Top 5 and 5 to watch By Bill Marx, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service Posted:0835hrs
Font size: Small/ Larger/ Largest Sphere: Related Content Here's a look at the top five in points and five drivers to watch in today's Camping World RV 400. --(Cont'd From Front Page)-- All statistical references are for Sprint Cup races at Kansas unless otherwise indicated. Driver rating is based on the past three races at the track. 1. Carl Edwards, 90.2 driver rating. Edwards' 37th-place finish (crash) last year snapped a run of back-to-back top 10s, including a third in 2005. That's worth noting because Edwards has finished third in the first two Chase races. 2. Greg Biffle, 118.5. Biffle won last year's rain-shortened, much-delayed race under caution, barely making it over the start-finish line (in fact, he crossed it after Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson). He has led each of the past four races at Kansas, which produced three top fives. Considering what Biffle has accomplished so far in the Chase, it would be shocking if he weren't in the mix again Sunday. 3. Jimmie Johnson, 115.6. Except for when he crashed in 2004, Johnson has been competitive. He has four top 10s in six races and qualifies very well at the track. He has two poles, and his 5.5 average start is the best among drivers with more than two starts. 4. Jeff Burton, 70.4. Burton has not fared well at Kansas -- one top 10, a fifth in 2006 -- in seven races. Considering Burton's driving style, it's odd that he hasn't done better at Kansas. He's smart and stays out of trouble, two qualities that should be producing better finishes. Perhaps momentum of top-10 finishes each of the past three weeks will make a difference. 5. Kevin Harvick, 83.3. Harvick has finished sixth twice in seven races, including last year when he led 18 laps. Harvick hasn't finished outside the top 10 since July at Indy. One more top 10 will give him 15, the same number he produced all of last season. 5 to watch: 6. Clint Bowyer, 106.5. Bowyer, from nearby Emporia, has finished ninth and second in his two races at Kansas. Winning at Kansas would mean a lot to him. A top-five finish will keep him solidly in the Chase hunt. He's 106 points behind Edwards. 7. Tony Stewart, 108.7. Stewart had terrible luck last year with tire trouble and crashes and finished 39th, spoiling his terrific record at the track -- his previous low finish was 14th and he has a win and five top 10s in seven races. He also had the lead in last year's event when the race was red-flagged because of heavy rain. Had NASCAR not restarted the race, he would have been the winner. 8. Jeff Gordon, 98.3. The "Is this the week watch" continues for Gordon, who won the first two Cup races at Kansas and also has finished fifth twice. Recent testing on the No. 24 at Kentucky went well, raising hopes that Gordon will end his 33-race winless drought. 10. Matt Kenseth, 93.2. Kenseth's season has been like a yo-yo: up and down, up and down. He almost won his first race of the season last week. He is 167 points out and really has nothing to gain by playing it safe. Remember: He erased a 204-point deficit during the season to make the Chase. He has the skill -- and the team -- to make up a second big deficit. 12. Kyle Busch, 80.0. Here's how I see Busch on Sunday: Either he thinks he still has a shot at the Cup and goes for a top five (as Johnson did last week), or he figures he's out of it and goes for the win. I'm betting on the latter. And remember: Kansas is a fuel-mileage track, which means if Busch is in position to gamble on fuel mileage (which Stewart did in 2006), he will. In four races, he has one top 10 but also finishes of 37th in 2004 and 41st last year.
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