Kentucky Speedway Data
Season Race #: 18 of 36 (07-11-15)
Track Size: 1.5-miles
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 14 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 14 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 8 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 8 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 1,662 feet
Backstretch Length: 1,600 feet
Race Length: 200 laps / 300 miles
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Kentucky
Kyle Busch 124.3
Jimmie Johnson 116.6
Brad Keselowski 116.1
Matt Kenseth 107.2
Kasey Kahne 98.9
Jeff Gordon 95.4
Kevin Harvick 95.2
Joey Logano 94.7
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 90.7
Ryan Newman 90.2
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (four total) among active drivers at Kentucky Speedway.
Qualifying/Race Data
2014 pole winner:
Brad Keselowski, Ford
188.791 mph, 28.603 secs. 06-28-14
2014 race winner:
Brad Keselowski, Ford
139.723 mph, (02:51:59), 06-29-14
Track qualifying record:
Brad Keselowski, Ford
188.791 mph, 28.603 secs. 06-28-14
Track race record:
Brad Keselowski., Dodge
145.607 mph, (02:45:02), 06-30-12
Kentucky Driver Tale of the Tape
Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M's Crispy Toyota)
· One win, three top fives, four top 10s
· Average finish of 4.500, series-best
· Average Running Position of 5.270, series-best
· Driver Rating of 124.3, series-best
· 139 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 172.614, series-fastest
· 1003 Laps in the Top 15 (93.9), series-most
· 99 Quality Passes, 11th-most
Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet)
· Two top 10s
· Average finish of 11.500, eighth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.430, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 89.4, 11th-best
· 21 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 171.179, 13th-fastest
· 603 Laps in the Top 15 (56.5), 12th-most
· 112 Quality Passes, seventh-most
Dale Earnhardt Jr (No. 88 NATIONWIDE Chevrolet)
· Two top fives, two top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 12.750, 10th-best
· Average Running Position of 12.607, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 90.7, ninth-best
· 32 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 171.518, 10th-fastest
· 633 Laps in the Top 15 (59.3), 11th-most
· 106 Quality Passes, ninth-most
Carl Edwards (No. 19 COMCAST MINIONS Toyota)
· One top five, one top 10
· Average finish of 15.750, 12th-best
· Average Running Position of 12.755, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 87.2, 12th-best
· 20 Fastest Laps Run, second-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 171.201, 12th-fastest
· 662 Laps in the Top 15 (62.0), 10th-most
· 107 Quality Passes, eighth-most
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet)
· One top five, four top 10s
· Average finish of 7.250, fourth-best
· Average Running Position of 12.069, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 95.4, sixth-best
· 41 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 171.777, seventh-fastest
· 736 Laps in the Top 15 (68.9), seventh-most
· 140 Quality Passes, fourth-most
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota)
· One top five, one top 10
· Average finish of 22.750, 13th-best
· Average Running Position of 18.688, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 85.2, 13th-best
· 34 Fastest Laps Run, series-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 172.252, third-fastest
· 558 Laps in the Top 15 (52.2), 13th-most
· 87 Quality Passes, 13th-most
Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet)
· Two top 10s
· Average finish of 11.000, seventh-best
· Average Running Position of 10.600, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 95.2, seventh-best
· 17 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 171.767, eighth-fastest
· 884 Laps in the Top 15 (82.8), fourth-most
· 133 Quality Passes, fifth-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Pro Services Chevrolet)
· One top five, four top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 7.000, third-best
· Average Running Position of 6.292, second-best
· Driver Rating of 116.6, second-best
· 127 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 172.573, second-fastest
· 963 Laps in the Top 15 (90.2), third-most
· 142 Quality Passes, third-most
Kasey Kahne (No. 5 LIFTMASTER Chevrolet)
· One top five, two top 10s
· Average finish of 8.500, fifth-best
· Average Running Position of 12.879, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 98.9, fifth-best
· 64 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 172.039, fifth-fastest
· 709 Laps in the Top 15 (66.4), eighth-most
· 145 Quality Passes, second-most
Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Dollar General Toyota)
· One win, two top fives, four top 10s
· Average finish of 4.500, second-best
· Average Running Position of 9.208, third-best
· Driver Rating of 107.2, fourth-best
· 79 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 172.189, fourth-fastest
· 972 Laps in the Top 15 (91.0), second-most
· 181 Quality Passes, series-most
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Ford)
· Two wins, two top fives, three top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 10.500, sixth-best
· Average Running Position of 10.234, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 116.1, third-best
· 171 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 171.863, sixth-fastest
· 840 Laps in the Top 15 (78.7), fifth-most
· 88 Quality Passes, 12th-most
Joey Logano (No. 22 Shell Pennzoil/AutoTrader Ford)
· One top five, two top 10s
· Average finish of 12.250, ninth-best
· Average Running Position of 11.292, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 94.7, eighth-best
· 25 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 171.579, ninth-fastest
· 669 Laps in the Top 15 (62.6), ninth-most
· 101 Quality Passes, 10th-most
Ryan Newman (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet)
· Two top fives, two top 10s
· Average finish of 13.750, 11th-best
· Average Running Position of 12.857, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 90.2, 10th-best
· 14 Fastest Laps Run, third-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 171.476, 11th-fastest
· 776 Laps in the Top 15 (72.7), sixth-most
· 113 Quality Passes, sixth-most
Quaker State 400 Preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com
We've got a nice trend going the past two seasons of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing that has seen the Las Vegas winner also win the Kentucky race and if that’s to be the case again Saturday night for the Quaker State 400, then you might want to go out and make a quick bet on Las Vegas winner Kevin Harvick to win. Or maybe not.
This will only be the fifth Cup race held on the Kentucky Speedway’s 1.5-mile layout and two of the races have been won by Brad Keselowski in 2012 and 2014. The trend with Keselowski last season was that he was good on all the 1.5-mile tracks -- winning on three of them (Las Vegas, Kentucky, Chicago). In 2013 it was Matt Kenseth who won four of the races on 1.5-mile tracks (Las Vegas, Kansas, Kentucky, Chicago).
Las Vegas is higher banked and faster than Kentucky, but the set-up and rules package remained the same over each of the seasons. That’s not going to be the case this week as NASCAR has implemented a new rules package just for this race. If it’s determined that the fans and drivers like the type of racing we see then they may continue the package for the rest of the season on all down force tracks. The idea for the change is to get more passing and this package is definitely going to make that happen.
The spoiler height will be reduced to 3.5 inches from the current 6 inches and the splitter will have a 1 ¾ inch less overhang than the current splitter which will force the cars to slow down a little more around the turns or they’ll be smacking the wall. It will be a very difficult race for all the drivers as they float on egg shells around the turns, but it will be fun to watch.
While we’re calling this ’new’ because they’ve never run the package in an official race, they have been running the package at various stages of testing for the past 18 months, so each of the teams are prepared and know what they have to do to give their driver the best set-up possible to win.
Since we’ll be seeing something new, can we expect to see several new drivers step up on these type of tracks? Kevin Harvick has finished first of second in four of the five races run on 1.5-mile tracks this season. Jimmie Johnson has won three of those races and Carl Edwards won the marathon at Charlotte. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has finished fourth or better in all five and Martin Truex Jr. has finished ninth or better in all five. Do these drivers still dominate, or does it open the window for someone else?
I wish I had the answer right now, but I won’t completely know until I see practices run on Wednesday -- yes Wednesday -- and then there will be another set of practice and qualifying on Friday before Saturday’s race. The additional practices are there specifically because of the new changes. My guess would be that the advantage drivers have had so far this year with their set-ups will be somewhat erased.
So before you go following the trend of Vegas winners taking Kentucky too, and bet Harvick, you might want to wait until seeing Wednesday’s practice times and then make your wagers. There’s a very good chance that because of Wednesday being such an odd day for practices that several books might not make the adjustments and you can find the bookmaker sleeping at the wheel.
Say, for instance, the Joe Gibbs drivers have things figured out the most Wednesday where Edwards, Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have a clear advantage in single lap speeds and average speeds. Hamlin, Busch and Edwards should have odds around 15-to-1 based on their performances on 1.5-mile tracks and they should be bet immediately. It's an opportunity to gain an edge.
The Harvick and Johnson advantage will be diminished, I think, so it brings lots of value to several drivers hovering above 10/1 odds. However, it would foolish to believe that both Harvick and Johnson won’t be good, it’s just that they won’t have the edge like we’ve seen all season so far. So 9/2 odds on Harvick or 6/1 on Johnson just don't make sense this week, or at least not prior to Wednesday.
I’ll be looking for drivers to excel right away that like driving loose cars and those begin with Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin.
Top-5 Finish Prediction:
1) #11 Denny Hamlin (15/1)
2) #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (10/1)
3) #5 Kasey Kahne (15/1)
4) #19 Carl Edwards (15/1)
5) #20 Matt Kenseth (12/1)