NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Hollywood Casino 400 Preview
From The Sports Network
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| DATE: Sunday, October 9th |
| SITE: Kansas Speedway (2001) -- Kansas City, Kansas |
| TRACK: 1.5-mile oval - 2,685 feet (Frontstretch); 2,207 feet (Backstretch) |
| CAPACITY: 81,779 |
| ANNUAL: 11th |
| TELEVISION: ESPN |
| ANNOUNCERS: Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree |
| RADIO: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio |
| START TIME: 2 p.m. (et)/Green Flag: 2:16 p.m. (et) |
| DEFENDING CHAMPION: Greg Biffle |
| RUNNER-UP: Jimmie Johnson |
| POLE WINNER: Kasey Kahne (Finished 37th) |
| LAPS: 267 |
| MILES: 400.5 |
| QUALIFYING RECORD: Matt Kenseth, 2005 (180.856 m.p.h.) |
| RACE RECORD: Greg Biffle, 2010 (138.077 m.p.h.) |
| TOTAL PURSE: $6,012,504 (2010 figures) |
| PAYOUTS: 1st Place - $298,525; 2nd Place - $259,252; 3rd Place - $216,426 |
| 2010 Finish |
| Finish | Driver | Start | Finish | Driver | Start |
| 1 | Greg Biffle | 5 | 6 | Carl Edwards | 31 |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 21 | 7 | Matt Kenseth | 8 |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick | 24 | 8 | Paul Menard | 2 |
| 4 | Tony Stewart | 14 | 9 | Ryan Newman | 6 |
| 5 | Jeff Gordon | 3 | 10 | AJ Allmendinger | 30 |
| 2010 Hollywood Casino 400 Facts and Figures |
| AVERAGE SPEED: 138.077 m.p.h. |
| TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 54 minutes, 2 seconds |
| MARGIN OF VICTORY: 7.638 seconds |
| CAUTION FLAGS: 5 for 24 laps |
| LEAD CHANGES: 20 among 12 drivers |
| POLE WINNER: Kasey Kahne (174.644 m.p.h.) |
| Past Hollywood Casino 400 Winners (Starting Position) Car -- Speed |
| 2010 -- Greg Biffle (5th) -- Ford -- 138.077 m.p.h. (race record) |
| 2009 -- Tony Stewart (5th) -- Chevrolet -- 137.144 m.p.h. |
| 2008 -- Jimmie Johnson (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 133.549 m.p.h. |
| 2007 -- Greg Biffle (7th) -- Ford -- 104.981 m.p.h. |
| 2006 -- Tony Stewart (21st) -- Chevrolet -- 121.753 m.p.h. |
| 2005 -- Mark Martin (19th) -- Ford -- 137.774 m.p.h. |
| 2004 -- Joe Nemechek (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 128.058 m.p.h. |
| 2003 -- Ryan Newman (11th) -- Dodge -- 121.630 m.p.h. |
| 2002 -- Jeff Gordon (10th) -- Chevrolet -- 119.394 m.p.h. |
| 2001 -- Jeff Gordon (2nd) -- Chevrolet -- 110.576 m.p.h. |
| NOTE: Formerly called Protection One 400 (2001-02), Banquet 400 (2003-06), |
| Lifelock 400 (2007), Camping World RV 400 (2008). Price Chopper 400 |
| (2009-10). |
| Past Hollywood Casino 400 Pole Winners (Finish) |
| 2010 -- Kasey Kahne -- 37th |
| 2009 -- Mark Martin -- 7th |
| 2008 -- Jimmie Johnson -- 1st |
| 2007 -- Jimmie Johnson -- 3rd |
| 2006 -- Kasey Kahne -- 33rd |
| 2005 -- Matt Kenseth -- 5th |
| 2004 -- Joe Nemechek -- 1st |
| 2003 -- Jimmie Johnson -- 7th |
| 2002 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr -- 6th |
| 2001 -- Jason Leffler -- 28th |
| Last Race Results |
| RACE: AAA 400 (October 2nd) |
| SITE: Dover International Speedway -- Dover, Delaware |
| MILES: 400 |
| LAPS: 400 |
| WINNER: Kurt Busch |
| RUNNER-UP: Jimmie Johnson |
| THIRD: Carl Edwards |
| FOURTH: Kasey Kahne |
| FIFTH: Matt Kenseth |
| POLE WINNER: Martin Truex Jr. (Finished 30th) |
| TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 30 minutes, 59 seconds |
| AVERAGE SPEED: 119.413 m.p.h. |
| MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.908 second |
| CAUTION FLAGS: 10 for 44 laps |
| LEAD CHANGES: 24 among 13 drivers |
| LAP LEADERS: M. Truex Jr. 1-2; Kurt Busch 3-41; M. Bliss 42; M. McDowell 43; |
| R. Sorenson 44; Kurt Busch 45-51; C. Edwards 52-110; Kyle Busch |
| 111; J. Johnson 112-113; B. Keselowski 114-115; C. Edwards |
| 116-138; J. Burton 139-142; C. Edwards 143-176; A. Allmendinger |
| 177-184; K. Harvick 185-194; J. Johnson 195-247; M. Kenseth 248; |
| J. Burton 249-252; M. Kenseth 253-254; J. Johnson 255-300; Kurt |
| Busch 301; J. Johnson 302-353; Kurt Busch 354; J. Johnson |
| 355-358; Kurt Busch 359-400. |
| Hollywood Casino 400 Entry List |
| Car | Driver, Hometown | Car/Name |
| 00 | David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) | Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) | Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) | Dodge/Miller Lite |
| 4 | Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) | Toyota/Red Bull |
| 5 | Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) | Chevrolet/GoDaddy.com/Carquest |
| 6 | David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) | Ford/UPS |
| 7 | Robby Gordon (Orange, CA) | Dodge/Speed Energy/Mapei |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) | Ford/DeWalt |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) | Toyota/FedEx Freight |
| 13 | Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) | Toyota/GEICO |
| 14 | Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) | Chevrolet/Office Depot/Mobil 1 |
| 16 * | Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) | Ford/Sherwin Williams |
| 17 | Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) | Ford/Crown Royal |
| 18 | Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) | Toyota/M&M's |
| 20 | Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) | Toyota/Home Depot |
| 22 | Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) | Dodge/Shell/Pennzoil |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) | Chevrolet/DuPont |
| 27 | Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) | Chevrolet/Menards/Schrock |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) | Chevrolet/Budweiser |
| 30 | David Stremme (South Bend, IN) | Chevrolet/Inception Motorsports |
| 31 | Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) | Chevrolet/Caterpillar |
| 32 | Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) | Ford/Street King |
| 33 | Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) | Chevrolet/Cheerios/Hamb. Helper |
| 34 | David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) | Ford/A&W All American Food |
| 36 | Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) | Chevrolet/Big Red |
| 37 | Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) | Ford/TBA |
| 38 | Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) | Ford/Long John Silver's |
| 39 | Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) | Chevrolet/Haas Automation |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) | Chevrolet/Target |
| 43 | A.J. Allmendinger (Los Gatos, CA) | Ford/Best Buy |
| 46 | Scott Speed (Manteca, CA) | Ford/Red Line Oil |
| 47 | Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) | Toyota/Bush's Beans/Kingsford |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) | Chevrolet/Lowe's |
| 51 | Landon Cassill (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Chevrolet/Security Benefits |
| 55 | J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) | Ford/TBA |
| 56 | Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) | Toyota/NAPA Auto Brakes |
| 60 | Mike Skinner (Susanville, CA) | Chevrolet/Big Red |
| 66 | Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) | Toyota/Victory Junction |
| 71 | Andy Lally (Northport, NY) | Ford/Interstate Moving Services |
| 78 | Regan Smith (Cato, NY) | Chevrolet/Furniture Row Racing |
| 83 | Brian Vickers (Thomasville, NC) | Toyota/Red Bull |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) | Toyota/TBA |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) | Chevrolet/Amp Energy/Nat'l Guard |
| 95 | David Starr (Houston, TX) | Ford/AdvoCare |
| 98 | Austin Dillon (Lewisville, NC) | Chevrolet/Pres.Reagan Centennial |
| 99 | Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) | Ford/Aflac |
| Leading Contenders (Finish the last nine years) |
| Driver | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Greg Biffle | 36th | 12th | 3rd | 2nd | 12th | Won | 3rd | 3rd | Won |
| Jimmie Johnson | 10th | 7th | 32nd | 6th | 14th | 3rd | Won | 9th | 2nd |
| Kevin Harvick | 11th | 6th | 35th | 24th | 15th | 6th | 6th | 24th | 3rd |
| Tony Stewart | 8th | 4th | 14th | 4th | Won | 39th | 40th | Won | 4th |
| Jeff Gordon | Won | 5th | 13th | 10th | 39th | 5th | 4th | 2nd | 5th |
| Carl Edwards | --- | --- | 22nd | 3rd | 6th | 37th | 2nd | 10th | 6th |
| Matt Kenseth | --- | 36th | 17th | 5th | 23rd | 35th | 5th | 39th | 7th |
| Paul Menard | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 27th | 27th | 30th | 8th |
| Ryan Newman | 2nd | Won | 33rd | 23rd | 24th | 43rd | 16th | 22nd | 9th |
| Jamie McMurray | --- | 8th | 7th | 18th | 42nd | 24th | 17th | 31st | 11th |
| Denny Hamlin | --- | --- | --- | 32nd | 18th | 29th | 11th | 5th | 12th |
| Kurt Busch | 31st | 40th | 6th | 14th | 25th | 11th | 30th | 11th | 13th |
| Mark Martin | 25th | 20th | 20th | Won | 3rd | 12th | 18th | 7th | 14th |
| Clint Bowyer | --- | --- | --- | --- | 9th | 2nd | 12th | 21st | 15th |
| Joey Logano | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 39th | 28th | 17th |
| Jeff Burton | 29th | 13th | 15th | 28th | 5th | 36th | 7th | 23rd | 18th |
| Martin Truex Jr | --- | --- | --- | --- | 11th | 38th | 43rd | 16th | 20th |
| Kyle Busch | --- | --- | 37th | 21st | 7th | 41st | 28th | 12th | 21st |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr | 6th | 18th | 9th | 34th | 10th | 10th | 13th | 36th | 22nd |
| Brad Keselowski | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 13th | 23rd |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 28th | 20th | 4th | 29th |
| David Reutimann | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 31st | 19th | 8th | 35th |
| Kasey Kahne | --- | --- | 12th | 19th | 33rd | 9th | 21st | 6th | 37th |
| Brian Vickers | --- | --- | 19th | 11th | 8th | --- | 15th | 37th | --- |
| Mover of the Week |
| Jeff Gordon - Started in the 34th position and finished 12th |
| Sports Network Selections |
| Pick to Win - Carl Edwards |
| Darkhorse - Clint Bowyer |
| Last Week's Pick to Win (Jimmie Johnson) - Finished 2nd |
| Last Week's Darkhorse (Greg Biffle) - Finished 27th |
| NOTES: |
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Greg Biffle continued his impressive running at Kansas Speedway, as he
raced to victory last year for his second win in the last four at the midwest
track. Unfortunately, Biffle is on the outside looking in this year, as he
ranks 15th on the points list and out of the Chase.
After three races, the standings have tightened up, as Carl Edwards and Kevin
Harvick are deadlocked at the top, with Tony Stewart and last week's winner
Kurt Busch just nine points back. With seven races to go, just 19 points
separate the top nine drivers. The other three championship contenders -- Dale
Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin -- aren't out of the title hunt
yet, but they do have a lot of catching up to do.
Although out of the race, Biffle might be the man to beat, as he has recorded
six top-4 finishes at this race in the past seven seasons, including the two
wins. Biffle reclaimed the lead last year with 29 laps to go and held on to
defeat Jimmie Johnson by 7.6 seconds. Other drivers to look out for are; Tony
Stewart and Jeff Gordon. Stewart owns two wins and 5 top-4 finishes in the past
eight years, while Speed Racer boasts one win and seven top-10's the last nine
years.
In 2009 Tony Stewart gambled with a two-tire stop late in the race. He exited
the pits first and grabbed the lead with 30 laps remaining. The two-time Cup
Series champion then held off a hard-charging Jeff Gordon in the closing laps
for his fourth win of the season and the 37th of his Cup career. Stewart, who
also won at Kansas in 2006, joined Gordon and now Biffle as the only repeat
winners. Stewart's win total now stands at 41.
Jimmie Johnson became the second pole sitter in the history of this race to
take the checkered flag, as he defeated the hard-charging Carl Edwards by 0.280
of a second in 2008. Johnson dominated the race, leading five times for a race-
high 124 laps. Edwards started 34th on the grid and led for 31 laps, but was
overtaken by Johnson on lap 220.
In 2007, Greg Biffle led the final 37 laps, as he defeated Clint Bowyer under
the caution for the 12th of his 16 career Sprint Cup titles. Pole sitter
Jimmie Johnson led only for the first lap and placed third. Kurt Busch, who
was fairly dominant during the middle of the race, led three times for a race-
high 76 laps.
When Tony Stewart won in 2006, he led only for five laps, but it was the last
five, as he finished well ahead of Casey Mears for the title. Starting in the
21st position, Stewart inched his way to the top and took the lead on lap 263
to post a whopping 12.422 seconds win over Mears. Pole sitter Kasey Kahne, who
led the first 11 laps, finished a distant 33rd. Jimmie Johnson, who led three
times for a race-high 105 laps, placed 14th. Stewart finished the race
coasting across the finish line, as he was out of fuel.
In 2005, Mark Martin, starting from the 19th position, recorded his first win
of that season, as he crossed the finish line 0.557 of a second ahead of
teammate Greg Biffle. Winless since Dover 2004, Martin registered his 35th of
40 career Sprint Cup titles. Before a crowd of 125,000, Martin reclaimed the
lead on lap 220 of the 267-lap event and held on for the win. Overall, Martin
led three times for a total of 139 laps, while Biffle led twice for 47 laps.
Pole sitter Matt Kenseth led for 71 laps and finished fifth.
Back in 2004, Joe Nemechek raced to victory, as he fought off Ricky Rudd at
the finish line to win by just 0.081 seconds for his fourth and last career
win. Nemechek captured both races that year at Kansas Speedway, winning the
NASCAR Nationwide Series event on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Sprint event on
Sunday.
THIS AND THAT FROM KANSAS: The top-5 position has won this race five times in
the ten-year history, twice coming from the pole. The furthest back a driver
has come to win this race was from the 21st position on the grid, when Tony
Stewart won in 2006. Seven of the nine races that ended under green had a
margin of victory under one second. The 2007 race ended under caution. There
have been ten NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Kansas, all at Kansas Speedway. The
only other Kansas track to hold a NASCAR national series race was Heartland
Park in Topeka, which hosted five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races from
1995-99.
The Chase for the Sprint Cup championship continues with the October 15th
running of the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jamie McMurray
is the defending race winner.
10/04 17:55:59 ET
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As of October 4, 2011, at 05:56 PM ET
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