Kansas Preview

NEWS & NOTES

AT KANSAS: In eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has recorded one pole position and four top-10 finishes. The driver of the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet has completed 98 percent of all the laps he’s attempted (2,038 laps of 2,079) and has led a total of 40 laps there.

KANSAS CHASSIS: This weekend, crew chief Lance McGrew and the No. 88 engineers will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-556. This is the first chassis that McGrew built from the ground up for Earnhardt and first was raced at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. Most recently, Earnhardt raced this car to a third-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in August

INTERMEDIATE TRACK STATS: In 169 Cup starts on intermediate (one- to two-mile) tracks, Earnhardt has recorded six wins, five pole positions, 37 top-five finishes and 67 top-10s.

HENDRICK AT KANSAS: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year has scored three wins, nine top-five finishes, 15 top-10s and led 535 laps in eight Cup events (34 starts) at Kansas Speedway. A Hendrick driver has led at least one lap in all eight Cup events that have been held at the track.

QUOTES

DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON KANSAS SPEEDWAY.): “Kansas is pretty fun. The track has aged enough to where we are running off of the bottom and you can move around and find a little speed. The corners are real different. Turns 1 and 2 are a lot flatter than 3 and 4. Trying to get the car to work at both ends can be a challenge, but I enjoy running there. It’s a pretty simple racetrack, and it’s a lot of fun.”

LANCE McGREW, INTERIM CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON KANSAS SPEEDWAY.): “I’ve always run good at Kansas and have had some good success there. I feel like we’ve run way better at the intermediate tracks. I feel like our program has come around at tracks like Atlanta and Michiganâ€"the intermediate tracks. We’re trying to bring better cars to the racetrack, and we’ve really responded to that by running in the top-10 all day.”

McGREW (ON WHAT TRACKS HE PULLS INFORMATION FROM WHEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A SETUP FOR KANSAS.): “Places like Charlotte (N.C.), Texas, Chicago. I think each one of those offers something you can take to Kansas. The good thing about Kansas, as well as Chicago over the years, is it went from being really a one-groove racetrack to one that has widened out to where you can get two- or three-wide. As a driver, it allows you to hunt around and find a place on the racetrack where your car works. We’ll probably look at Chicago first and go from something like that.”

McGREW (ON KANSAS CITY’S BARBECUE.): “I like Kansas City barbecue because it’s more of a saucy barbecue. It’s not like a dry rub barbecue, and I like barbecue sauce. So, yeah, Kansas City-type barbecue is my favorite.”

Credit: Hendrick Motorsports PR