2006 Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway:
Kansas Speedway is one of the so-called cookie-cutter race tracks that resemble many of the other modern tracks on the circuit. This, the third race in the 2006 Chase For The Cup, is an important stop on the NEXTEL Cup schedule. The top four drivers are separated by just 18 points and two more are within 75 points of the lead.
Tickets:
Speedway ticket office 913-328-RACE
Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)
The Track:
Kansas is a 1.5 mile with 15 degrees of banking in the corners. Only around since 2001 Kansas Speedway hasn't had a chance to distinguish itself yet. Now that it hosts one of the final ten critical Chase for the NEXTEL Cup races true NASCAR history will be coming soon.
Race Distance:
267 laps = 400 miles
The Big Picture:
Jeff Burton jumped up into the point lead with his win in Dover last week. His lead is slim as the top six drivers are all within 75 points of the top spot with four of those drivers just eighteen points or less from the lead.
The current top ten:
- Jeff Burton -0
- Jeff Gordon -6
- Matt Kenseth -18
- Denny Hamlin -18
- Kevin Harvick -54
- Mark Martin -75
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -102
- Jimmie Johnson -136
- Kasey Kahne -182
- Kyle Busch -224
Storylines:
This is the week that Mark Martin finally falls into the spotlight. 2006 will almost certainly be Mark's last full season in NEXTEL Cup racing.
Mark currently finds himself sixth in NEXTEL Cup points and returning to the track where he scored his only victory of 2005. Mark is also the only driver in the top ten without a NEXTEL Cup victory in 2006. A win this week would boost his title hopes and refresh his farewell tour.
Media Coverage:
TV: NBC Sunday, October 1st, 1:30PM Eastern.
Radio: MRN and XM Satellite
Actual Race: 2:10PM Eastern
Posted Awards:
$5,934,007
Last Year:
In 2005 Mark Martin had lead the most laps during the race and had a comfortable lead when it came down to the end. His teammate Greg Biffle started to close the gap and really put the heat on over the last 25 laps of the race. However, Mark was able to hold on to score the 35th NEXTEL Cup win of his career.
Predictions:
This is a week where I'd like to pick a team instead of just two drivers. Roush Racing's Mark Martin won here in 2005 holding off teammate Greg Biffle who was making a hard charge at the end. Plus Roush drivers Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards have been running well lately and must be considered threats.
Forced to go with just one primary I'm going to pick Mark Martin to repeat his victory from 2005. Mark has a good setup for this track and has been running well lately. If his team can make the right calls all day long then Mark has to be considered a favorite for the win in Kansas.
For my backup I'm going with my pick to win it all in 2006. I think Matt Kenseth will have another good day this week in Kansas. This could easily be the week that Matt takes over the NEXTEL Cup point lead for good after a convincing victory in Kansas.
