The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be racing under the lights Saturday night at Kansas Speedway this week in the GoBowling 400.
Kansas is one of the tracks considered an “intermediate track” on the NASCAR circuit because it is 1.5-miles in length. While it is one of many tracks at that length that the NASCAR drivers will face through the season, it does present its own challenges.
The track has enough width to race side-by-side two and three wide pretty easily. Some drivers may choose to go four-wide at times which can be done, but can be treacherous if the car is not handling near perfectly.
With progressive banking of 17 to 20 degrees through the turns, the track aids the driver very little navigating around the track. If a car is not handling well, the turns at Kansas will amplify the issues and could cause a driver to lose control of the car.
The race will start during the daytime and end in the night. That means the crew will have to make changes to the car throughout the race to keep up with the changing track conditions. This time of year the nights in the Midwest can quite a bit cooler than the day. That means those changing track conditions can be quite dramatic. Falling behind on adjusting the car could keep a driver and team playing catch-up with an ill-handling car and not able to get ahead of the track or competitors.
The stage racing for this weekend will be two 80 lap stages followed by a 107 lap final stage. This also adds another element of pressure to the crew chiefs to stay ahead of the changing track conditions and additional strategy that the driver will have to deal with on the track.
What active drivers have performed well at Kansas in their cup careers? Let’s take a look.
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Kansas Speedway
- Jimmie Johnson – 110.6
- Matt Kenseth – 108.1
- Kevin Harvick – 105.3
- Martin Truex Jr. – 95.7
- Kasey Kahne – 91.4
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 90.0
- Brad Keselowski – 89.9
- Kyle Larson – 87.8
- Joey Logano – 87.6
- Kurt Busch – 87.6
(NOTE: Driver Ratings compiled form 2005-2016 races [18 total] among active drivers at Kansas Speedway.)
Jimmie Johnson has the most wins among active driver at Kansas. He is tied with Jeff Gordon on the all-time winners list with three victories. A win this weekend would put Jimmie at the top of the list all by himself.
Kevin Harvick won the 2016 October race at the track to join Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano with a pair Kansas wins in the NASCAR Cup division.
Kyle Busch won this race in 2016, which is his only victory at the track in a cup car. Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Newman also have a single win each at Kansas.
If you count the names only eight of the active drivers that have ever been to Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway. There are also only eight drivers that have won a race this season. That means there will be 32 other drivers on the track that will be doing all they can to adjust one or both of those numbers Saturday night.
In the Wizard of Oz movie Dorothy had to deal with “Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My” in her quest to get home to Kansas. Saturday night the drivers will already be in Kansas and will have to deal with “Handling and Tires and a Wall,” oh my indeed.
We will all find out which driver gets to click their heels together in Victory Lane to go home with a win at Kansas Speedway following the 267 lap (400 mile) GoBowling 400 NASCAR race that starts at 6:30 PM central time (7:30 PM eastern time).
By: Buck Stevens
