I'm sorry folks, but this should be your winner from yesterday's race at Kansas. As much as it would have been nice to feel warm and fuzzy with Greg Biffle getting his first win of the year, that is just not going to happen. He never should have been rewarded the victory.
Here's a statement from Ramsey Poston, NASCAR Managing Director, Corporate Communications:
When the caution came out on Lap 207 the field was frozen. At the time of the caution, the 16 was in the lead and maintained a reasonable speed and was declared the race winner. There is no passing under caution.
By rule, cars under caution need to maintain a reasonable speed, which the 16 did. If it hadnt maintained a reasonable speed or the car had come to a stop, then that car would not have won the race. In this instance the 16 maintained a reasonable speed, crossed the finish and won the race.
Despite what he says, I really don't think he maintained a reasonable speed. I do realize that they freeze the field under caution but he absolutely did not maintain speed, the pace car was leaving him.
As a matter of fact, Johnson and Bowyer had to pass him while he was down on the apron. When was the last time you watched a race and saw others cross the finish line BEFORE the "race winner?" I think that's another load of BS from NASCAR. What do you think?
Moving on...because I'm getting all worked up and grumpy all over again as I type this.
It was another wild race for a lot of the Chase drivers. Here's a few notes on what happened to some of them:
Kyle Busch - Crashed into the wall early on. (thanks to Dale Earnhardt Jr.) Martin Truex Jr. - Was involved in a wreck shortly after the restart from being red-flagged due to heavy rain. Matt Kenseth - Victim of the same wreck that Truex was involved in. Jeff Burton - He got caught pulling a fender out while uncovering his car from the rain delay. He got penalized and sent back to the longest line on the restart of the race. Then to make matters worse, later in the race he lost fuel pressure. Tony Stewart - He blew a tire. He was checked up on the race track and Kurt Busch hit him. (And no, I don't think it was Busch's fault.) Car Edwards - He got collected up from Stewart's wreck. Denny Hamlin - It looked like Jamie McMurray got into Paul Menard then Menard got into Hamlin. Just a victim of circumstance.
Bowyer, Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick all finished in the top 10. Kurt Busch finished 11th.
Based on the stats that I shared in yesterday's post, I am going to go with Tony Stewart for the win.
Another possibility in my mind, and only because the team is just on fire and Kansas happens to be his home state, is Clint Bowyer.
On a different note...
Yesterday, "racefan" posted a comment regarding online chats with former Daytona 500 winners. (thank you, I had seen it but glad you mentioned it) Here is the schedule and information on how to do it.
I get so much NASCAR information that crosses in front of me every day. It is difficult to decide what information, if any of it, you would want to read, hear or see.
So yesterday when I received a stats and facts sheet from NASCAR, my immediate thought was, this is kind of interesting and I wanted to share it with you. What I like about this one in particular is that everything is in one place right under my nose going into this weekend's race at Kansas Speedway.
1 Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) The File:
36 years old, Vallejo, Calif., 79 career wins
Four wins, 16 top; fives, 22 top 10s this year
Six poles
Average finish of 8.1 this season
Led 18 of 28 races for 1,033 laps Kansas Speedway Outlook: Two wins, three top fives, four top 10s
Average finish of 11.5
Finished 39th last season
Led two of six races for 169 laps
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
Series-best Average Running Position of 8.7
2 Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet) The File:
36 years old from Columbus, Ind., 32 career wins
Three wins, 10 top fives, 20 top 10s
Average finish of 11.8
Led 18 of 28 races for 929 laps Kansas Speedway Outlook: One win, three top fives, five top 10s
Average finish of 6.5
Won Kansas race last season
Led two of six races for six laps
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
568 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
3 Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford) The File:
28 years old from Columbia, Mo., seven career wins
Three wins, eight top fives, 12 top 10s
Average finish of 12.8
Led 11 of 28 races for 428 laps Kansas Speedway Outlook: One top fives, two top 10s
Average finish of 10.3
Finished sixth last season
Led two of three races for eight laps
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
6,111 Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
4 Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet) The File:
32 years old from El Cajon, Calif., 29 career wins
Six wins, 14 top fives, 17 top 10s; two poles
Average finish of 12.8
Led 16 of 28 races for 967 laps Kansas Speedway Outlook: Three top 10s; one pole
Average finish of 13.8
Finished 14th at Kansas last season
Led three of five races for 126 laps
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
Series-high 731 Fastest Laps Run
5 Kyle Busch (No. 5 Kelloggs/CARQUEST Chevrolet) The File:
22 years old from Las Vegas, Nev., four career wins
One win, eight top fives, 16 top 10s
Average finish of 13.2
Led 14 of 28 races for 295 laps Kansas Speedway Outlook: One top 10
Average finish of 21.7
Finished seventh last season
Led one of three races for 64 laps
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
Fifth-fastest average Green Flag Speed
6 Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet) The File:
28 years old from Emporia, Kan., one career win
One win, three top fives, 13 top 10s; two poles
Average finish of 14.2
Led 10 of 28 races for 306 laps Kansas Speedway Outlook: One top 10
Finished ninth last season, his only Kansas start
Led 43 laps in his one Kansas race
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
Sixth-best Closer 34 positions improved over the last 10 percent of races
7 Martin Truex Jr. (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) The File:
27 years old from Mayetta, N.J., one career win
One win, six top fives, 11 top 10s
Average finish of 15.2
Led 11 of 28 races for 351 laps Kansas Speedway Outlook: Finish 11th last season, his only Kansas start
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
Series-high 2,454 Green Flag Passes
8 Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) The File:
40 years old from South Boston, Va., 19 career wins
One win, seven top fives, 13 top 10s
Average finish of 13.3
Led six of 28 races for 28 laps Kansas Speedway Outlook: One top five
Average finish of 16.8
Finished fifth last season
Led three of six races for five laps
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
1,383 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green flag conditions), fifth-most
9 Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) The File:
31 years old from Bakersfield, Calif., 11 career victories
One win, four top fives, 11 top 10s
Average finish of 15.7 this season
Led nine of 28 races for 251 laps Kansas Speedway Outlook: One top 10
Average finish of 17.8
Finished 15th last season
Led two of six races for 49 laps
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
Series-best Closer 52 positions improved over the last 10 percent of races
10 Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford) The File:
35 years old from Cambridge, Wis., 15 career wins
One win, eight top fives, 17 top 10s
Average finish of 12.8
Led 15 of 28 races for 480 laps Kansas Speedway Outlook: One top five, two top 10s; one pole
Average finish of 20.0
Finished 23rd last season
Led two of six races for 85 laps
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
Series-high 7,722 laps run on the lead lap
11 Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) The File:
29 years old from Las Vegas, Nev., 17 career wins
Two wins, five top fives, 10 top 10s
Average finish of 15.9
Led 16 of 28 races for 671 laps Kansas Speedway Outlook: Two top 10s
Average finish of 20.8
Finished 25th last season
Led two of six races for three laps
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
Series-high 1,480 Quality Passes
12 Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet) The File:
26 years old, Chesterfield, Va., three career wins
One win, 10 top fives, 15 top 10s; one pole
Average finish of 13.3
Led 14 of 28 races for 799 laps
I'll be back tomorrow with my picks for this weekend's LifeLock 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Jennifer is the newsroom
administrative assistant and
executive
assistant to the editor for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. She is married, lives in Pownal with her husband and son, and has been following NASCAR for many years.
About this blog:
I am hopeful that this will be a place where people can air their two cents' worth about a race, catch up on the gossip and share their opinions on the rules and regulations of NASCAR. I have always felt that there has been a need for such a place in Maine and that this blog helps to fill the void.
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