NATIONWIDE Kansas Lottery 300
Final
for this game
Kansas Lottery 300 Preview
Sep 23, 2008 - 8:13 PMSeptember 27, 2008
Kansas Speedway
Kansas City, Kansas
Race 30 of 34 of Nationwide Series circuit
TV: ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.
Laps: 200
Track length: 1 1/2 mile
Race length: 300 miles
Qualifying record: Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 178.938 mph,
2005
Race record: Jeff Green, Ford, 129.125 mph, 2001
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $836,120
Remains the series leader though he has just one victory this
season - when he gambled and stayed out during a rain delay to
win at Bristol; followed with second at Nashville and third at
Texas; is 186 points ahead of Carl Edwards after finishing 10th
at Dover; through first 28 races has 10 top fives and 23 top
10s; started the year with a 25th at Daytona, then rebounded
with a ninth at California; ran a full Busch series slate in
2005 and 2006, finishing second and third, respectively, in the
final standings; finished 12th overall last year after running
just 22 races, winning at Phoenix and Richmond; ran fourth here
last season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $961,875
Followed up win at Richmond by running second at Dover; remains
second in the standings and trails Clint Bowyer by 186 points;
had a disappointing 37th-place finish at Bristol - his worst
showing of the year excluding Darlington, where a wreck left him
in 43rd; defending series champion has four wins this year; won
for the second time this season at Gateway, then followed up
with an 11th at O'Reilly; also won at Milwaukee, then followed
up with a fifth at New Hampshire and 11th at Daytona; ran second
at Dover; was fourth at Atlanta after being wrecked by Mark
Martin at Las Vegas, winding up 14th; opened defense of his
series title with a 10th at Daytona and fifth at California;
clinched last season's title at Texas, three races before the
end of the season; was the runner-up to Kevin Harvick two
seasons ago; despite late struggles still had a series-best 21
top-10 finishes and 15 top fives last season; led in the series
standings for 33 consecutive weeks prior to Daytona this year;
in 35 starts last season had four wins, trailing only Harvick,
who had six; posted a 38th-place finish here last year.
Brad Keselowski
Team: JR Motorsports
Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $994,782
Second-year driver dropped to third in the standings, 248 points
behind Clint Bowyer after running 21st at Richmond and third at
Dover; had moved up to second in the standings after winning at
Bristol, but followed that effort with his worst performance of
the year - placing 33rd in Fontana; followed up his first series
win at Nashville by running fourth at Kentucky and eighth at
Milwaukee; through first 29 races has 16 top 10s and 10 top
fives; finished third at Lowe's and posted consecutive
fourth-place finishes at Bristol and the first Nashville race;
has only five finishes of 20th or worse this season; finished
25th in points last season and third in Rookie of the Year
standings; joined Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports team in
July last season; finished 36th here last season.
Joey Logano
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $478,654
Finished 14th at Dover after running seventh at Richmond and
third in California; young phenom finished 16th at Bristol after
running seventh at Michigan and Watkins Glen; his car failed
post-race inspection at Michigan when a magnet was found
underneath the gas pedal in order to influence dyno test;
finished 17th at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve; won his first race
and second pole at Kentucky in his third series start; captured
the pole at Nashville in just his second series start; was tapped
by Greg Biffle early in that race and wound up a disappointing
31st; finished sixth at Dover in his highly anticipated debut in
one of NASCAR's top series a week after turning 18; won the 2007
NASCAR Busch East Series championship as a rookie; signed a
development deal with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005; was dubbed the
"Real Deal" by Mark Martin when he was 15; is Tony Stewart's
Sprint Cup replacement in the No. 20 Toyota next season.
David Ragan
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $687,665
Sits fifth in the standings after ninth-place finish at Dover;
prior to that had failed to finish higher than ninth in nine
consecutive races; is running both series this year; ran 25th at
Bristol; through first 28 races has five top fives and 17 top
10s; ran ninth at Daytona and 12th at California to start the
season, then posted a 10th at Las Vegas, ran 16th at Atlanta and
was eighth at Bristol; was eighth at Texas and fifth at Phoenix;
had an impressive rookie season, finishing fifth overall and
winning the Raybestos Rookie of the Year by 27 points over
Marcos Ambrose; scored four top-five and eight top-10 finishes
in 2007, but also had eight finishes of 30th or worse; finished
34th as a rookie here last year.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $734,855
Has pulled "double-duty" in 2008 after finishing second to Carl
Edwards in the standings last season; dropped to sixth in the
standings after running 34th at Richmond and 17th at Dover; had
back-to-back eighth-place finishes at Bristol and Fontana; is
winless this year with 13 top 10 finishes and seven top fives;
ran 15th at Michigan; placed 26th at O'Reilly after finishing
13th at Kentucky; started season with a 14th at Daytona and ran
fourth at California; ran 25th at Las Vegas, 10th at Atlanta and
third in the Sharpie Mini 300; last year had better finishes
than Edwards in 10 of the last 15 races and scored the most
points in the series after the midseason point; earned his first
series win at the second Atlanta race; finished with five
top-fives and 12 top 10s; finished 17th in this race last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Kyle Busch (5), Chevrolet
2. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
3. Casey Mears (24), Chevrolet
4. Clint Bowyer (2), Chevrolet
5. Jamie McMurray (26), Ford
6. Denny Hamlin (20), Chevrolet
7. Paul Menard (11), Chevrolet
8. Jeff Burton (29), Chevrolet
9. Brian Vickers (10), Toyota
10. Greg Biffle (16), Ford
Past Champions
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2007 Kyle Busch
2006 Kevin Harvick
2005 Kasey Kahne
2004 Joe Nemechek
2003 David Green
2002 Jeff Burton
2001 Jeff Green
