see what we need to do to make the car faster and feel better. I think we’re lacking speed and comfort out there."

The Kansas 1.5-mile oval was repaved last year resulting in super speed in the first race on the new surface last October. The entire field bettered the previous track record.

Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle, who were also testing at Daytona this week, said to expect more of the same with this new car at Kansas thanks to the new pavement and different aerodynamic characteristics of the Gen-6 car.

Kyle Busch won the pole last week at Texas with a track record speed. Patrick’s Daytona 500 pole-winning mark was among the fastest in the last 20 years.

“Kansas will be extremely fast without a doubt,’’ McMurray said without hesitation. “At Texas we had really good weather, cool temperatures which made the track have a lot of grip. I know the Roush cars did a team test at Kansas and I quizzed them a bit and they said the track had a crazy amount of grip. It’s supposed to be cold again this weekend so I expect to see track records again this week.’’

Biffle cautioned that the speed of the car isn’t necessarily having a direct effect on the quality of the racing.

“This car has several hundred pounds more down force and a lot more grip which makes speed,’’ Biffle said. “The better racing is coming from the car being better handling, better mechanical grip. The two are sorta related, but not really.

“I like the car and feel like there’s still a ton to learn, we’re going to be learning for the next year. We’ll continue to learn and discover things.

“There will be times when we bump up against the speed where we’ll wonder if we’re getting too fast at some places. But at Texas and other tracks like it, it’s not an issue. This weekend you can go fast the whole time.’’

“It’s kind of odd because you associate fast with good racing and a lot of times that’s not the case, it’s about good grip and a speed you can go side-by-side.’’

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Posted on by Jason Lofing

Nick Ottinger was in dominant form at Texas Motor Speedway

Nick Ottinger dominated Round Four of the NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship from start to finish at Texas Motor Speedway Tuesday night, cruising to a comfortable victory over two time champion Ray Alfalla.

Ottinger, who started from the pole, led 128 of 167 laps and was only passed for position once on the track as the race went caution-free. Ottinger’s victory makes it four different winners thus far in the 2013 NiSWC season.

“Feels great to break through and get a win! Starting up front helped, however, we knew the car was stout and had a blast going caution-free,” said Ottinger after picking up his third career NiSWC win.

Ottinger beat Alfalla to the checkers by 3.4 seconds, with Marcus Lindsey finishing third, six seconds behind. Teammates Chad Laughton and Dustin Montgomery rounded-out the top five finishers.

"We knew the car was stout and had a blast going caution-free."

— Nick Ottinger

Despite not getting the victory, runner-up Alfalla was pleased with his result, “That was awesome. It was nice to see the whole race go green, as it makes it quite interesting seeing what people’s cars do and how pit strategy plays out.”

Alfalla was the only driver who could keep up with Ottinger’s blistering pace, but even he fell short in the end. At the start, Alfalla looked to move up from his seventh place starting position and found it slow going as most of the field was running laps within a tenth of a second of each other. With passing being extremely difficult, Alfalla tried to use pit strategy to his advantage.

Instead of pitting with Ottinger, Alfalla stayed out on the track for three extra laps before making his stop. This put him behind initially as other drivers had two or three laps on fresher tires, but Alfalla’s slightly newer tires started to pay off as he sliced back through the field.

As the race approached the halfway point, Alfalla was in pursuit of Ottinger and slowly started to reel him in thanks to his slightly fresher tires. Finally on Lap 80, Alfalla took the lead from Ottinger and it looked as if the tide had turned. There was, however, still one more pit stop left in the race.

Ottinger once again pitted three laps before Alfalla, giving him a chance to overtake the defending champ with fresh tires. When Alfalla hit pit road for the final time, his crew let him down with a slow stop, dropping him far behind Ottinger with no chance to catch him without the help of a caution flag. Alfalla clawed his way back to second, but could not reel-in the leader.

“Unfortunately my final pit stop was slow, and I lost a ton of time,” explained Alfalla. “I managed to get back to second, but Nick was four seconds ahead. I just rode the rest of the way.”

While good finishes helped Alfalla and Ottinger gain in the points standings, Tyler Hudson still leads the way after another solid run. The points leader finished seventh at Texas and holds a slim six point lead over Lindsey. Despite finishing 20th last night, Brian Schoenburg now sits third in points, 25 points back. Peter Bennett is another two points behind in fourth while Jason Karlavige rounds-out the top five after four online races.

For Week Five, the NiSWC heads to Richmond International Raceway for the second short track race of the season. Richmond has been one of the most unpredictable tracks on the schedule in recent years and usually has its fair share of carnage. Qualifying will be of upmost importance as drivers will try to position themselves to be in front of the trouble.

Steve Sheehan was the winner at RIR last year and has looked strong in recent weeks, but he will have his work cut out for him if he hopes to repeat under the lights. Ottinger and Hudson were also stout last year and are off to a great start in 2013, so look for them to be the favorites. As always when it comes to Richmond, expect the unexpected. Remember that last year’s Pro Series race went caution free; something no one thought was possible.

With such a competitive and close start to the season, this might be the week someone makes a big step toward taking control of the championship. Be sure to tune into iRacingLive and MRN to catch all the action from Week Five of the NiSWC from Richmond!

            Average Lap Time Laps Completed Cautions Caution Laps Lead Changes         
            30.028 167 0 0 7         
Fin Pos Driver Start Pos Car # Status Interval
Laps Led
Average Lap Time
Fastest Lap Time Fast Lap #
Laps Comp
Pts
1 Nick Ottinger 1 5 Running 0 128 30.028 28.556 116 167 48
2 Ray Alfalla 7 2 Running -3.4 38 30.042 28.558 2 167 43
3 Marcus Lindsey 2 1 Running -6.007 0 30.062 28.584 2 167 41
4 Chad J Laughton 17 26 Running -6.115 0 30.052 28.734 59 167 40
5 Dustin Montgomery 16 8 Running -6.343 0 30.057 28.613 2 167 39
6 Steve Sheehan 13 6 Running -6.415 0 30.081 28.658 58 167 38
7 Tyler D Hudson 12 1 Running -8.164 0 30.07 28.584 2 167 37
8 Patrick Baldwin 4 52 Running -10.824 0 30.09 28.665 60 167 36
9 Jared Crawford 20 83 Running -14.309 0 30.1 28.648 59 167 35
10 Kevin King 5 29 Running -14.823 0 30.113 28.62 2 167 34
11 Jason Karlavige 15 60 Running -15.744 0 30.11 28.829 3 167 33
12 Carson Downs 32 97 Running -15.829 0 30.1 28.927 2 167 32
13 John Gorlinsky 24 21 Running -16.685 0 30.11 28.717 114 167 31
14 Thomas Lewandowski 35 16 Running -16.804 0 30.102 28.72 114 167 30
15 Michael Conti 19 5 Running -18.537 0 30.125 28.771 112 167 29
16 Matt Bussa 9 34 Running -21.089 0 30.146 28.623 60 167 28
17 Joey Brown 3 12 Running -21.271 0 30.153 28.59 2 167 27
18 Richard Dusett 10 96 Running -25.54 0 30.175 28.829 3 167 26
19 Cody Byus 11 27 Running -26.501 0 30.177 28.776 113 167 25
20 Brian Schoenburg 28 55 Running -29.598 0 30.185 28.62 116 167 24
21 Carson McClelland 34 24 Running -29.749 0 30.179 28.774 58 167 23
22 Derek Crone 30 7 Running -1 L 0 30.207 28.682 2 166 22
23 Casey Malone 8 92 Running -1 L 0 30.234 28.642 2 166 21
24 Michael J Johnson 25 39 Running -1 L 0 30.223 28.833 58 166 20
25 Peter Bennett 29 69 Running -1 L 0 30.235 28.743 61 166 19
26 Jake Stergios 40 41 Running -1 L 1 30.226 28.809 2 166 19
27 Cyril Nousbaum 37 99 Running -1 L 0 30.234 28.784 61 166 17
28 Byron Daley 27 93 Running -1 L 0 30.243 28.858 112 166 16
29 Matt Whitten 18 18 Running -1 L 0 30.295 28.791 117 166 15
30 Alex Warren 22 82 Running -1 L 0 30.291 28.701 61 166 14
31 Landon Huffman 39 75 Running -1 L 0 30.281 28.624 116 166 13
32 Landon Harrison 38 89 Running -1 L 0 30.295 28.804 2 166 12
33 Chris Main 41 38 Running -1 L 0 30.344 28.838 60 166 11
34 Danny Hansen 21 20 Running -2 L 0 30.383 28.715 60 165 10
35 Chad Coleman 42 28 Running -2 L 0 30.432 29.007 119 165 9
36 Andrew Fayash III 43 77 Running -2 L 0 30.465 28.936 2 165 8
37 Adam Gilliland 36 81 Running -4 L 0 30.918 28.801 47 163 7
38 Jon Adams 26 84 Running -5 L 0 30.994 28.79 138 162 6
39 Rob Ackley 33 22 Running -9 L 0 31.79 28.798 41 158 5
40 Joshua Laughton 23 40 Running -11 L 0 32.139 29.091 110 156 4
41 Brandon Schmidt 14 3 Disconnected -43 L 0 35.823 28.893 3 124 3
42 Paul Kusheba 31 32 Running -57 L 0 37.352 28.733 2 110 2
43 Brandon Kettelle 6 80 Disconnected -137 L 0 30.101 29.269 3 30 1


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Three Sprint Cup Series teams penalized following race at Texas Motor Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Penalties have been handed down to three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams following last Saturday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.

The No. 56 car was found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-12.8.1B (the car failed to meet the minimum front car heights during post-race inspection) of the 2013 rule book.

As a result of this violation, crew chief Chad Johnston has been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until June 5. The team has also been docked six championship driver (Martin Truex Jr.) and six championship owner (Michael Waltrip) points.

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The No. 2 and No. 22 cars have also been penalized. Both cars were found to be in violation of Sections 12-1; 12-4J and 20-12 (all suspension systems and components must be approved by NASCAR. Prior to being used in competition, all suspension systems and components must be submitted, in a completed form/assembly, to the office of the NASCAR Competition Administrator for consideration of approval and approved by NASCAR. Each such part may thereafter be used until NASCAR determines that such part is no longer eligible. All suspension fasteners and mounting hardware must be made of solid magnetic steel. All front end and rear end suspension mounts with mounting hardware assembled must have single round mounting holes that are the correct size for the fastener being used. All front end and rear end suspension mounts and mounting hardware must not allow movement or realignment of any suspension component beyond normal rotation or suspension travel.)

As a result of this violation and as it pertains to the No. 2 car the following penalties have been assessed:

•    Crew chief Paul Wolfe has been fined $100,000 and suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events (including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race) and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

•    Car chief Jerry Kelley, team engineer Brian Wilson and team manager Travis Geisler (serves as team manager for both the No. 2 and No. 22 cars) have been suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events (including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race) and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

•    The loss of 25 championship driver (Brad Keselowski) and 25 championship owner (Roger Penske) points.

As it pertains to the No. 22 car the following penalties have been assessed:

•    Crew chief Todd Gordon has been fined $100,000 and suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events (including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race) and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

•    Car chief Raymond Fox and team engineer Samuel Stanley have been suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events (including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race) and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

•    The loss of 25 championship driver (Joey Logano) and 25 championship owner (Walt Czarnecki) points.

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Former champion docked 25 driver points, fined $25,000

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Ron Hornaday Jr. has been penalized by NASCAR following his involvement in an on-track incident last Sunday at Rockingham Speedway.

Hornaday Jr., driver of the No. 9 truck, was found to have violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing. Altercation with another competitor on the race track during a caution period) of the 2013 rule book.

As a result of this violation, Hornaday Jr. has been fined $25,000, docked 25 championship driver points and placed on NASCAR probation until June 12.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Jimmie Johnson holds several records at Kansas Speedway

2  NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas Speedway won from the pole: Joe Nemechek (2004) and Jimmie Johnson (2008).
4  wins Roush Fenway Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have at the speedway, tied for the most, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing and Penske Racing with two each.

7  Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Kansas with seven victories; followed by Ford with four wins.

8  Number of Sprint Cup races at Kansas Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

9  Drivers that have made all 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway: Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart.

10  Drivers have Coors Light poles at Kansas, led by Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne with three each.

10.615  The best average starting position among active drivers at Kansas Speedway, held by Jimmie Johnson

11 The most top-10 finishes at Kansas Speedway, a record held by Jimmie Johnson, followed by Jeff Gordon with 10.

13  Number of races Matt Kenseth ran at Kansas Speedway before winning last fall; the longest span of any of the 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Kansas.

14  Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch and Bobby Labonte lead the series with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Kansas Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 14.

25  The starting position of Brad Keselowski in 2001, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Kansas Speedway, in the spring of 2011.

108  Drivers who have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas; 79 in more than one.

176.499 mph  the speed at which Jason Leffler won the inaugural Coors Light Pole Award at Kansas Speedway in 2001.

272  The number of laps in the only NSCS race resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Kansas Speedway: fall of 2011 (267 scheduled laps).

547  Number of laps led at Kansas by Jimmie Johnson, who leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Kansas Speedway with 547 laps led in 13 starts.

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Posted on by Staff Report

How are you watching the races at Kansas Speedway? Find out how to get the latest from wherever you are.

WATCHING AT HOME?
GOING TO THE RACE?
GOING MOBILE?
PLAYING FANTASY?

Even if you’re not at the track, you can keep up with all the live action on TV and at NASCAR.com. (All times Eastern, unless noted.)

Watch practices and races on TV:

SPRINT CUP SERIES:

Friday, April 19:

Practice, 1 p.m. (2:30 p.m. on SPEED)

Coors Light Pole qualifying on SPEED, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 20:

Practice on SPEED, 10 a.m.

Final practice on SPEED, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 21:

STP 400 on FOX, 1 p.m.

CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES:

Saturday, April 20:

Keystone Light Pole qualifying on SPEED, 11 a.m.

SFP 250 on SPEED, 2 p.m.

Get inside the garage:

GarageCam will be streaming live from Kansas Speedway on Friday, April 19 from the Sprint Cup garage at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Keep an eye on the media center:

Press Pass will have live news conferences throughout race weekend. All times Eastern

Friday, April 19:

Jimmie Johnson | noon

Clint Bowyer | 12:15 p.m.

Carl Edwards | 2:45 p.m.

Elliott Sadler | 3:50 p.m..

Post-qualifying Sprint Cup news conferences | 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 20:

Truck Series post-race news conferences | 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 21:

Sprint Cup Series post-race news conferences | 4:15 p.m.

Want more?

Get lap-by-lap updates on NASCAR.com during practice laps, qualifying and races.

Re-live the race:

Watch race highlights from your favorite driver and top moments shortly after the race using Race RePlay.

Want to attend the races this weekend? Buy tickets to the Kansas Sprint Cup and Truck Series races here.

Know the track:

Check out our Kansas Speedway track page to learn the history of the track and explore the best fan views.

Want to meet a driver?

Here is a list of appearances. (List subject to change, all times local.)

Saturday, April 20:

David Stremme Q-and-A | 10:30 a.m. at the Finish Line Hospitality.

Sunday, April 21:

David Stremme Q-and-A | 8:45 a.m. at the Finish Line Hospitality.

Mark Martin Q-and-A | 9:15 a.m. at the Finish Line Hospitality.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Q-and-A | 9:20 a.m. at the Finish Line Hospitality.

Get packing:

The weather in Kansas City is:

Click for Kansas City, Kansas Forecast

Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval Super Speedway just outside of Kansas City that seats over 72,000 fans.

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With RaceView Premium and NASCAR RaceView Mobile ’13, you can watch live, virtual 3-D video with in-car audio as well as national radio broadcasts, telemetry data and real-time stats.

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NASCAR Mobile ’13: This new app is free to download with an upcoming in-app subscription for premium content including live driver audio, live advanced leaderboards and live alternate camera angles.

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Watch live enhanced coverage with 10 HD cameras, a live chat and live standings for this week’s Nationwide series races with RaceBuddy.

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Expert tip of the week:

Fantasy players who finished well last week should stand pat because Kansas traditionally matches results with Texas. Players who were not successful will want to jump on the bandwagon of last week’s top-10 finishers. Get more tips from Dan Beaver’s fantasy blog.

Keep up with the latest:

Use our weekly Driver Reports for a quick breakdown of how each driver is looking. Also each week, our writers vote on which drivers are making moves. Read the resulting driver Power Rankings to help power up your lineup.

Last year’s top three finishers at Kansas:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Jimmie Johnson

See the complete results from last year’s event here.

READ MORE:

READ: Kansas
viewer’s guide

READ: Trucks take
to a new Kansas

WATCH: Fantasy
Showdown: Kansas

READ: The HANS
device

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Check out which colors will hit the 1.5-mile oval track in Kansas

Editor’s note: This story will be updated as additional paint schemes are revealed.

This weekend’s races at Kansas Speedway will give the drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series a chance to spread out on the 1.5-mile oval track. With banking in all turns and on both the frontstretch and backstretch, Kansas was repaved in 2012 after lights were added in 2011.

Below are some of the special paint schemes you’ll see at the SFP 250 and the STP 400.

RELATED: Purchase die-casts of favorite driver | Classic die-casts

Jamie McMurray will drive the No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet.

SHOP: Jamie McMurray die-casts

Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance 85th Anniversary Chevrolet.

SHOP: Kasey Kahne die-casts

Sam Hornish Jr. will drive the No. 12 SKF Ford.

SHOP: Sam Hornish Jr. die-casts

Clint Bowyer will drive the No. 15 5 Hour Energy Toyota.

SHOP: Clint Bowyer die-casts

Greg Biffle will drive the No. 16 ACE Brand Ford.

SHOP: Greg Biffle die-casts

Joey Logano will drive the No. 22 AAA Ford.

SHOP: Joey Logano die-casts

Kevin Harvick will drive the No. 29 Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet.

SHOP: Kevin Harvick die-casts

Ryan Newman will drive the No. 39 Code 3 Associates Chevrolet.

SHOP: Ryan Newman die-casts

Aric Almirola will drive the No. 43 STP Ford.

SHOP: Aric Almirola die-casts

Bobby Labonte will drive the No 47 Pine-Sol Toyota.

SHOP: Bobby Labonte die-casts

Mark Martin will drive the No 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota.

SHOP: Mark Martin die-casts

Martin Truex Jr. will drive the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota.

SHOP: Martin Truex Jr. die-casts

Elliott Sadler will drive the No. 81 ALERT Energy Gum Toyota.

SHOP: Elliott Sadler die-casts

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Darrell Wallace Jr. will drive the No. 54 Liberty Tire Recycling/GroundSmart Rubber Mulch Toyota.

SHOP: Darrell Wallace Jr. die-casts

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A more relaxed No. 18 team makes all the difference

Kyle Busch has never lacked confidence.

“I’ve got plenty of confidence,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said. “I’ll drive her off in there until I see God and not lift. That’s not a problem.”

“I can back him up on that,” crew chief Dave Rogers attested.

Even so, there was something about last season that made it difficult for one of the most talented — and yes, confident — drivers in NASCAR to translate that self-assurance into results. He doesn’t quite know how to define it, but he’s certainly aware of how it manifested itself. Mechanical problems. Races that got away. A single trip to Victory Lane, none in a NASCAR Nationwide Series in which he’s won more than anyone else. And a crushing late-summer night in Richmond that left him three points shy of qualifying for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“Man, I’m telling you, I don’t know what it was, but there was a funk last year. My wife could tell you just that,” Busch said. “We tried so hard to change the things we were doing. … You’d have a good run, two bad runs, then a good run, and a bad run. You could never make up the ground that you kept losing with the bad races. … Just, there was a funk. I’m glad the monkey is off our back. We’re riding a wave right now that’s 30 feet tall, and ready to keep riding.”

"We’re riding a wave right now that’s 30 feet tall, and ready to keep riding."

— Kyle Busch

He’s not just riding the wave, he’s shooting the pipeline and doing handstands on the surfboard. Saturday night’s victory at Texas Motor Speedway was Busch’s second on the young season and continued a hot streak that began almost immediately after his playoff hopes were quashed last year. That may not be a coincidence, given how rapidly the No. 18 team has parlayed inadequacy into accomplishment. Regardless, it all adds up to one thing — when Busch returns to Richmond late this season, there will be no anxieties over making the championship field.

Thanks to the two Wild-Card entrants, a pair of race victories makes him a virtual lock. In two previous years under this playoff structure, a driver with two victories by the cutoff event has never failed to qualify for the Chase. Of course, all that’s assuming Busch goes winless the rest of this season, which these days seems about as ridiculous as old nemesis Kevin Harvick showing up at his front door with a covered dish.

It’s likely a gross oversimplification to proclaim that Busch’s success this season is solely a result of missing last year’s Chase, a shortcoming rooted as much in mechanical failure — a busted brake rotor at Pocono Raceway, back-to-back engine failures in early summer — as it was in the questionable race strategy that helped Jeff Gordon snag the final playoff spot. But it’s also clear that once the pressure was off, once the No. 18 team was able to plan for the long-term and not stress out over everything being perfect in every race down the stretch, things began to fall into place. Busch’s finishing kick to 2012 was championship-caliber, capped by four straight results of fourth or better.

And he’s kept it up, even in a 2013 campaign that began inauspiciously, with an engine failure in the Daytona 500 and a crash at Phoenix that occurred when he was trying to pass eventual winner Carl Edwards. Remove those instances, and Busch hasn’t finished outside of the top five since last October at Kansas Speedway, which the Sprint Cup tour visits once again this weekend. And there’s reason to believe Busch can keep it going, at Kansas and elsewhere.

Because JGR, and the No. 18 team in particular, are clearly at the head of the class when it comes to figuring out the Generation-6 car on intermediate tracks, which make up the bulk of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. On fast, unrestricted layouts, Busch has been an absolute beast — winner at Fontana, fourth in a Las Vegas race won by teammate Matt Kenseth, a victory from the pole Saturday night in Texas. Those concerns from early this season over Toyota Racing Development engines? Let’s just say they’ve been alleviated to a large degree.

“We were testing the other day,” Rogers said, “and (Busch) was like, ‘Wow, what motor is this? This is terrible compared to what I’m used to.’ I said, ‘That’s your motor from last winter.’ That just shows how much progress Toyota and TRD have made.”

So clearly, Rogers and his bunch have hit on something, and it’s evident every time that No. 18 car takes to a 1.5- or 2-mile track. But this all seems much bigger than just getting ahead of the curve on a new car, particularly given how turbulent and ultimately unsatisfying last season was for a driver who’s overdue to seriously challenge for a title. The part failures, the race win at Watkins Glen that literally slipped away in oil on the final lap, the headaches of Kyle Busch Motorsports’ initial foray into the Nationwide Series, the rain delay and the pit calls that turned Richmond upside down — no wonder Busch and Rogers had a few heart-to-hearts after it was all over.

“Kyle really handled all those things about as good as you could handle them,” Gibbs said. “I think it showed real maturity, and I think that set the course for this year, really. Dave and him went through some real tough things. I think they had some of the most frank conversations. They’ll both get fired up and get after each other. But I think that’s all part of sports. When I think about it, it’s like in football, the coach and the quarterback. You can have some sparks, but it’s neat to see the way they’ve handled all of that this year to get off to the kind of start we have right now. I just told Kyle, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. We don’t want to change anything right now.”

Especially after last weekend, when everything went just about perfectly — including the 11.7-second pit stop that got Busch back on the track ahead of Martin Truex Jr. and helped him win the race. Missing the Chase last season, particularly the belabored manner in which they lost it, left a mark. And Busch hasn’t forgotten how much it stung, even now after two victories in the last three Sprint Cup events, and him up to third in points.

“With last year’s frustrations and everything, and coming down to that race in Richmond, we didn’t execute that as we needed to,” Busch said. “But we learned from that one. We put that in the memory bank and we talked about it a lot. Through the last 10 weeks I felt we did a lot of things right, and there were probably a couple things we could have done better yet. We learned a lot from those things, and Dave and I talked a lot through those weeks and through the offseason — so, what do we need to do to better execute the end of these races to put ourselves in a position to win and close them out?”

They certainly found out in Fontana and Fort Worth. What a difference it makes — with two wins in the bank, Rogers said, everyone is more relaxed. Crewmen work on the cars with the confidence that they’re doing things right. The No. 18 team can plan more for the long-term, lining up its best race cars for a Chase that Busch will now almost certainly be a part of. The momentum is tangible, evident in both attitudes and results.

“Last year, with the pressure on us, trying to make the Chase, we were trying to bring our best stuff to the last laps and mixing it up a little bit,” Rogers said. “We still had really good cars in the Chase, but they could have been even better. So I think the early momentum really sets up the entire season.”

So no, Kyle Busch never lacked confidence in his own abilities. Now he also has a growing confidence in his race cars. And that combination should make the No. 18 team feel confident that their trip to Richmond this September will have a much different outcome than the last.

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