With 50 laps remaining, strategy is in play at the Kansas Speedway. Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, and Carl Edwards hold the top-three spots, but the drivers to watch could be Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Busch, Gordon, and Edwards will almost certainly require one more pit stop before the conclusion of the race, while Stewart and company pitted late enough that they are going to attempt to stretch their last tank of fuel all the way to the checkered flag. Stewart won the 2006 race on fuel-mileage, coasting his Chevrolet across the finish line.
Hamlin and Earnhardt are among those who pitted late enough that they are most likely able to complete the race without another stop. Stewart, meanwhile, will be close.
Whether fuel fells him or not, Busch has had his best race of the 2011 season, leading a dominant 117 laps from the pole.