Joey Logano can rest easy this week at Kansas after he clinched his spot in the next round of the Chase with a win at Charlotte last weekend.
This weekend, the Sprint Cup Series takes to Kansas Speedway as the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup continues onward.
Here is the weekend schedule and pre-race notebook for reference throughout the race weekend and to get you up to speed on the latest ahead of the first practice sessions.
Weekend Schedule - (all times Eastern)
Friday, October 16
- Practice: 1:00 - 2:25 pm
- Qualifying: 6:15 pm
Saturday, October 17
- Practice: 11:30 am - 12:25 pm
- Final practice: 2:30 - 3:20 pm
Sunday, October 18
- Race: 2:15 pm (267 laps / 400.5 miles)
Notebook
- Joey Logano got the Contender round of the Chase underway last Sunday afternoon with a win at Charlotte Motor Speedway, punching his ticket to the next round. However, not all drivers are as fortunate; Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Matt Kenseth are all in danger of being eliminated from the Chase after the round at Talladega next weekend.
- Kenseth is the driver who is in the most danger as he is 32 points back of the final transfer spot. He needs two strong finishes - if not wins - in the next two rounds, and perhaps a little luck/misfortune for those ahead of him in the points.
- Earnhardt Jr. is in a similar position, although he is only 19 points behind Brad Keselowski for the final transfer spot. Earnhardt Jr. has a chance to slip in if he gets a couple of really good runs, but does not need as much help as Kenseth does.
- Kyle Busch is only 10 points out of the final transfer spot, and he knows how to string together a couple of good runs, as was demonstrated earlier in the season when he won three straight races, which helped get him into the Chase after he missed the first part of the season due to injury.
- Newman is in the best position one can be in when they are on the verge of being eliminated, as he is only six points back of Keselowski, which means that Newman does not need a win to advance, although a win at Kansas or Talladega would make it easier. On the season, Newman does not have a win, although he does have five top-five finishes. He also has one career win at Kansas, with his average finishing position in his career at Kansas being 19th.
- Keselowski is in the final transfer spot with one win this season. He has a career average finish of 12th at Kansas - good enough for eighth best among drivers who are entered for the race. Overall this season, he has 20 top-10 finishes, with six being top-five finishes.
- Kansas Speedway is a 1.5-mile oval that has variable banking, ranging from five to 17 degrees based on the position. It has hosted 19 Sprint Cup races in it’s existence, with the first being in 2001 (won by Jeff Gordon).
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