NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will race 400.5 miles over 267 laps in the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts on Saturday, July 9th at Kentucky Speedway. NBC Sports Network will begin their coverage at 6 pm ET with a green flag around 7:30 pm ET with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
Halfway, Next Time By
Tune in to the ‘Officials’ channel on the NASCAR Mobile app, and you’ll hear it at the midpoint of every race: ‘Halfway next time by.’ It’s a phrase that lets competitors know that on the next lap, the race is official.
As for the 2016 season, Kentucky is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ halfway point. But we all know … it ain’t official until the champion raises the trophy in Miami.
But, this is a good time to reflect back on an incredible first half, one in which fans have taken notice for one fairly obvious reason – the racing is as good as its been in years – heck, maybe ever.
From the closest finish in Daytona 500 history to a most appropriate Independence Day Weekend flag-waving celebration by 2012 champion Brad Keselowski last Saturday at the series’ return to Daytona, this season has provided its share of breathtaking moments.
Three tracks have seen green-flag-pass records fall: Atlanta, Auto Club Speedway and Bristol. And one boasted the second-highest green flag pass total ever recorded at Talladega, 213.
And the endings: The Daytona 500 and Phoenix race both ended with razor-thin margins of victory (.010 seconds). The Sprint Showdown boasted two segments that ended with miniscule margins of victory.
Of course, the stars make the show – and the breakout stars of 2016 are a crop of surprising and promising youngsters.
Austin Dillon (26) and rookies Chase Elliott (20) and Ryan Blaney (22) are firmly on the Chase Grid, and would make NASCAR’s playoffs if they began today. The 1-2-3 finishers for the Michigan race in June were ages 26 (Joey Logano), 20 (Elliott) and 23 (Kyle Larson), forming the youngest top 3 in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history.
It’s all led to a thrilling first 18 races. And the best news of all: There’s still 18 to go.
Kentucky Marks Second Appearance of Updated NASCAR Rules Package
The Sprint Cup Series will run its rules updates implemented last month at Michigan International Speedway for the second time in Saturday’s Quaker State 400 Presented By Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway. The rules package developments are part of an industry-wide collaboration to further enhance the quality of racing.
Earlier in the season, welded truck trailing arms and new brake cooling rules were put into place. The following updates to the rules package were added at Michigan and Kentucky to further reduce downforce and side-force:
- Reduce skew generated side-force by setting rear toe to zero
- Aero package tweaks to reduce aero-generated downforce and side-force
o Spoiler shortened from 3.5 inches to 2.5 inches
o Splitter reduced to 2 inches
o Resize of deck fin to match spoiler
Saturday’s race will be the first Sprint Cup contest on Kentucky’s repaved racing surface and the reconfigured first and second turns.
Kentucky Set to Debut New Surface
Kentucky Speedway underwent a full repave during the offseason and its new surface debuts from Wednesday through Saturday when all three of NASCAR’s national series head to The Bluegrass State.
In addition to the repave, turns one and two had their banking increased from 14 to 17 degrees. The racing groove narrowed in the process. Turns three and four remain 14 degrees.
The track also added 3,200 feet SAFER barrier and made improvements to its drainage system.
Captain of the Century:
Keselowski Notches Team Penske’s 100th Win, Looks Forward to Kentucky
Brad Keselowski tied Kyle Busch for the Sprint Cup Series wins lead by taking his third checkered flag of the season at Daytona. The victory was the 100th for Team Penske, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Keselowski will go for his second straight victory in Saturday’s Quaker State 400 Presented By Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway. He ranks tied with Busch for first on Kentucky’s all-time wins list with two triumphs. Matt Kenseth is the only other driver to win at the 1.5-mile track since the Sprint Cup Series began racing there in 2011.
The No. 2 Ford driver’s 117.8 driver rating at Kentucky is the second-best among active drivers.
On the season, Keselowski claims seven top-fives and 11 top-tens in 17 starts.
Click Here For An Graphic Detailing Team Penske’s 100 Wins
Kyle Busch Back in Business
After recording a finish of 30th or worse in four straight races, Kyle Busch has produced finishes of seventh at Sonoma and second at Daytona in his last two contests.
The 2015 Sprint Cup Series champion looks to continue his recent success at one of his top tracks – Kentucky Speedway. In five starts in the Bluegrass State, Busch boasts two wins, four top-fives and five top-tens. He leads active drivers at Kentucky in driver rating (129.1), average finish (3.8), average running position (4.6) and laps led (437).
On the season, Busch has three wins, ten top-fives and 11 top-tens in 17 starts.
Roush Trio Produces Season Bests at Daytona
The Roush Fenway Racing trio of Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Greg Biffle finished third, fifth and eighth, respectively, at Daytona – all individual season-best showings.
Bayne’s previous-best result this season was a fifth at Bristol. Stenhouse finished fifth earlier this year at Fontana. Biffle’s earlier season-high was an 11th-place result at Charlotte.
Bayne has the best Chase outlook of the RFR drivers. He sits 18th on the Chase Grid, ten points behind 16th-place Ryan Blaney. Stenhouse mans the 22nd spot, 21 points behind Blaney. Biffle trails in 23rd, 85 points off Blaney’s pace.
The organization has never won at Kentucky Speedway – the Sprint Cup Series’ next stop.
Kenseth Can Turn Performance Around at Kentucky
Matt Kenseth has struggled lately with finishes of 14th at Michigan, 20th at Sonoma and 28th at Daytona in his last three races.
Kentucky could be his panacea.
In five starts at the 1.5-mile track, Kenseth owns three top-five and five top-ten finishes. Among active drivers at Kentucky, he claims the second-best average finish (4.6), third-best average running position (9.0) and fourth-best driver rating (106.7).
On the season, the No. 20 Toyota driver has one win, two top-fives and six top-tens.
Stewart Looks Chase Bound
Although he finished 26th at Daytona due to a late-race accident, Tony Stewart moved into 30th in the Sprint Cup Series standings, three points ahead of 31st place Brian Scott. If he stays in the top-30 following Richmond, Stewart will make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Since returning at Richmond in April, Stewart has one win, one top five, three top-tens and an average finish of 18.1.
On Saturday, Stewart will make his last career start at Kentucky Speedway where he owns a high finish of 11th (2014).
The No. 14 Chevrolet driver is attempting to notch his 50th victory. A 50th win would tie Stewart with NASCAR Hall of Famers Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett for 11th on the all-time list. Every eligible driver with as many wins as Stewart is in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Dillon Continues Breakout Year
Austin Dillon continues to zero in on his first career Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup berth, following his seventh-place showing at Daytona. He sits 13th on the Chase Grid, 29 points ahead of Jamie McMurray on the cutoff line.
A mere 17 races into the season, Dillon has set career highs in top-fives and top-tens. The Welcome, North Carolina native is still looking for his first win.
Nine to Go: Winless Drivers Who Have Visited Victory Lane at Remaining Tracks
Only five berths remain for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with nine races left in the season.
Remember, “Win and you’re in.” A driver gets into the Chase with a victory as long as he/she is in the top-30 of the points standings and attempts every race.
And speaking of clinching, a number of drivers can lock up a top-30 spot this weekend. Any driver who has multiple wins and leaves Kentucky with a 361-point lead on 31st place is guaranteed to be among the top-16 winners and top-30 in points, thereby locking up a Chase spot. Those who can do it at Kentucky: Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Joey Logano.
Below are the remaining tracks and winless drivers who have visited Victory Lane at them:
Kentucky: None
New Hampshire: Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne
Indianapolis: Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman
Pocono: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman
Watkins Glen: AJ Allmendinger
Bristol: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne
Michigan: Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne
Darlington: Greg Biffle, Regan Smith
Richmond: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman
“NASCAR on Jeopardy!”
NASCAR played a significant role in the popular game show “Jeopardy” on Monday, July 4. One of the categories on the show was “NASCAR Technologies.”
Here were the questions:
For $200: “The tires used in NASCAR have another tire within them for safety reasons and are filled with this gas, symbol ‘N,’ because it contains less moisture than air and the tire pressure doesn’t change as much in a race.”
For $400: “The window net used to prevent injuries by keeping a driver’s arms inside the car during a crash became mandatory after this NASCAR legend known as ‘King Richard’ almost died in a 1970 wreck at Darlington.”
For $600: “Engines with carburetors ruled NASCAR for decades, but since 2012 all cars have been equipped with ‘EFI,’ electronic ‘this,’ because it’s more efficient and produces a better air/gas mixture.”
For $800: “‘Banking’ is the degree of incline of a racetrack’s surface which allows the cars to go faster in the turns with minimal lateral slippage. While Daytona has a 31% bank, Will Ferrell could tell you that this Alabama speedway is even steeper at 33%.”
For $1,000: “Also known as ‘the blade,’ this strip of metal on the rear deck lid is designed to create downforce on the rear of the car to increase traction, but it has to be angled just right so it doesn’t hinder speed on the straightaways.”
And the answers:
$200: “What is nitrogen?”
$400: “Who is Richard Petty?”
$600: “What is fuel injection?”
$800: “What is Talladega?”
$1000: “What is a spoiler?”