KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE SPEEDWAY)
LOCATION: SPARTA, KENTUCKY
EVENT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 18 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 7:30 P.M. ET, SATURDAY, JULY 11 (NBCSN/PRN/SIRIUSXM)
No. 5 LiftMaster Chevrolet SS / Kasey Kahne
Driver Kasey Kahne Hometown Enumclaw, Washington
Age 35 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
11th in standings
17 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
2 top-five finishes
6 top-10 finishes
46 laps led
Career
413 starts
17 wins
27 pole positions
85 top-five finishes
152 top-10 finishes
4,587 laps led
Kentucky Career
4 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
2 top-10 finishes
1 lap led
LIFTMASTER ON THE NO. 5 CHEVY SS: LiftMaster will adorn the hood of Kasey Kahne’s No. 5 Chevrolet SS this weekend at Kentucky Speedway, and will be the primary sponsor on the car for one additional Sprint Cup Series race this year: Kansas Speedway (Oct. 18). LiftMaster, a longtime supporter of the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation (NFFF), has partnered with the nonprofit again to raise funding that assists the NFFF in its mission to provide resources to the fallen firefighters’ survivors in rebuilding their lives and work within the fire service community while also reducing firefighter deaths and injuries. Now until July 31, fans can “like” the LiftMaster Facebook page and LiftMaster will donate $1 to the NFFF up to $30,000.
SEASON-TO-DATE: After the first 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season, Kahne currently ranks fourth in laps in the top 15 (3,942), fifth in fastest drivers early in a run (7.714 average rank), fifth in fastest drivers late in a run (7.643 average rank), fifth in percentage of laps run on the lead lap (90.52 percent), sixth in average running position (11.648), sixth in green flag speed (7.286 average rank), eighth in driver rating (94.5), eighth in quality passes (1,163) and 10th in fastest laps run (165).
KENTUCKY LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR loop data from the last four points-paying races at Kentucky, Kahne ranks second in quality passes (145), fifth in average finish (8.500), fifth in driver rating (98.9), fifth in average green flag speed (172.039), eighth in laps run in the top 15 (709), ninth in fastest laps run (64), and 11th in average running position (12.879).
KENTUCKY STATS: Kahne’s most recent of two top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile oval came last year, when he raced his way from 20th to finish eighth.
GOING HOME: For Chris Spaulding, engineer on the LiftMaster team, the race at Kentucky Speedway will be a return to his home state. Spaulding hails from Louisville, located approximately 60 miles southwest of Sparta.
RACE TO THE CHASE: Kahne is currently 11th in the standings, having earned 496 points through the first 17 races. He is 160 points away from the leader and just 30 points out of sixth place.
No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS / Jeff Gordon
Driver Jeff Gordon Hometown Pittsboro, Indiana
Age 43 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
10th in standings
17 starts
0 wins
3 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
9 top-10 finishes
162 laps led
Career
778 starts
92 wins
80 pole positions
322 top-five finishes
463 top-10 finishes
24,826 laps led
Kentucky Career
4 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
4 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
Jeff Gordon is scheduled to visit the Kentucky Speedway media center at 3:30 p.m. local time Friday.
CAREER GRAND SLAM: Kentucky Speedway is the only track where Jeff Gordon has yet to visit Victory Lane in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. If he were to win Saturday night, Gordon would become first driver in NASCAR history to win at every track in the respective season.
POLE-LESS AT KENTUCKY: Although Gordon ranks third all-time with 80 career pole positions, Kentucky Speedway is one of two tracks where he has yet to win a pole position. Kansas Speedway is the only other venue where Gordon has never set the fastest time during qualifying.
PITTSBORO HOMECOMING: On Thursday, July 9, to help promote the upcoming race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the five-time Brickyard 400 winner is scheduled to visit the track and Pittsboro, Indiana. Gordon lived in Pittsboro and attended nearby Tri-West High School while racing as a teenager throughout the Midwest.
MEMBER ADVANTAGES AT KENTUCKY: AARP Member Advantages will sponsor four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet SS to spread awareness about the many benefits available to AARP members. The special AARP Member Advantages paint scheme – which debuted at Sonoma Raceway on June 28 – will be featured in six Sprint Cup Series events in 2015 and is part of Hendrick Motorsports’ existing partnership with Drive to End Hunger, which is AARP and AARP Foundation’s multi-year effort to raise awareness of and support for the fight against older adult hunger. AARP Member Advantages is a collection of discounts, products, services and insurance programs available to AARP’s millions of members through third party providers. The provider offers include a variety of health products, financial products, travel and leisure products, and life event services.
No. 48 Lowe’s ProServices Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 39 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
3rd in standings
17 starts
4 wins
0 pole positions
10 top-five finishes
12 top-10 finishes
467 laps led
Career
488 starts
74 wins
33 pole positions
203 top-five finishes
304 top-10 finishes
17,618 laps led
Kentucky Career
4 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
1 top-five finish
4 top-10 finishes
203 laps led
LOWE’S PROSERVICES ON THE HOOD: Jimmie Johnson will race the No. 48 Lowe’s ProServices Chevrolet SS in this weekend’s race at Kentucky. Lowe’s Commercial Services are designed to help customers save time and money and make their businesses run smoother. Stores across the country have a dedicated ProServices team ready to help by offering five percent off everyday purchases with a Lowe’s Business Credit Account, quick-turn, customizable quotes on volume purchases, providing an order ahead option and pulling materials for pick up, giving reduced delivery rates and offering bulk discounts on supplies used the most. The Lowe’s ProServices paint scheme has seen Victory Lane twice this season with wins at Texas and Dover.
TOP FINISHING: Since winning the seventh race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway, Johnson has just two finishes outside the top six. He had a tough race at Charlotte with a 40th-place finish and a 19th-place result in a rain-shortened event in Michigan. Other than finishing sixth at Sonoma, Johnson scored two wins (Kansas and Dover), three runner-up finishes (Bristol, Talladega and Daytona) and a pair of third-place finishes (Richmond and Pocono) in the current streak. Johnson leads all Chase-eligible drivers with four wins this season and is currently third in the point standings.
WINLESS IN KENTUCKY: Of the 74 career wins Johnson has accumulated over his 15 year career, none of them have come at Kentucky. The other “winless” tracks Johnson has his sights set on include Chicago, Watkins Glen and Homestead-Miami.
KENTUCKY STATS: In the last four races at Kentucky, according to NASCAR loop data, Johnson has the second-best driver rating –116.6. During that span, he has an average start of 8.5 and an average finish of 7.0, leading 203 total laps at the track.
UPCOMING JIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION WELLNESS CHALLENGE EVENTS: Registration is open for the remaining two events of the 2015 Jimmie Johnson Foundation Wellness Challenge. The Cane Creek Sprint Triathlon will take place on Aug. 11 and the Lake Davidson Sprint Triathlon will take place on Sept. 13. Log on to www.jjfwellnesschallenge.org for more details.
No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS / Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hometown Kannapolis, North Carolina
Age 40 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
2nd in standings
17 starts
2 wins
0 pole positions
9 top-five finishes
11 top-10 finishes
204 laps led
Career
558 starts
25 wins
13 pole positions
136 top-five finishes
235 top-10 finishes
8,051 laps led
Kentucky Career
4 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
2 top-five finishes
2 top-10 finishes
10 laps led
DAYTONA WIN: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Daytona International Speedway for the fourth time in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career last weekend, tying Tony Stewart for the second-most Cup wins at the track by an active driver. Teammate Jeff Gordon leads with six wins. Earnhardt’s career Cup win total is now at 25 points events. He is tied for 28th on the all-time wins list in his 16th season in the Sprint Cup Series. He now has 10 points-paying wins on restrictor-plate tracks, ranking him third behind Gordon (12) and his father Dale Earnhardt Sr. (11).
INTERMEDIATE TRACK STATS: In 269 Cup starts on intermediate tracks that range from one to two miles in length, Earnhardt has recorded six wins, eight pole positions, 58 top-five finishes and 114 top-10s. On 1.5-mile tracks like Kentucky, he ranks sixth among active, full-time drivers in the top-10s category (54).
IT TAKES A NATION: Every Tuesday, Nationwide delivers behind-the scenes interviews and content from the 2015 TV commercial It Takes a Nation. The videos feature Earnhardt, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Greg Ives, friends and family. Check out facebook.com/nationwide88 or @nationwide88 for more details.
KENTUCKY DOUBLE: In addition to his duties behind the wheel of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS, Earnhardt will pilot JR Motorsports’ No. 88 Chevrolet in the XFINITY Series race on Friday. This will be Earnhardt’s first XFINITY start at Kentucky. It marks Earnhardt’s fourth XFINITY start of the season. Most recently, he drove the No. 88 Chevrolet to a third-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in April.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT KENTUCKY: In four races at Kentucky, Hendrick Motorsports has posted two poles, five top-five finishes, 12 top-10s and 213 laps led. Kentucky Speedway, which began hosting NASCAR’s premier series in 2011, is the only active track where Hendrick Motorsports has not produced a win in the Sprint Cup Series.
GORDON, JOHNSON TWO OF FOUR FOUR-FOR-FOUR: Teammates Gordon and Johnson are two of only four drivers to finish in the top 10 in all four Sprint Cup events at Kentucky Speedway.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 237 victories, 204 pole positions, 965 top-five finishes and 1,600 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 64,720 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
“I’m already proud that I have won at every track except Kentucky, but to win there this weekend and have a win at every track at the Sprint Cup level is something that would mean a lot to me. Winning at every track is not something that’s easy to accomplish. This will be a challenge, and I like a good challenge and the team does, too.”
Jeff Gordon on looking for a win at Kentucky
“Under normal circumstances this week would be difficult, but the rain delay in Daytona made it that much more challenging. We are going to Kentucky this week for a test day on Wednesday with a brand new rules package. All my Lowe’s guys were at the shop on Monday building the cars for this weekend after a 24-hour day at Daytona. It’s a tough work schedule – I’m proud of our guys for all their hard work.”
No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus on a quick turnaround to Kentucky
