Kansas Cookie Cutter Racing: Kansas Speedway is one of the so-called cookie-cutter race tracks that resemble many of the other modern tracks on the circuit. Scheduled right in the heart of The Chase this is a critical race. Can Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman continue to pull away from the rest of the Chasers? Will a non-Chaser win like happened in 2004? Here is a complete look at this weekend's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race.
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: While Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman are just 4 points apart at the top last week's mess caused the rest of the top ten tp slip back slightly. Jimmie Johnson fell from the lead to fourth overall 82 points behind Stewart.
The current points top ten are: 1. Tony Stewart 5,519. 2. Ryan Newman 5,515. 3. Rusty Wallace 5,443. 4. Jimmie Johnson 5,437. 5. Greg Biffle 5,421. 6. Carl Edwards 5,419. 7. Matt Kenseth 5,408. 8. Jeremy Mayfield, 5,407. 9. Mark Martin, 5,381.10. Kurt Busch 5,339.
Storylines: After the melee in Talladega that saw two "Big Ones" we'll hear from all of the big players from last week's wrecks. This gives the TV guys a chance to replay the dramatic video of the crashes over and over again.
This is also a good opportunity to talk about NASCAR's commitment to safety and the testing that NASCAR did this week on "The car of the future."
Sure we are in Kansas, but last week's race was such a mess that it is still the top story.
Media Coverage: TV: NBC Sunday, October 9th, 1:30PM Eastern.
Radio: MRN and XM Satellite
Actual Race: 2:10PM Eastern
Posted Awards: $5,830,750
Last Year: The 2004 edition of the Banquet 400 saw Joe Nemechek complete the weekend sweep. On Saturday Joe won the Busch race and then backed that up by taking the Cup race on Sunday. Joe is one of only two drivers not in The Chase to win a Chase race in 2004. (Homestead winner Greg Biffle was the other)
Predictions: Kansas has only hosted four total NEXTEL Cup races so there isn't a lot of history to base these picks on. So the next best thing is to look at who's hot in NASCAR racing currently.
I'm going with Kurt Busch to get his season back on track with a big weekend. He has been consistently fast but has had bad luck since The Chase began. For my backup I'm going with another driver that has been fast but unlucky, Kurt's teammate Mark Martin.
