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Kansas Fantasy Forecast

THE RACE: STP 400
THE PLACE: Kansas Speedway
GREEN FLAG: Sunday, June 5, 2011- 1:15pm/et, 12:15/ct

Get ready for the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series spring weekend at Kansas Speedway. Sunday’s STP 400 at Kansas Speedway, the first of two Sprint Cup Series races this year, is sure to be an action packed event as local drivers, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray and Clint Bowyer seek to claim their first Sprint Cup Series victory at their home track. 267 laps of racing are on tap on this 15-degree, 1.5-mile cookie cutter tri-oval.

The following drivers have the best odds of pulling out a top finish this weekend. The rankings are based on drivers’ history at this track including practice & qualifying runs, key in-race stats and final results. Drivers’ history at tracks of similar size and layout are included. Then by factoring in results from the last month of racing, the ever-powerful momentum is captured. Finally, drivers get a mulligan. The occasional “off” race won’t unduly harm them in the rankings.

TOP TWENTYFIVE
1) 99 Carl Edwards
2) 48 Jimmie Johnson
3) 16 Greg Biffle
4) 24 Jeff Gordon
5) 11 Denny Hamlin
6) 14 Tony Stewart
7) 17 Matt Kenseth
8) 18 Kyle Busch
9) 29 Kevin Harvick
10) 4 Kasey Kahne
11) 5 Mark Martin
12) 33 Clint Bowyer
13) 6 David Ragan
14) 43 A.J. Allmendinger
15) 00 David Reutimann
16) 1 Jamie McMurray
17) 56 Martin Truex Jr.
18) 39 Ryan Newman
19) 83 Brian Vickers
20) 31 Jeff Burton
21) 22 Kurt Busch
22) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
23) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya
24) 9 Marcos Ambrose
25) 2 Brad Keselowski

KANSAS DRIVER STATS
Carl Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford)
• Two top fives, five top 10s
• Average finish of 12.3
• Average Running Position of 13.4, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 94.8, seventh-best
• 80 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
• 386 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 161.948 mph, fifth-fastest
• 1,033 Laps in the Top 15 (66.9%), seventh-most
• 221 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet)
• One win, three top fives, seven top 10s; three poles
• Average finish of 9.3
• Average Running Position of 7.2, second-best
• Driver Rating of 118.7, second-best
• Series-high 209 Fastest Laps Run
• Series-high 425 Green Flag Passes
• Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 162.818 mph
• 1,389 Laps in the Top 15 (89.9%), third-most
• Series-high 270 Quality Passes

Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M/Walgreens Ford)
• Two wins, six top fives, six top 10s
• Average finish of 8.1
• Series-best Average Running Position of 5.9
• Series-best Driver Rating of 122.6
• 157 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 162.739 mph, second-fastest
• Series-high 1,436 Laps in the Top 15 (92.9%)
• 245 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), second-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet)
• Two wins, seven top fives, eight top 10s
• Average finish of 8.5
• Average Running Position of 8.9, third-best
• Driver Rating of 106.5, third-best
• 68 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 162.481 mph, third-fastest
• 1,390 Laps in the Top 15 (90.0%), second-most
• 233 Quality Passes, third-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 The Glades/Office Depot Chevrolet)
• Two wins, five top fives, seven top 10s
• Average finish of 12.3
• Average Running Position of 9.9, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 103.3, fourth-best
• 86 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 162.203 mph, fourth-fastest
• 1,216 Laps in the Top 15 (78.7%), fourth-most
• 224 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Affliction Clothing Live Fast Ford Fusion Ford)
• Two top fives, four top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 20.6
• Average Running Position of 12.7, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 97.7, fifth-best
• 89 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 161.767 mph, 10th-fastest
• 1,060 Laps in the Top 15 (68.6%), sixth-most
• 165 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet)
• One top five, four top 10s
• Average finish of 14.6
• Average Running Position of 14.8, eighth-best
• Driver Rating of 87.1, ninth-best
• 59 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
• 399 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 161.651 mph, 11th-fastest
• 817 Laps in the Top 15 (52.9%), 11th-most
• 152 Quality Passes, 13th-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 4 Red Bull Toyota)
• Two top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 19.6
• Average Running Position of 16.2, 10th-best
• Driver Rating of 82.7, 11th-best
• 33 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
• 340 Green Flag Passes, 13th-most
• 855 Laps in the Top 15 (55.3%), eighth-most

Mark Martin (No. 5 Farmers Insurance/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet)
• One win, two top fives, four top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 12.6
• Average Running Position of 11.6, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 97.3, sixth-best
• Average Green Flag Speed of 161.851 mph, eighth-fastest
• 1,124 Laps in the Top 15 (72.8%), fifth-most
• 158 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet)
• One top five, two top 10s
• Average finish of 11.8
• Average Running Position of 16.4, 11th-best
• Driver Rating of 88.1, eighth-best
• 35 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 161.896 mph, seventh-fastest

Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Average finish of 25.6
• Average Running Position of 14.9, ninth-best
• Driver Rating of 82.7, 12th-best
• 32 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 161.901 mph, sixth-fastest
• 794 Laps in the Top 15 (62.1%), 12th-most

Kurt Busch (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge)
• Two top 10s
• Average finish of 19.0
• Driver Rating of 84.6, 10th-best
• 58 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
• 383 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
• 760 Laps in the Top 15 (49.2%), 13th-most
• 164 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet)
• Four top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 19.1
• Driver Rating of 82.5, 13th-best
• 52 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
• 366 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 161.599 mph, 13th-fastest
• 158 Quality Passes, 10th-most

KANSAS SPEEDWAY HIGHLIGHTS
• Jeff Gordon won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway in 2001.
• Seven different drivers have won poles, led by Jimmie Johnson, with three.
• Seven different drivers have posted victories, led by Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart (each with two).
• Seven of the 10 races have been won from a top-10 starting position.
• Two drivers have won from the pole: Joe Nemechek in 2004 and Jimmie Johnson in 2008.
• Three active drivers with more than one start have averaged a top-10 finish: Greg Biffle (8.1), Jeff Gordon (8.5) and Jimmie Johnson (9.3).
• Jeff Gordon leads all drivers in top fives with seven.
• Seven of the nine races that ended under green had a margin of victory under one second.

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