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Meijer 300 Preview

Jun 16, 2007 - 10:40 AM

June 16, 2007
Kentucky Speedway
Sparta, Kentucky
Race 16 of 35 on Busch Series circuit

TV: ESPN2, 8 p.m. EDT

Laps: 200 
Track length: 1 1/2 miles 
Race length: 300 miles

Qualifying record: Carl Edwards, Ford, 181.287 mph, 2005
Race record: Bobby Hamilton Jr., Ford, 136.123 mph, 2003


DRIVERS TO WATCH
----------------

Marcos Ambrose
Team: Woods Brothers/JTG Racing
Car: No. 59 Ford Fusion
2007 Earnings: $415,256

Australian rookie registered a season-worst 36th-place finish
last week at Nashville and fell three spots to 11th in the
standings; one of the circuit's top rookies recorded a
career-best sixth-place finish at Dover to end a string of nine
consecutive finishes of 17th or worse; has three top-10 finishes
this season, including an eighth place at Mexico City on March
4; did not run in this event last season.

Dave Blaney
Team: Braun Racing
Car: No. 10 Toyota Camry
2007 Earnings: $467,136

Ran 17th last weekend at Nashville but remained third in the
standings, a whopping 745 points behind leader Carl Edwards; ran
11th three weeks ago at Charlotte; has recorded two top-five
finishes and four top-10s in 15 starts this season; the top
Toyota driver in the series thus far, a bright spot in a
disappointing debut season for the new manufacturer; did not run
in this race last season.

Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2007 Earnings: $654,900

Has an overwhelming 662-point cushion in the series standings
and was the only driver on the circuit to register a top-10
finish in each of the first 10 races this season; rebounded from
a season-worst 17th in Charlotte by winning the last two races
and has a series-leading four checkered flags; has turned the
series standings into a total runaway, much the way Kevin 
Harvick did a year ago; was the series runner-up a year ago to
Harvick and has pounced with defending champion not running a
full series slate; also running a full schedule in Nextel Cup
Series; finished 36th in this event last season.

Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Team: Team Rensi Motorsports
Car: No. 35 Ford Fusion
2007 Earnings: $400,536

Climbed two spots to seventh in the standings after running 13th
last weekend at Nashville; struggled to a 33rd-place finish at
Charlotte and has recorded just two top-10 finishes over the
first 15 races this season; ran 12th at Talladega and has not
finished higher than ninth, which he accomplished at Nashville
in April; has not captured a checkered flag since 2003, when he
won four races; did not run in this race last year.

David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2007 Earnings: $479,813

Finished ninth last week in Nashville to move up to fourth in
the standings; has four top-10 finishes in 15 races, including a
second-place showing at Nashville in April; finished sixth in
Texas and has a pair of ninth-place results with the other
coming at Richmond; finished last in Charlotte, then rebounded
with a 15-place showing at Dover; finished eighth in this race
last year.

Regan Smith
Team: Ginn Racing
Car: No. 4 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $460,179

Finished fifth in both Nashville races this season, with last
week's result moving him to fifth in the standings; also
finished fifth in Charlotte; has five top-10s this season to go
along with three finishes of 33rd or worse; finished 20th in
last year's standings, his first full season on the circuit;
finished 16th in this race a year ago.

J.J. Yeley
Team: Phoenix Racing
Car: No. 1 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $279,760

Moved up five spots to 15th in the standings with his 18th place
finish in Nashville last week; has yet to post a top-10 finish
in 2007, with his best showing coming at Nashville in April when
he finished 12th; is doing double duty this year, running  both
the full Nextel and Busch series schedules; finished second in
this event last year.

2006 Top 10
-----------
 1. David Gilliland (84), Chevrolet
 2. J.J. Yeley (18), Chevrolet
 3. Denny Hamlin (20), Chevrolet
 4. Mike Wallace (1), Dodge
 5. Ashton Lewis Jr. (25), Ford
 6. Kevin Harvick (21), Chevrolet
 7. Greg Biffle (66), Ford
 8. David Reutimann (99), Dodge
 9. Paul Menard (11), Chevrolet
10. Stephen Leicht (90), Ford

Past Champions
--------------
2006  David Gilliland
2005  Carl Edwards
2004  Kyle Busch
2003  Bobby Hamilton Jr.
2002  Todd Bodine
2001  Kevin Harvick