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Mash The Gas – Kansas Preview

It’s on to another 1.5 mile circuit for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as the Kansas Speedway hosts the STP 400 Sunday afternoon. Much like Texas last week and Las Vegas earlier in the season, Kansas possesses many of the same characteristics as the earlier mile and half ovals the series visited.

The STP 400 at the Kansas Speedway is set to see the green flag wave at 1:15pm Eastern. 267 laps make up the 400 mile distance on the 1.5 mile track. This race is the eighth points event of the 2013 season.

Matt Kenseth
Dan Margetta: The Las Vegas winner had hoped to fare better then 12th last week at Texas after a strong run was hampered by a slow final pit stop. Still, Kenseth and the #20 team have been fast on the 1.5 mile tracks and he is the only winner so far at Kansas since the track was repaved last Fall. Look for the #20 car to be up front again this week but they will need to improve on their pit performance if they want to be in victory lane.

Greg Biffle
John Wiedemann: Six times out of thirteen races Greg Biffle has finished in the top three at Kansas Speedway, including wins in 2007 and 2010. Biffle, along with Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, are the only drivers with multiple wins at the track. Biffle and the #16 team learned some “Gen6” lessons at Las Vegas this season and while running up front at Texas, stumbled but recovered to finish fourth. I predict that Biffle will be fast this weekend at Kansas and will be the driver ending up in victory lane.

Kyle Busch
DM: The #18 bunch is making a strong bid to be considered the top team in the garage and their streak of top five finishes continued last week with the win at Texas. They’re on a roll right now and Kyle Busch is on top of his game. Until they falter, I wouldn’t bet against them on any weekend.

Carl Edwards
JW: Carl Edwards, besides winning at Phoenix, has shown his strengths again at the mile and a half racetracks. With a fifth place finish at Las Vegas and a third place finish at Texas, you can expect Edwards to be in the mix for the win. Edwards has eight top ten finishes at Kansas in eleven tries, but has not yet found victory lane. Edwards almost got the win in 2008 when he dove underneath and passed Jimmie Johnson in turn three on the last lap and then slid up too far, bouncing off the wall allowing Johnson to regain the lead and the win. Would Edwards try that checkers-or-wreckers move again? Probably.

Brad Keselowski
DM: A major story this weekend at Kansas will be how well Brad Keselowski and the #2 team rebounds after NASCAR frowned on their rear-end housing innovations and socked them with a major 25 point penalty. If rumors are believed, the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Jimmie Johnson team dropped the dime on the defending champion, employing the same head-game tactics the Penske driver used to fend off Johnson’s challenge for the Cup last season. How they perform this weekend will be strong test to see if they have retained their championship caliber form.

Jimmie Johnson
JW: If you haven’t paid any attention to the season so far, here is some news: Jimmie Johnson is in championship form. Johnson has two wins (2008, 2011) and has a top ten finish streak going back eight races to 2007 at the Kansas Speedway. Johnson also has the point lead and finished sixth at Las Vegas and Texas, the two other mile and a half races. He’ll probably be a contender on Sunday.

Martin Truex Jr.
DM: The most disappointed driver following last Spring’s Kansas race was Martin Truex Jr. who literally dominated the event before Denny Hamlin stole the victory in the final stages. Truex and the #56 team once again failed to close the deal last weekend at Texas after leading many laps. It’s becoming an all too common occurrence with this team and they will not only look to repeat last year’s dominating performance but to seal the deal and celebrate in victory lane.

Joey Logano
JW: Much like Brad Keselowski’s team, it will be interesting to see how the #22 team recovers and responds to the penalties handed down by NASCAR this week. Judging by the performance at Texas when Joey Logano barely made the start of the Texas race and then drove through the field to lead a lap and finish fifth, I expect a similar finish at Kansas. And, don’t be surprised if Logano is challenging for the win when the checkers fly.

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