GoBowling.com 400 Betting News and Notes

Kansas Driver Tale of the Tape

Greg Biffle (No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion)

· Two wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 10.250, fourth-best
· Average Running Position of 11.057, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 99.3, fourth-best
· 209 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 168.599, eighth-fastest
· 3011 Laps in the Top 15 (71.3), fourth-most
· 552 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet SS)

· One top five, six top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.875, 11th-best
· Average Running Position of 15.486, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 86.9, 13th-best
· 133 Fastest Laps Run, third-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 168.343, 11th-fastest
· 2499 Laps in the Top 15 (59.2), 12th-most
· 503 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS)

· Three top fives, nine top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.000, 10th-best
· Average Running Position of 14.985, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 90.9, 10th-best
· 144 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 168.447, ninth-fastest
· 2408 Laps in the Top 15 (60.9), 11th-most
· 525 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Carl Edwards (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

· Six top fives, 12 top 10s
· Average finish of 9.875, third-best
· Average Running Position of 12.115, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 95.7, fifth-best
· 147 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 168.612, seventh-fastest
· 2953 Laps in the Top 15 (69.9), fifth-most
· 606 Quality Passes, second-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

· One win, four top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 15.400, ninth-best
· Average Running Position of 14.257, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 87.9, 12th-best
· 71 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 168.414, 10th-fastest
· 2585 Laps in the Top 15 (65.4), eighth-most
· 524 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet SS)

· One win, four top fives, nine top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 9.813, second-best
· Average Running Position of 10.505, third-best
· Driver Rating of 102.5, third-best
· 276 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 168.988, third-fastest
· 3139 Laps in the Top 15 (74.3), third-most
· 553 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS)

· Three wins, eight top fives, 16 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 7.313, series-best
· Average Running Position of 9.383, series-best
· Driver Rating of 112.0, series-best
· 530 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 169.158, series-fastest
· 3484 Laps in the Top 15 (82.5), series-most
· 726 Quality Passes, series-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS)

· Five top fives, eight top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 13.500, seventh-best
· Average Running Position of 12.824, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 93.1, eighth-best
· 168 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 168.622, sixth-fastest
· 2929 Laps in the Top 15 (69.4), sixth-most
· 588 Quality Passes, third-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

· Two wins, six top fives, 11 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 11.500, fifth-best
· Average Running Position of 10.320, second-best
· Driver Rating of 106.8, second-best
· 305 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 168.936, fourth-fastest
· 3246 Laps in the Top 15 (76.9), second-most
· 550 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Ford Fusion)

· One win, two top fives, six top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 12.250, sixth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.190, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 91.7, ninth-best
· 88 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 168.291, 12th-fastest
· 2218 Laps in the Top 15 (69.1), seventh-most
· 447 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Kyle Larson (No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet SS)

· One top five, one top 10
· Average finish of 14.500, eighth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.397, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 93.2, sixth-best
· 85 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 169.008, second-fastest
· 698 Laps in the Top 15 (65.2), ninth-most
· 169 Quality Passes, 13th-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet SS)

· Two wins, six top fives, nine top 10s
· Average finish of 17.467, 13th-best
· Average Running Position of 14.089, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 89.7, 11th-best
· 142 Fastest Laps Run, series-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 167.993, 13th-fastest
· 2293 Laps in the Top 15 (58.0), 13th-most
· 456 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Martin Truex Jr (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota Camry)

· Four top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 17.333, 12th-best
· Average Running Position of 13.131, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 93.2, seventh-best
· 180 Fastest Laps Run, second-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 168.693, fifth-fastest
· 2549 Laps in the Top 15 (64.5), 10th-most
· 426 Quality Passes, 12th-most

GoBowling 400 Preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

It's time to get back into our 1.5-mile track mode with Saturday night racing at Kansas Speedway and it's also time to stop, reflect and acknowledge every Mother on the planet, something NASCAR has been doing since its beginnings.

Mother's Day has always a been a huge NASCAR tradition simply because they don't race on the holiday. NASCAR founder Bill France always said he never wanted to see any mother have to watch their son get injured while driving during a race on their special day, but the real reason was closer to the fact that no one came to any of the tracks in the bible belt on that particular Sunday, so it was bad for business.

The tradition still goes on to this day, but instead of an overall dry NASCAR weekend, we get Saturday night racing at Kansas. It'll be the fourth of 11 races on 1.5-mile tracks this season, and first of two at Kansas Speedway. The other will come in October during the Chase.

If you're wondering why Kansas has two race dates when a much better equipped and fun NASCAR experience in Las Vegas only has one, you just need to know that International Speedway Corporation (ISC), which owns Kansas Speedway, is a subsidiary of NASCAR.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway is owned by the competing Speedway Motorsports Incorporated (SMI). ISC got into the gaming business themselves with the Hollywood Casino located right at the track, so it serves them well to have two dates. It's a power move that we're on the wrong side of in Vegas.

With three 1.5-mile races already in the books, we should have pretty good look at who is most likely to win Saturday night. Jimmie Johnson won at Atlanta, Brad Keselowski won at Las Vegas and Kyle Busch won at Texas. We can also look at the Fontana race, a 2-mile layout, but with similar banking to Kansas, where Johnson won as well.

Johnson also led the most laps (76) at Las Vegas and has a series-best 8.7 average finish in 19 Kansas starts, which includes a three wins. Last season Johnson won four the 11 races on 1.5-mile tracks, including this May race. It's not hard to understand why he's the 5/1 co-favorite with Kevin Harvick who won at Kansas in 2013 and has been runner-up twice in the past four starts there.

Most signs point to Johnson winning again, but the driver I'm going to focus on this week is Joey Logano who has been Mr. Kansas over the past three seasons.

All Logano has done is win two of the past three races while on a run of five straight top-five finishes there. He's yet to win a race this season after having the most of any driver last season. He finished second at Las Vegas while leading 70 laps, then was fourth at Fontana and third at Texas.

This is the perfect spot for him to bust loose for his first win and because of Joe Gibbs Racing being the dominant force winning the past four races with the new low down force package, he should be able to fetch a nice price at around 8/1 odds in the sports books.

The best long shot possibility is Martin Truex Jr. who is getting only 15/1 odds. Yes, it's not that big of odds, but long shots really don't win at this track. Truex Jr. has never won at Kansas, but he's always run well there, including runner-up twice during 2012 season. This season he's running JGR equipment and led a race-high 141 laps at Texas last month. He easily had the best car and it's a great indicator that he may get his first win of the season. Last season Johnson led the most laps at Texas at won, and then won on the next 1.5-mile track as well at Kansas a month later.

Another driver with longer odds to consider is Dale Earnhardt Jr. who was third in this race last season. He finished second at both Atlanta and Texas and should be expected to be competing for the win Saturday night.

Top-5 Finish Prediction:

1) #22 Joey Logano (8/1)
2) #48 Jimmie Johnson (5/1)
3) #18 Kyle Busch (8/1)
4) #4 Kevin Harvick (5/1)
5) #78 Martin Truex Jr. (15/1)

NASCAR at Kansas Betting Odds, Driver Breakdown
By Micah Roberts
Sportingnews.com

The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has opened Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick as 5-to-1 co-favorites to win Saturday night's GoBowling.com 400 at Kansas Speedway. This will be the 11th race of the season and fourth of 11 on 1.5-mile tracks.

To find out what driver has the best chance at winning, you'll want look over past Kansas history, but the best idea might be to look at what happened in the first three races on 1.5-mile tracks, as well as Fontana's 2-mile layout where the new low downforce package was a prominent factor. Johnson won at Atlanta and Fontana, Brad Keselowski won at Las Vegas and Kyle Busch won at Texas.

Last season it was Johnson winning at Texas in April and then coming back a month later to win at Kansas. Looking at Texas, the most recent race on 1.5-mile track, could be the proper angle to follow again, but Kurt Busch (12/1) has a different theory on how Kansas should run this week.

"We should see a lot of the similarities to Las Vegas because of the amount of grip level in the track," he said. "It won’t be like Texas, it won’t be like Atlanta, it will be more like Vegas."

If it does run more like Las Vegas as Busch suggests, note that Team Penske finished 1-2 and Johnson was third while leading the most lap (76).

Let's take a look at all of the Westgate's odds to win and break down each driver's resume:

Kevin HARVICK 5/1 - 2013 winner and runner-up last spring (led 53 laps). In 20 career starts he's got an 11.3 average finish. However, he probably doesn't merit the favorite status with Johnson for this race. He doesn't have any top-fives on the 1.5-mile tracks this season. He did lead race-high 131 laps during a sixth-place finish at Atlanta in February.

Jimmie JOHNSON 5/1 - He is the King of Kansas with a series best three wins and 8.7 average finish. He's been ninth or better in 13 of his last 14 starts there. If we break down the 1.5-mile tracks this season and Fontana, Johnson's finger prints are all over the place with two wins, a third and fourth-place. No other driver has a top-five in all four of those races.

"I really like the surface of the Kansas track and looking forward to a great race. Last year (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) made a great call and we had a fast Lowe’s Chevy and the gamble paid off.”

Kyle BUSCH 8/1 - He didn't have a top-five at Kansas in his first 14 attempts, but has done it in his last two starts. Only he and Johnson have top-fives at all three 1.5-mile tracks. He also leads the series with eight top-fives in 10 starts — next most is two drivers with five. No Kansas Cup wins yet, but he does have three Xfinity Series wins and one Craftsman Truck Series win.

Matt KENSETH 8/1 - A two-time winner (2012-13) with a 13.8 average finish in 20 starts. He has a series leading 655 laps led, including a race-high 153 last fall when Joey Logano punted him while leading. You know the story and what ensued, but the story isn't dead. Kenseth had some words for Logano at Talladega and something could be brewing between the two again. Kenseth still is looking for his first top-five of the season.

Carl EDWARDS 8/1 - The Columbia, Miss., native considers this his home track and only Johnson has a better average finish than his 10.5 over 17 races. His only top-five on a 1.5 this season came at Atlanta, but he's go some confidence this week based on his seventh-place Texas run where he sat on the pole and led 124 laps.

"I really feel that after our strong run at Texas we’ve got a good shot here at this mile and a half," Edwards said. "It’s a fast track. It’s a night race. The cars will have tons of grip. We’ve got a lot of folks coming that’ll be in the grandstands and the garage that were a big part of my career. Hopefully we can go there and represent very well and have a really good time. I’m really looking forward to it!”

Joey LOGANO 8/1 - After no top-10s in his first eight Kansas starts, he's come strong with five straight top-five finishes, including wins in two of the past three. He doesn't have any wins on the season, but based on runner-up at Vegas and third at Texas as well as recent dominance on the track, he probably should be considered the co-favorite to win instead of Harvick.

Martin TRUEX JR 10/1 - Runner-up during both races in 2012 and has led 346 laps over 15 races, including a race -high 95 last May before settling for ninth..

Brad KESELOWSKI 12/1 - Won in 2011 and has 12.3 average in 12 starts. He had a streak of 15 straight top-10 finishes on 1.5-mile tracks snapped at Texas last month. His Las Vegas win this season should be a good indicator of doing well Saturday night.

Kurt BUSCH 12/1 - Career-best runner-up in 2013, eighth last May and sixth in the fall. He's been ninth or better on the three 1.5s this season, leading 62 laps at Atlanta and 31 laps at Las Vegas where he started from the pole. He's using a brand new chassis this week and said his team is trying some experimental stuff this week to be better prepared for the All-Star race and Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte over the next few weeks.

Dale EARNHARDT JR 12/1 - Grabbed his third Kansas top-five last May and should be headed there again based on a runner-up at Atlanta and Texas — seventh at Las Vegas.

“Our Axalta/CARSTAR Chevy is a great-looking race car … so we’re going to try to put it in Victory Lane at Kansas," he said. "Kansas is a great racetrack for me. That place has widened out pretty good and you can run against the fence there, which is a line that I like to run. It’s a very fast racetrack and very smooth – a lot of fun, so we should have a good time. We ran well there on the last several trips, so I anticipate us being very competitive. We’ve had good, fast cars all year, and a little more speed than we had last year."

Denny HAMLIN 15/1 - A 15.3 average over 15 starts, including a 2012 win. His runs on 1.5-mile tracks this year have been below his standards and also Joe Gibbs Racing's. However, he did finish third at Fontana.

Chase ELLIOTT 15/1 - Makes his Kansas Cup debut, but Jeff Gordon won three times in the No. 24. He's had a top-five finish in three of the past four races. Really, he's a rookie?

“Kansas is a place that I haven’t really been to a lot so I’m excited to get there and try to get a little bit better' Elliott said. "I definitely struggled there the past two years. The XFINITY Series only goes there once per year, so it’s a place that I haven’t been to a lot. It was a big struggle of mine, so it will be good to get up there and run some laps. I thought that Jeff (Gordon) and (No. 24 team crew chief) Alan (Gustafson) had some really good runs so hopefully we can take what they had and learn from their notes and try to better what we have going on.”

Kasey KAHNE 20/1 - Two-timer runner-up with a 13.4 average in 17 starts. Finished fourth there last fall.

Kyle LARSON 50/1 - Career-best runner-up in fall of 2014, his only top-10 in four starts.

Austin DILLON 30/1 - Eighth-place in 2014. His fifth-place at Las Vegas might be indicator he'll run well this week.

Jamie McMURRAY 100/1 - No top-fives in 18 career starts at his home track with a 19.9 average finish.

Ryan NEWMAN 100/1 -- Runner-up in the first two races in track history (Gordon won both), and then took the checkers in 2003. He's hasn't had a top-five since then but has been 11th or better in past four.

Ryan BLANEY 100/1 - Makes Kansas Cup debut; solid run at Las Vegas with sixth-place finish.

Tony STEWART 100/1 - Two-time winner, the last in 2009. He was 35th or worse in both races last season. He's using Atlanta chassis Ty Dillon drove to 17th.

Greg BIFFLE 100/1 - Two-time winner, the last in 2010. Finished 17th or better in past five starts there.

Ricky STENHOUSE JR 100/1 - A 19.8 average finish in six starts. His fifth-place at Fontana is encouraging.

Paul MENARD 200/1 - Third-place in 2012 for his only top-five in 14 starts.

Aric ALMIROLA 300/1 - Career-best eighth-place, twice. He was 11th last May.

AJ ALLMENDINGER 300/1 - His only top-10 came during 2008, his rookie year.

Trevor BAYNE 300/1 - Career-best 18th last fall.

Clint BOWYER 500/1 - The Emporia, Kan., native can't be happy about bringing this jalopy home. Next year things will be better driving the No. 14 for Tony Stewart. He was runner-up in 2007.

Casey MEARS 500/1 - Runner-up in 2006 while driving for Hendrick Motorsports; 23.1 average in 18 starts.

Danica PATRICK 500/1 - In 128 career Cup starts, she's had six top-10 finishes and one of them came at Kansas in 2014.

Chris BUESCHER 500/1 - Makes Kansas Cup debut. Has 30.9 average finish this season.

FIELD 500/1 - Poor wager selection this week. Better option is add the $5 you planned on wasting with this bet and add it whatever amount was set aside for the Mother you're trying to make feel special on Sunday.