After two short tracks and a super speedway, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to an intermediate track this weekend. Kansas Speedway is a 1.5-mile tri-oval built in 2001. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation.
According to statistics from past races at Kansas, performances at similar tracks and who has been running well this season, one of these drivers have a good chance of taking the checkered flag this week.
Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet SS
Kevin Harvick has led the points championship standings since winning the third race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He’s finished nine of the ten 2015 races in the top-10, including his Vegas win and another the following week at Phoenix. He’s also excelled at intermediate tracks, scoring second place finishes at the 1.5-mile tracks in Atlanta and Texas. Harvick holds the top average finish at Kansas in the last four races, and has an overall average finish of 11.5 in 18 career races at the track.
Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS
Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with three wins at Kansas. He has a career average finish of 10.28 at the track. In the last two seasons, his average finish has been 7.75 over four races with one win. Gordon has long been a master of intermediate tracks. He has 219 career starts on tracks similar to Kansas Speedway, with 24 wins and a 13.27 average finish. The bad news for Gordon is that he has only one top-5 finish so far this year. The good news is that his past success shows he knows his way around Kansas Speedway, and this could be his weekend to return to victory lane.
Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry
Matt Kenseth has a 12.72 career average finish at intermediate tracks, which is good enough for second overall among active drivers. Only Jimmie Johnson has a better average. Kenseth has scored 13 wins in 172 races at intermediate tracks. In the first ten races of 2015, Kenseth has one win and three top-5 finishes. This includes one at another 1.5-mile track, Atlanta Motor Speedway. At Kansas Speedway, Kenseth has a 14.22 all time average finish, with two wins and six top-5s in 18 races. Over the last four races, he’s scored a 8.75 average finish with one win.
Other Possible Contenders
As previously mentioned, Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in average finish at Kansas, with an average of 9.53 through 17 races. He also has two wins and six top-5s. He’s finished outside the top-10 only three times at the track in his career. Joey Logano won the race last fall at Kansas, following two consecutive fourth-place finishes at the track. He has an average finish of 12 over the last four races. Carl Edwards has been struggling this season, but returning to an intermediate track could be what he needs after strong performances at Atlanta and Texas Motor Speedway earlier this season. Edwards has a career average finish of 10.13 in 15 races at Kansas, with six top-5s. He’s finished outside the top ten only four times at the track.
Drivers will take the green flag for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Saturday May 9 at 7:46 p.m. eastern. Television coverage will begin at 7 p.m. on FS1.