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Kansas Fantasy Forecast

KANSAS SPEEDWAY
Price Chopper 400
Sunday, October 3, 2010 in Kansas City, KS

The Price Chopper 400 is on tap this weekend at Kansas Speedway. This track joined the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule in 2001, virtually tying it with Chicagoland Speedway as the youngest track on the circuit. Cup drivers will make their only appearance of the year there this Sunday, circling the 15-degree, 1.5-mile, cookie cutter tri-oval 267 times.

The following drivers have the best chance of pulling out a top finish this weekend. The rankings are based on a statistical formula that includes drivers’ history at this track and similar tracks, key driver stats from this venue, and the ever-powerful momentum. Every driver/team will have the occasional “off” race. They can have a rough outing or two without being unduly harmed in the rankings. If they generally run in the top half of the field, they’ll be moving up the list.

TOP TWENTYFIVE
1) 48 Jimmie Johnson
2) 24 Jeff Gordon
3) 99 Carl Edwards
4) 14 Tony Stewart
5) 33 Clint Bowyer
6) 11 Denny Hamlin
7) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya
8) 18 Kyle Busch
9) 16 Greg Biffle
10) 2 Kurt Busch
11) 5 Mark Martin
12) 43 A.J. Allmendinger
13) 00 David Reutimann
14) 9 Kasey Kahne
15) 31 Jeff Burton
16) 29 Kevin Harvick
17) 39 Ryan Newman
18) 1 Jamie McMurray
19) 17 Matt Kenseth
20) 56 Martin Truex Jr.
21) 20 Joey Logano
22) 47 Marcos Ambrose
23) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
24) 19 Elliott Sadler
25) 12 Brad Keselowski

KANSAS DRIVER STATS
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s/Johns Manville Chevrolet)
? One win, two top fives, six top 10s; three poles
? Average finish of 10.3 in eight races
? Series-best Average Running Position of 6.3
? Series-best Driver Rating of 122.6
? Series-high 204 Fastest Laps Run
? 328 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
? Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 162.394 mph
? Series-high 1,189 Laps in the Top 15 (93.0%)
? Series-high 217 Quality Passes

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
? Two wins, six top fives, seven top 10s
? Average finish of 8.9 in nine races
? Average Running Position of 9.5, third-best
? Driver Rating of 104.7, third-best
? 45 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
? Average Green Flag Speed of 161.912 mph, third-fastest
? 1,123 Laps in the Top 15 (87.9%), third-most
? 197 Quality Passes, second-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford)
? Two top fives, four top 10s
? Average finish of 13.3 in six races
? Average Running Position of 13.9, seventh-best
? Driver Rating of 94.2, sixth-best
? 71 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
? 305 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
? Average Green Flag Speed of 161.350 mph, eighth-fastest
? 824 Laps in the Top 15 (64.5%), seventh-most
? 173 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet)
? Two wins, four top fives, six top 10s
? Average finish of 13.2 in nine races
? Average Running Position of 11.0, sixth-best
? Driver Rating of 99.0, fifth-best
? 58 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
? Average Green Flag Speed of 161.541 mph, fifth-fastest
? 952 Laps in the Top 15 (74.5%), fourth-most
? 163 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet)
? One top five, two top 10s
? Average finish of 11.0 in four races
? Average Running Position of 14.5, 10th-best
? Driver Rating of 93.4, ninth-best
? 35 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
? Average Green Flag Speed of 161.627 mph, fourth-fastest

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota)
? One top five, one top 10
? Average finish of 19.0 in five races
? Average Running Position of 18.4, 16th-best
? Driver Rating of 80.9, 16th-best
? 28 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
? 288 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
? 118 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), 12th-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)
? One top 10
? Average finish of 24.3 in six races
? Average Running Position of 21.9, 25th-best
? Driver Rating of 74.4, 18th-best
? 43 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
? 351 Green Flag Passes, second-most
? 156 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Sherwin Williams Ford)
? One win, five top fives, five top 10s
? Average finish of 9.0 in eight races
? Average Running Position of 6.3, second-best
? Driver Rating of 119.6, second-best
? 117 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
? Average Green Flag Speed of 162.152 mph, second-fastest
? 1,170 Laps in the Top 15 (91.5%), second-most
? 181 Quality Passes, third-most

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Operation Home Front/Miller Lite Dodge)
? Two top 10s
? Average finish of 19.7 in nine races
? Average Running Position of 18.8, 17th-best
? Driver Rating of 82.0, 14th-best
? 54 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
? 326 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most

Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet)
? One top five, two top 10s
? Average finish of 18.6 in nine races
? Average Running Position of 21.1, 23rd-best
? Driver Rating of 73.0, 21st-best
? 285 Green Flag Passes, 13th-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
? Three top 10s
? Average finish of 15.9 in nine races
? Average Running Position of 16.4, 14th-best
? Driver Rating of 81.2, 15th-best
? 328 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford)
? Two top fives, three top 10s; one pole
? Average finish of 22.1 in nine races
? Average Running Position of 14.5, ninth-best
? Driver Rating of 93.7, seventh-best
? 73 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
? 794 Laps in the Top 15 (62.1%), eighth-most
? 113 Quality Passes, 13th-most

KANSAS SPEEDWAY HIGHLIGHTS
? The track opened in 2001, and Jeff Gordon won the first two NASCAR Sprint Cup races.
? Seven different drivers have won poles, led by Jimmie Johnson with three.
? Seven different drivers have posted victories, led by Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart (each with two).
? Six of the nine races have been won from a top-10 starting position.
? Two active drivers with more than one start have averaged a top-10 finish: Greg Biffle (9.0) and Jeff Gordon (8.9).
? Jeff Gordon leads all drivers in top fives (six) and top 10s (seven). Gordon’s only two non-top 10s were a 39th in 2006 and a 13th in 2004.
? Seven of the eight races that ended under green had a margin of victory under one second.

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