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Banquet 400
Kansas Speedway
October 5,2003
TV: NBC - 1:30pm/et
Kansas Speedway Track Facts:
Superspeedway: 1.5-mile quad-oval
Banking: turns: 15 degrees; frontstretch: 10.4 degrees; backstretch: 5 degrees
Straights: Frontstretch - 2,721 feet; Backstretch - 2,207 feet
Attendence: 75,000
Almost Similar Tracks: Las Vegas, Chicagoland
Last Year's Pole Sitter: Dale Earnhardt Jr., 177.924mph, finished 6th.
Last Year's Winner: Jeff Gordon, 119.394mph, started 10th
Race Preview
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With 7 Races left to go in the hunt for the championship, the NASCAR world travels to Kansas Speedway, one of the newer tracks on the circuit. Last week at Talladega, we saw the DEI dominance continue with Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finishing 1-2 and the race to the finish crowding behind them. We also saw bad luck strike Matt Kenseth for the first time this season as he finished towards the back due to an engine failure. Could the bad luck strike Kenseth again? 7 races left to go and anything could happen within that duration of time. At Kansas, Jeff Gordon has won the first two races and is looking for a three-peat, however Kevin Harvick won the first two races at Chicagoland, and lost. Can Jeff Gordon hold on to that streak? We'll find out !
The Chase for the Championship
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- Matt Kenseth continues to lead the Winston Cup Championship by 354 points over second place Kevin Harvick. There are 7 races left to go in the championship hunt, but Kenseth's lead is starting to show some cracks, in the EA Sports 500, the 17 blew an engine and finished 33rd. Kenseth finished 6th in the 2002 Banquet 400 which means bad news to the championship contenders. Tracks similar to Kansas have been kind to Matt and the 17 team as they won this year's Las Vegas race and finished 13th at Chicagoland. Kenseth and team hope to start another top 10 streak at Kansas.
- Kevin Harvick finished 7th in the EA Sports 500, though he came short of winning, the 29 team continues to be a factor in every race of the season and have not finished lower than 17th the entire second half of the season. Harvick and the others still have a long way to go if they want to win the championship, 354 points separate Harvick and points leader Matt Kenseth, however with 7 races left to go, anything could happen. In the 2002 Banquet 400, Harvick led 48 laps and finished 11th. Tracks similar to Kansas have been good to Harvick, Harvick's won twice at Chicagoland and placed a 13th at Las Vegas.
-Well, time to start another race winning streak at Talladega for Dale Earnhardt Jr, but he'll have to wait til the Aarons 499 in April to do that wont he? Dale Jr. finished second to teammate Michael Waltrip in the EA Sports 500 which helped Dale Jr. climb back to 3rd in the standings and 384 points behind Matt Kenseth the points leader. Dale Jr. won the pole at Kansas in 2002 and led 10 laps en route to a 6th place finish. Dale Jr. hopes to better that this week.
- Jimmie Johnson was dominating the EA Sports 500 until a late race spin bit him, that and as an insult to injury, the car's engine went away. Johnson fell back to 4th in points, 476 behind leader Matt Kenseth. Now Hendrick Engines have always worked great at Kansas and it shows as all 4 Hendrick cars finished in the top 20 in the 2002 Banquet 400, Johnson finished 9th, 1 lap down in that race. The 48 team will look strong and could possibly vie for the win.
- Ryan Newman managed to come back from one lap down again, and managed to finish 4th in the EA Sports 500, his best finish ever at Talladega. Newman and the 12 team won the Chicagoland race and 6 other races this season. Now the 12 team comes with a renewed winning passion after scoring yet another top 5 at Talladega, they've been great contenders for every race this season. In 2002, Ryan and the 12 Alltel Team finished 2nd at Kansas, they'll try to improve that with a win.
Who will win this race?
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- I'm looking for Kevin Harvick to end Jeff Gordon's 2 year winning streak at Kansas. The 29 team has been running strong all year long and have been strong contenders in every race this season and now they find themselves in a position to contend for the points lead. Kevin Harvick came up short at Chicagoland a few months ago, but look for them to come out strong and grab the win.
- Ryan Newman, if Kansas does come down to a fuel mileage race then the 12 team will be the one to watch. Even if it doesnt become a fuel mileage race then the 12 team will still be one of the ones to watch. No doubt, he'll be strong for Kansas, and he could be a threat for the race win.
- Jeff Gordon can make history by being the first driver to win the first 3 races at a NASCAR speedway. Can he do it? Kevin Harvick failed earlier this year at Chicagoland, so the answer will probably be no. The competition will be a lot harder this year, however, keep an eye on that 24 team.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. set the 2002 pole for Kansas. Dale Jr. just came off a second place finish at Talladega and with any luck, that 8 team should be competing for the race win and should be up front for the duration of the race.
- Matt Kenseth had a good finish in the 2002 Kansas race. After a blown engine at Talladega, the 17 team will hope to to try to end the competitions hopes to outgun him in the championshhip race with a win or a top 5 finish.
Kansas Speedway
October 5,2003
TV: NBC - 1:30pm/et
Kansas Speedway Track Facts:
Superspeedway: 1.5-mile quad-oval
Banking: turns: 15 degrees; frontstretch: 10.4 degrees; backstretch: 5 degrees
Straights: Frontstretch - 2,721 feet; Backstretch - 2,207 feet
Attendence: 75,000
Almost Similar Tracks: Las Vegas, Chicagoland
Last Year's Pole Sitter: Dale Earnhardt Jr., 177.924mph, finished 6th.
Last Year's Winner: Jeff Gordon, 119.394mph, started 10th
Race Preview
----------------------------------------------
With 7 Races left to go in the hunt for the championship, the NASCAR world travels to Kansas Speedway, one of the newer tracks on the circuit. Last week at Talladega, we saw the DEI dominance continue with Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finishing 1-2 and the race to the finish crowding behind them. We also saw bad luck strike Matt Kenseth for the first time this season as he finished towards the back due to an engine failure. Could the bad luck strike Kenseth again? 7 races left to go and anything could happen within that duration of time. At Kansas, Jeff Gordon has won the first two races and is looking for a three-peat, however Kevin Harvick won the first two races at Chicagoland, and lost. Can Jeff Gordon hold on to that streak? We'll find out !
The Chase for the Championship
----------------------------------------------
- Matt Kenseth continues to lead the Winston Cup Championship by 354 points over second place Kevin Harvick. There are 7 races left to go in the championship hunt, but Kenseth's lead is starting to show some cracks, in the EA Sports 500, the 17 blew an engine and finished 33rd. Kenseth finished 6th in the 2002 Banquet 400 which means bad news to the championship contenders. Tracks similar to Kansas have been kind to Matt and the 17 team as they won this year's Las Vegas race and finished 13th at Chicagoland. Kenseth and team hope to start another top 10 streak at Kansas.
- Kevin Harvick finished 7th in the EA Sports 500, though he came short of winning, the 29 team continues to be a factor in every race of the season and have not finished lower than 17th the entire second half of the season. Harvick and the others still have a long way to go if they want to win the championship, 354 points separate Harvick and points leader Matt Kenseth, however with 7 races left to go, anything could happen. In the 2002 Banquet 400, Harvick led 48 laps and finished 11th. Tracks similar to Kansas have been good to Harvick, Harvick's won twice at Chicagoland and placed a 13th at Las Vegas.
-Well, time to start another race winning streak at Talladega for Dale Earnhardt Jr, but he'll have to wait til the Aarons 499 in April to do that wont he? Dale Jr. finished second to teammate Michael Waltrip in the EA Sports 500 which helped Dale Jr. climb back to 3rd in the standings and 384 points behind Matt Kenseth the points leader. Dale Jr. won the pole at Kansas in 2002 and led 10 laps en route to a 6th place finish. Dale Jr. hopes to better that this week.
- Jimmie Johnson was dominating the EA Sports 500 until a late race spin bit him, that and as an insult to injury, the car's engine went away. Johnson fell back to 4th in points, 476 behind leader Matt Kenseth. Now Hendrick Engines have always worked great at Kansas and it shows as all 4 Hendrick cars finished in the top 20 in the 2002 Banquet 400, Johnson finished 9th, 1 lap down in that race. The 48 team will look strong and could possibly vie for the win.
- Ryan Newman managed to come back from one lap down again, and managed to finish 4th in the EA Sports 500, his best finish ever at Talladega. Newman and the 12 team won the Chicagoland race and 6 other races this season. Now the 12 team comes with a renewed winning passion after scoring yet another top 5 at Talladega, they've been great contenders for every race this season. In 2002, Ryan and the 12 Alltel Team finished 2nd at Kansas, they'll try to improve that with a win.
Who will win this race?
----------------------------------------------
- I'm looking for Kevin Harvick to end Jeff Gordon's 2 year winning streak at Kansas. The 29 team has been running strong all year long and have been strong contenders in every race this season and now they find themselves in a position to contend for the points lead. Kevin Harvick came up short at Chicagoland a few months ago, but look for them to come out strong and grab the win.
- Ryan Newman, if Kansas does come down to a fuel mileage race then the 12 team will be the one to watch. Even if it doesnt become a fuel mileage race then the 12 team will still be one of the ones to watch. No doubt, he'll be strong for Kansas, and he could be a threat for the race win.
- Jeff Gordon can make history by being the first driver to win the first 3 races at a NASCAR speedway. Can he do it? Kevin Harvick failed earlier this year at Chicagoland, so the answer will probably be no. The competition will be a lot harder this year, however, keep an eye on that 24 team.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. set the 2002 pole for Kansas. Dale Jr. just came off a second place finish at Talladega and with any luck, that 8 team should be competing for the race win and should be up front for the duration of the race.
- Matt Kenseth had a good finish in the 2002 Kansas race. After a blown engine at Talladega, the 17 team will hope to to try to end the competitions hopes to outgun him in the championshhip race with a win or a top 5 finish.