[June 26, 2014]Capsules for the top 20 drivers in
the Sprint Cup standings, plus five additional drivers of note.
By Jerry Bonkowski and Bob Moore
24 JEFF GORDON, Chevrolet
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
WHERE HE STANDS: Jeff Gordon remained in first place for the third
consecutive week after Sonoma and for nine of the last 10 weeks.
Gordon leads second-ranked Jimmie Johnson by 20 points and
third-ranked Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 25 points.
KENTUCKY RECORD: 3 career starts, 0 wins, 1 top-5s, 3 top-10s, 0
poles. Best career finish: Fifth in 2012. Finished eighth in this
race last year and was fifth in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Like the majority of drivers there, Gordon is looking
for his first career win at Kentucky. Here's his thoughts on
Saturday night's race: "Kentucky is a very challenging track that is
tough to win on. ... Winning at all the tracks would be something
that I would be very proud of. But it seems every time we get close
to accomplishing that goal, another track is added! But I think
winning at all the tracks would be a pretty awesome feat."
LOOKING BACK: Gordon led 26 laps and had there been another lap or
two, he may have beaten race winner Carl Edwards at Sonoma. Instead,
Gordon settled for his fifth runner-up finish there.
ETC.: Gordon has completed an outstanding 100 percent (801) of the
801 total laps contested in three career starts at Kentucky. His
average start there is 11.7 and his average finish is an outstanding
7.7. He has zero DNFs there.
48 JIMMIE JOHNSON, Chevrolet
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
WHERE HE STANDS: Jimmie Johnson remained in second place for the
second straight week after Sonoma. He trails points leader and
teammate Jeff Gordon by 20 points and leads third-ranked Dale
Earnhardt Jr. by five points.
KENTUCKY RECORD: 3 career starts, 0 win, 1 top-5s, 3 top-10s, 1
poles. Best career finish: Third in 2011. Finished ninth in this
race last year and was sixth in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: With his win two weeks ago at Michigan, Johnson has
now won at all but four tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit. One of
those four is Kentucky Speedway. Here's his thoughts on Saturday
night's race: "It would be great to go to Kentucky and win, to cross
another track off our list. We have run really well there, led a lot
of laps but just haven't been able to score a win. Last weekend we
had a really great run going, I'm really proud of this team and I'm
just looking forward to the upcoming tracks before the off-weekend -
Kentucky, Daytona and New Hampshire."
LOOKING BACK: Johnson was going for his fourth win in the last five
races at Sonoma, but came up short, finishing seventh.
ETC.: Just like Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, Johnson
has completed all 801 of the laps (100 percent) contested in three
career starts at Kentucky. His average start there is a near-perfect
3.0 and average finish is an outstanding 6.0. He has zero DNFs
there.
88 DALE EARNHARDT JR., Chevrolet
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
WHERE HE STANDS: Former points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. remained in
third place for the third straight week after Sunday's race at
Sonoma. He trails points leader and Hendrick Motorsports teammate
Jeff Gordon by 25 points, is five points behind second-ranked Jimmie
Johnson and leads fourth-ranked Matt Kenseth by 40 points.
KENTUCKY RECORD: 3 career starts, 0 wins, 1 top-5s, 1 top-10s, 1
poles. Best career finish: Fourth in 2012. Finished 12th in this
race last year and was fourth in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Earnhardt has been up and down in the first three
races at the 1.5-mile track at Kentucky. He was 30th in the first
Sprint Cup race there in 2011, fourth in 2012 and fell back to 12th
in last season's race there. Here's his thoughts on Saturday night's
race: "I think we are pretty confident when we go to Kentucky that
we can be competitive. We sat on the pole last year and were leading
the race when we had a little bit of trouble and ran over something
on the racetrack. The car should be fast, should be quick. It's a
fun place to run at. It's got some bumps and some characteristics
that are unique to that track. I can't wait to get there and see
what condition the racetrack is in."
LOOKING BACK: Earnhardt surprised a lot of people, and probably
himself, with a career-best third-place finish (and first ever
top-10 showing there) at Sonoma.
ETC.: Earnhardt has completed 99.8 percent (799) of the 801 total
laps contested in three career starts at Kentucky. His average start
there is 12.3 and average finish is 15.3. He has zero DNFs there.
20 MATT KENSETH, Toyota
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: After falling to fourth after Michigan, Matt
Kenseth remained in that position after Sonoma. He trails Jeff
Gordon by 65 points, is 40 points behind third-ranked Dale Earnhardt
Jr. (after being just one point behind him after Michigan) and leads
fifth-ranked Brad Keselowski by three points (after leading him by
23 points after Michigan).
KENTUCKY RECORD: 3 career starts, 1 wins, 1 top-5s, 3 top-10s, 0
poles. Best career finish: First in 2013. Finished first in this
race last year and was seventh in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Kenseth has been very comfortable at Kentucky ever
since it hosted its first Sprint Cup race there in 2011. He has
never finished worse than seventh in the first three races there. He
hopes to continue that run - and potentially defend last year's
victory there - in Saturday night's race. Here's his thoughts: "I'm
probably one of the guys with the least amount of experience at
Kentucky. We never really tested there a lot. I've never ran a
Nationwide race there. I'm running my first Nationwide race Friday
night, so I'm looking forward to that. But the fans I think in that
area or the area where the track is, they've always been real
passionate and real supportive of it. I remember watching Nationwide
races on TV there and just seeing a packed house. I think the
drivers like it because it's unique, it's a different track than the
same old one you've been going to forever. It was something new,
something different, a different part of the country, so I think
everybody looked forward to that, as well."
LOOKING BACK: Kenseth suffered one of his worst finishes of the
season at Sonoma, ending up 42nd (next to last) after a hard crash
when Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned Kenseth coming out of a turn.
Earnhardt admitted fault, that his car was thrown left and into
Kenseth's after bouncing off a curb.
ETC.: Kenseth has completed a perfect 100 percent (801) of the 801
total laps contested in three career starts at Kentucky. His average
start there is 16.3 and his average finish is an uncanny 4.7. He has
zero DNFs there.
2 BRAD KESELOWSKI, Ford
Team: Penske Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: Brad Keselowski remained in fifth-place for the
second consecutive week after Sunday's race at Sonoma. He trails
points leader Jeff Gordon by 68 points (was 47 points back prior to
Sonoma), is three points behind fourth-ranked Matt Kenseth and leads
sixth-ranked Carl Edwards by three points (was 28 points ahead prior
to Sonoma).
KENTUCKY RECORD: 3 career starts, 1 wins, 1 top-5s, 2 top-10s, 0
poles. Best career finish: First in 2012. Finished 33rd in this race
last year and was first in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Keselowski looks to rebound not only from his
mediocre showing at Sonoma (22nd), but also from last year's
disappointing 33rd-place finish at Kentucky on Saturday night.
"Kentucky has been a good track for this team in my experience.
We've won here, which adds to our confidence going into the race.
The team builds Ford Fusions that do very well here, and that makes
my job as a driver a lot more fun. This weekend I am driving in all
three races which is nice in terms of getting extra track time as
the more information I have as a driver, the more useful I am to the
team. The crew has been very consistent lately, and other than
Sonoma we have been running quite well. Kentucky is the ideal place
for us to get back on track ... and back into victory circle."
LOOKING BACK: Keselowski struggled at Sonoma, ultimately ending up
with a mediocre 22nd-place finish.
ETC.: Keselowski has completed a paltry 85.8 percent (687) of the
801 total laps contested in three career starts at Kentucky. His
average start is 7.3 and average finish is 13.7. He has zero DNFs
there.
99 CARL EDWARDS, Ford
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: Even with his win at Sonoma, Carl Edwards failed to
move up any positions in the Sprint Cup standings. Edwards remains
in sixth place, 71 points behind series leader Jeff Gordon, is three
points behind fifth-ranked Brad Keselowski and leads seventh-ranked
Joey Logano by 26 points.
KENTUCKY RECORD: 3 career starts, 0 win, one top-5s, one top-10s, 0
poles. Best career finish: Fifth in 2011. Finished 21st in this race
last year and was 20th in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Edwards looks to continue the momentum from his first
road course win at Sonoma this past Sunday. He's struggled to
mediocre finishes in his last two starts at Kentucky (20th and
21st), but 1.5-mile tracks are among those that Edwards typically
does best at.
LOOKING BACK: Edwards bounced back from a mediocre 23rd-place finish
at Michigan a week earlier to earn his first career road course win
at Sonoma this past Sunday. "I was driving my heart out and I wasn't
going anywhere, but Jimmy (crew chief Jimmy Fennig) made the right
adjustments," Edwards said. "He made the right call to get us out
front and then he reminded me to leave nothing out there and to
drive as hard as I could and that was what I needed."
ETC.: Edwards has completed an outstanding 99.9 percent (800) of 801
total laps contested in three career starts at Kentucky. His average
start there is 11.3 and his average finish is 15.3. He has zero DNFs
there.
22 JOEY LOGANO, Ford
Team: Penske Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: Joey Logano remained in seventh-place for the
second straight week after Sunday's race at Sonoma. He trails points
leader Jeff Gordon by 97 points, is 26 points behind sixth-ranked
Carl Edwards and leads eighth-ranked Ryan Newman by 10 points.
KENTUCKY RECORD: 3 career starts, 0 wins, 1 top-5s, 1 top-10, 0
poles. Best career finish: Fourth in 2013. Finished fourth in this
race last year and was 22nd in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Logano will achieve a significant milestone on
Saturday at Kentucky when he makes his 200th career Sprint Cup
start. Here's his thoughts: "It's hard to believe that it's been 200
races already. It just doesn't feel like it's been that many. When
you add in the Nationwide Series races and the few Truck starts I've
had, I've started well over 300 races in my NASCAR career. I've
often answered the question of what I think about my career up to
this point. And I will always say the same thing about it. I did
start early. And did I start earlier that I should have? Was I
ready? Probably not. But it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up
and I would do it all again the same way. I learned a lot through my
struggles early on and that had taught me a lot that I know today. I
don't think I would be in the position that I am today without those
early struggles. I'm just 24 now and I have six years of Sprint Cup
Series experience under my belt. There isn't a lot of people who can
say something like that. It's been a fun ride, so I'm pretty excited
to get a chance to continue it on until 600 or 800 starts."
LOOKING BACK: Logano led three laps and had a car that appeared to
be a contender for at least part of Sunday's race at Sonoma, before
eventually falling back and finishing 16th.
ETC.: Logano has completed an outstanding 99.9 percent (800) of 801
laps contested in three career starts at Kentucky. His average start
there is 14.7 and average finish is 13.3. He has zero DNFs there.
31 RYAN NEWMAN, Chevrolet
Team: Richard Childress Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: Ryan Newman made the biggest jump upward in the top
10 after Sonoma, climbing from 11th to eighth place. He trails
points leader Jeff Gordon by 107 points, is 10 points behind
seventh-ranked Joey Logano and ninth-ranked Kevin Harvick by one
point.
KENTUCKY RECORD: 3 career starts, 0 wins, 1 top-5, 1 top-10, 0
poles. Best career finish: Fourth in 2011. Finished 14th in this
race last year and was 34th in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: If the Chase for the Sprint Cup were to begin today,
Newman would make it by virtue of points. But he'd prefer to do so
winning at least one race between now and the final Chase qualifier
in Richmond in September to just about assure his presence in the
Chase. Here's his thoughts on Saturday night's race at Kentucky: "I
love racing under the lights just about anywhere. I think it's cool
in Kentucky. I like that it has character and it has bumps. It is
one of our one offs, so-to-speak. I think it falls at the most
pivotal time in our season as far as racing to the Chase. Where you
finish can make a big difference. I know the No. 31 Chevrolet was
fast there last season, so I hope we can take what was done last
season and improve upon it to be even better."
ETC.: Newman has completed 92.6 percent (742) of the 801 total laps
contested in three career starts at Kentucky. His average start
there is an excellent 10.0 and average finish is 17.3. He has one
DNF there.
4 KEVIN HARVICK, Chevrolet
Team: Stewart-Haas Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: Kevin Harvick remained in ninth place for the
second straight week after Sonoma. He trails points leader Jeff
Gordon by 108 points (was just 90 points back prior to Sonoma), is
one point behind eighth-ranked Ryan Newman and leads 10th-ranked
Kyle Larson by two points.
KENTUCKY RECORD: 3 career starts, 0 win, 0 top-5s, 1 top-10s, 0
poles. Best career finish: Tenth in 2013. Finished 10th in this race
last season and was 11th in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Harvick is still frustrated at the number of issues
he and his team have gone through this season. Instead of three
runner-ups (to go along with the two wins he has already), Harvick
feels he should have even more wins. But due to pit road miscues or
on-track mishaps, Harvick isn't as good as he could be. He needs
that to change, particularly once the Chase begins. Here's his
thoughts on Saturday night's race at Kentucky: "It's the newest,
oldest track we go to. Kentucky Speedway is very rough. The corners
are longer so they're not as sharp, but the roughness of the racing
surface is really what makes it unique in my mind. There is still a
lot of grip, but the track has become rough over the years."
LOOKING BACK: Harvick looked like he might earn his first career win
at Sonoma - that is until he was involved in a late wreck that ended
his hopes. He ultimately finished 20th. It's now wait until next
year for Harvick's hopes of a win at Sonoma.
ETC.: Harvick has completed a perfect 100 percent (801) of the 801
total laps contested in three career starts at Kentucky. His average
start there is 15.0 and average finish is 12.3. He has zero DNFs
there.
42 KYLE LARSON, Chevrolet
Team: Chip Ganassi Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: After jumping three positions after Michigan, Kyle
Larson dropped three positions after Sonoma back to 10th place in
the standings. He trails points leader Jeff Gordon by 110 points
(was 83 points behind Gordon after Michigan), is two points behind
ninth-ranked Kevin Harvick and leads 11th-ranked Kyle Busch by five
points.
KENTUCKY RECORD: 0 career starts, 0 wins, 0 top-5s, 0 top-10s, 0
poles. This will be Larson's first career start in the Sprint Cup
Series at Kentucky. However, he does have two prior starts there in
the Nationwide Series, with finishes of seventh and 33rd (both in
races there last season), and one start in the Truck series
(finished 10th) in 2012.
LOOKING AHEAD: Larson is still in pursuit of his first win in his
rookie Sprint Cup season. Kentucky is the kind of track that plays
to Larson's strength, and he should have a decent run there Saturday
night. Here's his thoughts: "It'll be nice to get back on an oval
track this weekend. Kentucky is actually where I had my first NASCAR
national series start, in the Truck Series a couple years ago. I've
only raced there a few times, but I do tend to favor the 1.5-mile
tracks. I know Kentucky will be another physical track with the
bumps, so hopefully my arms are recovered from driving around Sonoma
without power steering for a while. My crew has done a great job
this season setting up really good cars, and our Target Chevy has
been fast, so I'm looking forward to getting a good finish this
weekend."
LOOKING BACK: Larson loved returning to Sonoma, his home track, but
likely couldn't wait to get out of there fast enough after finishing
a disappointing 28th-place.
ETC.: Larson will be making his first career Sprint Cup start at
Kentucky this Saturday.
18 KYLE BUSCH, Toyota
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 11th, only five points out of the top 10. Lost one
spot last week to fall out of the top 10. Will make the Chase
because of his California win.
KENTUCKY RECORD: Will be seeking his fourth straight top-10 finish.
Won the inaugural Sprint Cup race in 2011 after winning the pole.
LOOKING AHEAD: Busch said he "loves Kentucky. It was special there
in 2011 when we were able to win the first Cup race there. I look
forward to going back there every year. It's a pretty challenging
race track. It's a place that lends itself to different kinds of
setups because it's so rough. Fast lap times at Kentucky come from
momentum. The place is so round that there's not a ton of banking
compared to some other 1.5-milers. It's all about how round the
corners are and just being able to maintain corner speed and stay on
the gas."
LOOKING BACK: Busch was battling for a spot in the top 10 when he
was clipped by brother Kurt and sent spinning with only four laps to
go. As a result, Kyle finished 25th at Sonoma. "We just couldn't get
anything to go right for us today with our M&M's Pretzel Camry,"
said Kyle. "Our car just didn't have much drive off the corner and
we really struggled at times. But Dave (Rogers, crew chief) made a
good call to pit there with about 20 laps to go, and we were able to
move up to the top 10. Thought we were going to get a decent finish,
and we get spun by the 41 and ruined our day."
ETC.: Busch's post-race question to his crew on the cool-down lap at
Sonoma just added fuel to the rumors that his sponsor, M&M's, is
going to be moving to Carl Edwards in 2015. "Is the M&M's contract
signed yet," Busch asked moments after the end of the race. The
quick reply was "no."
Earlier in the day JGR President J.D. Gibbs told the media that
reports that Edwards would be joining the team next year with M&M's
as his sponsor was untrue and "bad journalism." Gibbs added that no
announcement on the addition of a fourth team would be made until
September "if we do anything." The Associated Press reported that
Edwards has a clause in his contract with Roush Fenway Racing that
he can't announce where he is racing in 2015 - if he moves elsewhere
- until September.
27 PAUL MENARD, Chevrolet
Team: Richard Childress Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 12th, 11 points out of the top 10. Gained one spot
last week. Would make the Chase if the Chase for the Championship
began this weekend.
KENTUCKY RECORD: Best finish in three starts is 12th.
LOOKING AHEAD: Menard feels Kentucky is a "unique track" because of
the surface. "It's one of the oldest surfaces we go to with the
bumps that are characteristic of an old, worn-out track," adds
Menard. "It's real flat, very wide. The fact that it is so
multi-grooved makes it a fun track. You can run the middle, years
ago we ran by the fence, which has gone away a little bit, but you
can run all over the place."
LOOKING BACK: Menard finished fifth at Sonoma for his second
straight top-five finish. This is the first time Menard has scored
back-to-back top-five finishes in his Sprint Cup career. This is the
fifth time this season that Menard has equaled or bettered his
previous best finish at a track. "It was a good day," said Menard.
"We unloaded fast on Friday, and we qualified ninth. We were
disappointed with ninth actually. We felt like we had a little
better car than that actually. The first run (on Sunday) was pretty
brutal. We got really loose, and the guys tightened it up with some
air pressure, and we got a lot better."
ETC.: Menard feels the key to running well at Kentucky are "the
shock packages" the teams will use this weekend. "They are very
important to absorb the brunt of the bumps and maintain some kind of
platform," said Menard. "A lot of tracks you try to avoid them (the
bumps), but in Kentucky, you can't avoid them. They're everywhere
and some are worse than others, so you just pick and choose where
you need to run."
11 DENNY HAMLIN, Toyota
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 13th, 17 points out of the top 10. Lost one spot
last week. Will make the Chase because of his Talladega win.
KENTUCKY RECORD: Finished third in the 2012 race for his only
top-five finish in three starts.
LOOKING AHEAD: Hamlin hopes to get back on track this weekend after
two straight finishes outside the top 25. "We're looking forward to
going to Kentucky," said Hamlin. "It has been a good track for JGR.
Kyle (Busch) and Matt (Kenseth, his teammates) have each won a race
there so it is our turn. It is a tough track to get the right setup,
but we feel good about how the weekend is going to go."
LOOKING BACK: Hamlin seemed headed for a top-15 finish when he was
hit from behind by Ryan Newman and sent spinning in turn 11. As a
result, Hamlin had to settle for a 26th-place finish. "We were in
position for a good, solid finish," said Hamlin. "But it certainly
didn't turn out that way."
ETC.: Hamlin, like most of his counterparts that have won at least
one race this season, is looking for the consistency he believes is
necessary to have a realistic chance of winning the 2014 NASCAR
Sprint Cup championship. "You are going to need to run up front in
all 10 races (of the Chase) to have any shot at the championship,"
said Hamlin. "We haven't been as consistent as we need to be to do
that."
15 CLINT BOWYER, Toyota
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 14th, 18 points out of the top 10. Would make the
Chase if the Chase for the Championship began this weekend.
KENTUCKY RECORD: Finished third a year ago.
LOOKING AHEAD: Bowyer laughs as he points out "the first thing you
do as a driver to go around Kentucky is put a mouth piece in because
you don't want to chip a tooth while you're going around there. It's
kind of neat because it's an obstacle and it's something you have to
overcome and get your car to ride those bumps good and keep those
tires on the ground."
LOOKING BACK: Bowyer led once for five laps and "we got ourselves in
position (to challenge for the win) and had a flat (tire)," said
Bowyer. "It was going down and I was all over the place. Jamie
(McMurray) just kind of finished me up and got me out of the way
(where he was run into by Kevin Harvick after spinning in turn 11).
Bad luck, man." Bowyer rallied from the incident on lap 83 to finish
10th for his sixth top-10 finish in the last seven races and fourth
straight.
ETC.: Bowyer knows "it's time for us to win. We need a win
desperately (to assure them a spot in the Chase) and everybody knows
that. Obviously, nobody knows that better than us. I think two,
maybe three cars are going to race in (to the Chase via the point
standings) before the cutoff. Maybe us included. But a win would
make life simpler."
16 GREG BIFFLE, Ford
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 15th, 26 points out of the top 10. Would make the
Chase if the Chase for the Championship began this weekend.
KENTUCKY RECORD: Best finish in three starts is 21st twice. Finished
second three straight times in the Nationwide Series. Won in his
only truck series start.
LOOKING AHEAD: Biffle admits, "Kentucky has been a tough track for
us (in Cup), but I have a lot of success there in trucks and
Nationwide. I love night races, and we've got Ace Bandages on the
car and the black car will look really good under the lights
Saturday night. We're hoping for a good run Saturday night."
LOOKING BACK: Biffle felt he could have run in the top five if the
caution flags had fallen a little bit differently at Sonoma.
Instead, he had to be content with a ninth-place finish. "I thought
we definitely had a top-five car, but every time the caution came
out we were coming to pit that lap and that just killed us all day.
But that's the way it goes. It was good to get a positive result
(after five straight finishes outside the top 15)."
ETC.: The Roush Fenway organization has struggled at the
mile-and-a-half tracks this season. So it is no surprise when crew
chief Matt Pucci said the organization has been "working hard on our
intermediate program. We got to test at Indy last week and hopefully
learned a few things that will help us this weekend."
5 KASEY KAHNE, Chevrolet
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
WHERE HE STANDS: 16th, 15 points out of a spot in the Chase. Gained
three spots last week.
KENTUCKY RECORD: Finished second in 2012 for his only top-five
finish in three starts.
LOOKING AHEAD: Kahne has two straight top-six finishes and has moved
up five spots in the standings. "We are in the midst of racing at
tracks that we run really well at," said Kahne. "We ran well at
Michigan and Sonoma, and as a result, we had great finishes so we
just need to continue that momentum and continue to do the best we
can. We are figuring things out and starting to put full races
together."
LOOKING BACK: Kahne was all smiles after finishing sixth at Sonoma.
"Our Great Clips Chevy was great today," said Kahne, who started
30th. "We had a fast car from the start. I could pass some cars
early on, and after like five laps into a green-flag run, I felt
really good and competitive. We easily had a top-five car, and I'm
really proud of my team for never giving up."
ETC.: Kahne feels good about the future in the team's drive to earn
a spot in this year's Chase for the Championship. "If we continue to
put full races together, we will be in a good spot with the new
points system," said Kahne. "We're definitely not out until Richmond
(the last race to determine the 16 drivers that will be in the
Chase). You have a much better shot this way to make the Chase even
if you are not running very well throughout the first half of the
year."
14 TONY STEWART, Chevrolet
Team: Stewart-Haas Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 17th, 17 points out of a spot in the Chase. Lost
one spot last week.
KENTUCKY RECORD: Best finish in three starts is 12th.
LOOKING AHEAD: Stewart is another driver who calls Kentucky "very
challenging" because "it's got a lot of bumps. Trying to figure out
exactly where to be, where to try to get around some of the bumps,
how to get through them better, how to get the car to go through
them better - those are challenges that kind of make it fun, because
it's not just flat and easy to get around."
LOOKING BACK: For the second straight week, Stewart was penalized
for speeding on pit road to kill any hopes he had of challenging for
the win. Stewart was running sixth when a caution flag was waved
with 18 laps to go. The team decided to pit for four new tires in
hopes of making a run to the front. But the speeding penalty dropped
Stewart to 31st. He rallied to finish 19th.
ETC.: Stewart is pleased with the direction his team and the whole
Stewart-Haas Racing are heading. "I feel a lot better about where
we're going right now and the direction across the board, our cars
are getting more consistent with all four teams," said Stewart.
"That's really what I'm basing how we are as a company right now and
I think it translates to each individual team, as well."
3 AUSTIN DILLON, Chevrolet
Team: Richard Childress Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 18th, 17 points out of a spot in the Chase. Lost
one spot last week. End of Part 1 - more to follow
