NASCAR: Statistical Breakdown Of Kansas
The following statistics are compiled from the website Racing Reference.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Results at Kansas In The Gen Six Race Car (Since 2013)
Kevin Harvick enters Kansas having a better average finish (5.8) than anybody else in the Sprint Cup series in the Gen Six. Fellow chasers Jeff Gordon (7.0) and Matt Kenseth (8.2) are the only other Cup drivers with an average finish in the single digits. Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (14.2) enters this race needing to win, being 32 and 19 points back respectively of the final Chase cut off spot.
Joey Logano (10.6) would have a much higher average finish without wrecking out at the spring Kansas race in 2013. He has finished fourth, fourth, first, and fifth ever since. With Logano locked into the next round no matter what after winning last week at Charlotte, don’t be shocked to see the no. 22 team take some risks on Sunday. Meanwhile Carl Edwards shares the same average finish with Logano but has finished top-20 in every start in the same time period.
Here are the total ranking of NASCAR Chase drivers based off of average finish, with wins, then top-five’s, then top-10’s, then finally points scored as tiebreakers in that order:
1st Kevin Harvick- 5.8
2nd Jeff Gordon- 7.0
3rd Matt Kenseth- 8.2
4th Joey Logano- 10.6
5th Carl Edwards- 10.6
6th Martin Truex Jr.- 11.4
7th Dale Earnhardt Jr.- 14.2
8th Ryan Newman- 15.2
9th Brad Keselowski- 15.8
10th Kurt Busch- 19.2
11th Kyle Busch- 22.5*
12th Denny Hamlin- 22.5
*= Only four starts as he missed the 2015 spring race due to injury.
The five drivers who have won at Kansas in the Gen Six are Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, and Jimmie Johnson.
Life Outside of the Chase
Johnson just won here in the spring race and should be a threat on Sunday. He and Logano are the only drivers with four top-10’s.
Although Kasey Kahne looks great on paper with two top threes, don’t be fooled, finishes outside of the top ten in every other race plus his performance this season overall makes it just dumb to have him on fantasy.
Paul Menard has always been very solid here. He hasn’t finished outside of the top 20. However, don’t expect him to be great, three top-10’s look nice but he has a goose egg in the top-five column.
NASCAR Stats Since the Chase Has Started
Joey Logano has been a model of consistency since the green flag at Chicagoland, the only driver with an average finish of fifth and the only driver who has finished top-10 in all four races. Only Kevin Harvick has led more laps so far this post season, 228-581.
Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards are right behind Logano with average finishes of 6.2 and seventh flat respectively. Hamlin has one more top-five than anybody else while Edwards’ lowest finish has been just 15th at Dover.
Martin Truex Jr. is the only other driver with an average inside of the top-10 without rounding. His best finish so far was a third just last week.
Jeff Gordon has an average of 10.2 and has been surprisingly consistent since Richmond where he finished 7th. He had a shot to win at Chicagoland before a bad restart doomed him to 14th, his lowest finish in the 2015 Chase.
Overall
If I had to pick three favorites, three sleepers, and a non Chaser wildcard for Kansas, here is who it would be:
Favorites
Joey Logano
Kevin Harvick
Jeff Gordon
Sleepers
Carl Edwards
Martin Truex Jr.
Matt Kenseth
Wild Card
Jimmie Johnson
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