SB Nation Atlanta - NASCAR At Kansas Speedway 2011: Brad Keselowski Wins STP 400https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46601/atlanta-fave.png2011-06-05T16:21:32-04:00http://atlanta.sbnation.com/rss/stream/19664762011-06-05T16:21:32-04:002011-06-05T16:21:32-04:00NASCAR At Kansas Speedway Results: Brad Keselowski Stretches The Fuel, Wins STP 400
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<p>Brad Keselowski stretched his final tank of gas to the finish and snared his second-career NASCAR Sprint Cup victory, taking the STP 400 at the Kansas Speedway.</p>
<p>Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin also stretched their fuel to finish second and third. Jeff Gordon finished best of the drivers who had to pit in the late laps, coming home fourth ahead of Carl Edwards. Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, and Greg Biffle rounded out the top-10.</p>
<p>Busch, Keselowski's Penske Racing teammate who won the pole and dominated the race, stumbled leaving the pits and ended up fifth of the drivers who stopped late. He led 152 laps, by far his best performance of the season.</p>
<p>Instead it was his teammate grabbing his second win and his first since April 2009 at Talladega. It is Penske's first win since Busch won the 2010 Coca-Cola 600, just over one year ago.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/6/5/2207979/nascar-at-kansas-speedway-results-brad-keselowski-stretches-the-fuelAaron Rosser2011-06-05T15:50:33-04:002011-06-05T15:50:33-04:00NASCAR At Kansas Update: Strategy In Play As Laps WInd Down
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<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Whether fuel fells him or not, Busch has had his best race of the 2011 season, leading a dominant 117 laps from the pole.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/6/5/2207946/nascar-at-kansas-update-strategy-in-play-as-laps-wind-downAaron Rosser2011-06-05T15:21:38-04:002011-06-05T15:21:38-04:00NASCAR At Kansas Speedway: Polesitter Kurt Busch Leads With 100 Laps Remaining
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<p>Kurt Busch has 100 laps to go before what would be his first win of the 2011 season, and the polewinner is back out front at the Kansas Speedway.</p>
<p>Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Matt Kenseth round out the top-five.</p>
<p>Stewart and Denny Hamlin, a previous leader, had a little bit of a contact just before the most recent caution, sending both cars up the track. Stewart had previously threatened to crash Hamlin as they raced for the lead earlier.</p>
<p>Dale Earnhardt Jr. drew a caution at lap 153 with a spin, dropping him deep in the field. He is currently shown 26th after running as high as 11th place before the spin.</p>
<p>The race has been mostly clean, with only one caution flag for an accident. Landon Cassill and Marcos Ambrose touched exiting the fourth turn at lap 118, causing Cassill to slam the outside wall hard. His Chevrolet dropped significant debris around the track, necessitating a near 10-lap caution flag.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/6/5/2207893/nascar-at-kansas-speedway-polesitter-kurt-busch-leads-with-100-lapsAaron Rosser2011-06-05T14:17:48-04:002011-06-05T14:17:48-04:00NASCAR At Kansas Update: Points Leader Carl Edwards Out Front
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<p>With 90 laps complete in today's STP 400, Carl Edwards has his No. 99 Ford out front. The Sprint Cup point leader overhauled polesitter Kurt Busch to snare the top spot and has pulled away to a lead of just under one second at what he considers his home race track.</p>
<p>Busch runs second ahead of his brother Kyle. Two-time Kansas winner Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin round out the top-five. The top-10 is rounded out by Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon - another two-time Kansas victor - Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, and David Ragan.</p>
<p>Juan Pablo Montoya, who led 10 laps early, runs 14th. Sentimental favorite Clint Bowyer, of Emporia, KS, runs 16th.</p>
<p>The intense Kansas temperatures may play a factor by the end of the event. Fox Sports played the audio for Dale Earnhardt Jr. complaining of the searing heat. There have been concerns that some drivers might need to give way to a relief driver.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/6/5/2207835/nascar-at-kansas-update-points-leader-carl-edwards-out-frontAaron Rosser2011-06-05T13:34:44-04:002011-06-05T13:34:44-04:00NASCAR At Kansas Speedway Update: Polesitter Kurt Busch Up Front Early
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<p>The STP 400 is 20 laps young and polesitter Kurt Busch is back out front at the Kansas Speedway, having overhauled Juan Pablo Montoya for the lead to complete the race's 18th lap. Montoya runs second, followed by Kyle Busch, point leader Carl Edwards, and Joey Logano.</p>
<p>Kurt Busch dropped back as far as sixth in the opening laps of the race before moving through the field to retake the lead. His brother and Montoya are the only other leaders of the race thus far.</p>
<p>Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson are both on the move after poor qualifying efforts. Kenseth is up to the eighth position after starting 21st, while Johnson has climbed from a 31st-place starting effort to run 20th. Backsliding is Brian Vickers, who started fourth and has dropped outside the top-10.</p>
<p>There have been no cautions, but Travis Kvapil and Scott Riggs have both had contact with the wall. Riggs took his Dodge behind the wall.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/6/5/2207767/nascar-at-kansas-speedway-update-polesitter-kurt-busch-up-front-earlyAaron Rosser2011-06-05T12:52:11-04:002011-06-05T12:52:11-04:00NASCAR At Kansas Speedway 2011: STP 400 Start Time, Starting Grid, And Stories To Watch
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<p>We are within an hour of the green flag in today's STP 400 at the Kansas Speedway, just outside Kanas City. FOX Sports has coverage at 1 p.m., with the green flag scheduled to fall at approximately 1:15 p.m.</p>
<p>Kurt Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya have the front row for today's event. Check out <a target="_blank" href="http://jayski.com/stats/2011/grids/13kan2011grid.htm#lineup">the entire starting grid </a>at Jayski.com.</p>
<p>Some stories to watch for today's event:</p>
<p><strong>Does a local hero go to victory lane? </strong>Kansas native Clint Bowyer and Missouri drivers Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray have all made it clear that they would love a victory at the Kansas Speedway. Edwards and Bowyer have each won Camping World Truck Series races there, with Bowyer getting his win just yesterday, while a McMurray triumph would no doubt be a glimmer of sunshine for his tornado-ravaged hometown of Joplin, MO.</p>
<p><strong>Can Kurt Busch parlay the pole into a victory? </strong>He has been outspoken about the performance of his No. 22 Dodge this season, but performance for his car and that of Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski has improved of late. The larger, faster tracks have traditionally been Busch's strong suit.</p>
<p><strong>Hendrick struggled in qualifying, how will they do in the race? </strong>Mark Martin led the Hendrick contingent with an 18th-place qualifying effort. Jeff Gordon is 22nd, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 28th, and Jimmie Johnson is 31st. Three of them have won at Kansas - though Martin's win came in a Roush Racing Ford in 2005 - and there are 400 miles of racing to get their Impalas to the front.</p>
<p><strong>Does the latest chapter of the Richard Childress Racing/Joe Gibbs Racing fued play out on-track today? </strong>Childress punched Kyle Busch after yesterday's truck race. There has been little love lost between the two teams over the last two seasons, as all three of Gibbs drivers have had issues with Childress's star driver, Kevin Harvick, while Busch drew Jeff Burton's ire after last year's Coca-Cola 600 and Denny Hamlin rankled Clint Bowyer with comments about a penalty assessed to Bowyer last September.</p>
<p><strong>Can everyone take the heat? </strong>A big factor today is likely to be the searing midwestern heat. Conditions inside a stock car can reach 135+ degrees. Over four hours of racing, there is little relief from the heat aside from water or ice, which subsequently melts and creates a steam bath in the seat of the driver. Anyone looking for a good weightloss program should consider a racing career: drivers will likely lose 10-15 pounds this afternoon.</p>
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https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/6/5/2207698/nascar-at-kansas-speedway-2011-stp-400-start-time-starting-grid-storiesAaron Rosser2011-06-04T15:54:27-04:002011-06-04T15:54:27-04:00NASCAR At Kansas Speedway: Kurt Busch Wins Pole For STP 400
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<p>For the second-straight week, one of Roger Penske's Dodges will lead the field to the green flag. Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 22 Dodge, snared his 13th-career pole position and his first of the 2011 season. His teammate, Brad Keselowski, grabbed the pole for last week's Coca-Cola 600.</p>
<p>Juan Pablo Montoya was second in the No. 42 Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, followed by the Toyota trio of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano and Team Red Bull driver Brian Vickers.</p>
<p>The top-10 was filled out by Jamie McMurray, points leader Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., and Richard Childress Racing teammates Paul Menard and Kevin Harvick.</p>
<p>None of the top-10 qualifiers have ever won at Kansas. 2003 winner Ryan Newman was the highest-qualified former victor at the track in 12th. Teammate/car owner Tony Stewart, a two-time Kansas winner, was one spot behind Newman in 13th, while last September's Kansas winner Greg Biffle was 14th.</p>
<p>Five-time defending series champion and 2008 Kansas Winner Jimmie Johnson was a miserable 31st.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/6/4/2206722/nascar-at-kansas-speedway-kurt-busch-wins-pole-for-stp-400Aaron Rosser2011-06-02T08:17:36-04:002011-06-02T08:17:36-04:00NASCAR At Kansas Speedway 2011: TV Schedule, Past Winners And More
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<p>This weekend's running of the STP 400 marks the first time Kansas Speedway has held a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event outside of the fall. Its first of two races this season marks the 13th event of the 2011 season and the 11th at the facility just outside Kansas City. It is the first of two inaugural events on the 2011 calendar, with the other being the new race at Kentucky Speedway next month. Kansas picked up a Sprint Cup date from the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California to get its second race.</p>
<p>Over the past ten races, there have been seven different winners, with no driver recording more than two. Greg Biffle's win in the most recent Kansas event last September, along with his 2007 victory, tied him with Jeff Gordon (2001, the track's inaugural year, and 2002) and Tony Stewart (2006, 2009) as the only drivers with multiple wins at Kansas.</p>
<p>Other victors include Ryan Newman (2003), Joe Nemechek (2004), Mark Martin (2005), and Jimmie Johnson (2008). Johnson and Nemechek are the only drivers to win the race from the pole, while Stewart has the deepest starting position for a winner (21st in 2006).</p>
<p>Times and stations for coverage of the STP 400, as well as practice and qualifying sessions, can be found below:</p>
<p><strong>Practice:</strong></p>
<p>Friday, 1:30 p.m. on SPEED</p>
<p>Friday, 4:30 p.m. on SPEED</p>
<p><strong>Qualifying:</strong></p>
<p>Saturday, 12 p.m. on SPEED</p>
<p><strong>Race:</strong></p>
<p>Sunday, 1 p.m. on FOX (Pre-Race at 12:30)</p>
<p>Fans looking for a favorite to win might want to bet on local hero Carl Edwards. A native of Missouri, the Kansas Speedway is his home track and a facility he wants to win at most. He proved that by driving his Ford into the wall in a fuitle attempt to overtake Johnson in the last turn of the 2008 race. The current point leader stands to benefit from Roush-Fenway Racing's newfound dominance and could be looking at his first Sprint Cup win at Kansas and his second there overall, as he won a Camping World Truck Series race there in 2004.</p>
<p>No driver has gotten his first win at Kansas, but that could change Sunday with the likes of David Ragan, Paul Menard, A.J. Allmendinger, and Marcos Ambrose all seeking their first wins and heading to a track where each has posted solid runs.</p>
<p><i>For more NASCAR, join <a href="http://4ever3blog.com">NASCAR Ranting And Raving</a> and visit <a href="http://sbnation.com/nascar">SB Nation's NASCAR hub</a>.</i></p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2011/6/2/2336046/nascar-at-kansas-speedway-2011-tv-schedule-past-winners-and-moreAaron Rosser