The Essentials
Race: Price Chopper 400Time: Sunday 2:00 p.m./EDT
TV/Radio: ABC, MRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mid-60s, Mostly Sunny
Distance: 267 laps (400.5 miles)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson
The Storylines
Beware of the tar of death Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
No, it's not a pit behind turn three that's swallowing up race fans or an obstacle on the track (think Mario Kart), but rather, the 'tar of death' is what Kurt Busch has coined the asphalt sealant used on the seams of the race track in Kansas.
Obviously, his No. 2 machine isn't exactly getting along with aforementioned tar.
"It's definitely challenging." Busch said, "Last year I had a hard time here at Kansas. I don't know when they put that tar sealant down to help with drainage, water getting into the cracks and pot holes developing or big bumps. I couldn't go from the second lane to the third lane or the second lane back to the first lane without crossing the 'tar of death'. It was tough."
So tough, in fact, that it appeared that Busch's team didn't come close to getting a handle on the seams in qualifying. He'll start 39th, the lowest starting position of any Chase driver.
Jeff Gordon confirmed Busch's notion of some issues with with the transitions between pavement strips in the corners.
"You either got to go above them, straddle them or somehow get below them," said Gordon. "It's definitely challenging."
Gordon also discussed another track issue -- namely Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
The Los Angeles Times reported this week that the track had been denied a chance to increase corner banking of the 2-mile D-shaped oval to above 20 degrees in an attempt to make the track a better venue for passing and close racing. Gordon, the winner of the inaugural race at the track, said the issue isn't really the track.
"I think it's a great track," said Gordon. "Is it our most exciting one? Maybe not our most exciting one, but I still think it's a great track, a great facility, and if they're not packing the stands, that's not it. It's something else."
What, then, does Gordon think that something else is? Well, he doesn't have an answer, but he's got a theory.
"NFL is a great game and it is the most popular sport in our country," said Gordon. "And they cannot make an NFL franchise work in Los Angeles. Why is that?"
Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski aren't following the conventional rules of fighting in the NASCAR world.
Why? Well, it's simple: they haven't made up.
Nope, there's been no reach out, no mid-week calls and no joint statements of love and compassion for each other this week as we've seen all-too-often when drivers spar on track. Hamlin and Keselowski had a bit of a scuffle following last week's Nationwide Series race at Dover following Keselowski making contact with Hamlin, causing him to spin.
Hamlin wasn't making any bones about his lack of good feelings towards Keselowski Friday at Kansas.
"I still don't agree with him and he hasn't called me to reach out to say he's sorry so as far as I'm concerned, he needs to be worried whenever I'm around," said Hamlin.
Such a warning didn't exactly send Keselowski running for cover.
"Mentally, I'm tough enough that whatever words he has to say, it doesn't bother me -- doesn't faze me," said Keselowski.
Hand it to Joe Nemechek and his strong qualifying run this weekend.
Nemechek, who could be lumped in with the "start and parks" that do little more than make a qualifying attempt and start the race before making a left hand turn into the garage area shortly after starting the race, will start 7th on Sunday. His No. 87 team is trying to get by with extremely limited sponsorship and a short staff.
Kansas Speedway, though, was the last place of Nemechek's biggest NASCAR success. In 2004, he won both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races at Kansas in addition to winning the pole for the Cup race.
Jamie McMurray, unsure of plans for 2010, lines up fourth for Sunday's race.
The top-five start is his best qualifying effort since a pair of third-place starts at Fontana and Atlanta back at the start of 2009 campaign. McMurray is 23rd in points after what could only be described as an extremely disappointing season for the Missori driver.
