2012 STP 400 Predictions
KANSAS CITY, MO (ATS Consultants) – The Sprint Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway on Sunday, April 22 for the STP 400, at 1:16pmET.
NASCAR returns to Kansas City, where Brad Keselowski was the defending champ last year’s inaugural STP 400. The Kansas Speedway is one of the newer venues in NASCAR. While the track is 1.5-miles in length, like many others on the circuit, Kansas features the least amount of corner banking giving it some unique aspects.
After this race the track will be repaved and redesigned in time for the Chase event in late October. Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart are listed as 6-1 favorites coming into this race. Last week’s winner, Greg Biffle, is listed as 8-1.
Johnson finished 7th here last year at the STP 400. He had two runner-up performances this season including last week at Texas, where he led a race high 156 laps. His most recent win came during last year’s Chase at Kansas after leading more than 72 percent of the race. He owns six straight top 10’s at the site and rank first in Driver Rating and second in average position among all drivers at Kansas.
Keselowski had issues with fuel pressure at Texas, which ruined a strong performance. He ran in the top five for much of the night before heading back to the garage on two occasions before finishing 36th and 21 laps down. But in four career starts at Kansas, he held an average running position of 12th or better on three occasions. Last year, he won the spring race on fuel mileage and finished third in the Chase event. Using fuel strategy and a fast Miller Lite Dodge, Keselowski scored his first Cup Series win with Penske Racing in the 2011 STP 400. The win served as a launching pad to two more victories on the season and a spot in the 2011 Chase for the Championship, where he finished fifth in the final series standings.
Live Longshot
Martin is on a part-time schedule but still ranks 20th in points, ahead of Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne. He has three top 10s this year and finished third at Texas. He has been solid at Kansas, winning the 2005 race and finishing 109th in last year’s Chase. Martin owns a win and five top-10 finishes in 12 starts at Kansas Speedway. He’s led 152 laps.
2012 STP 400 Information
Race Date: Sunday, April 22
Location: Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, KS
Pre-Race: 12:30PM ET
Green Flag: Approx. 1:16PM ET
TV Coverage: FOX
Radio Coverage: MRN
Track Type: Oval (267 laps)
Last Year’s Race:
Top 5:
Brad Keselowski
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Denny Hamlin
Jeff Gordon
Carl Edwards
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