We are headed to Kansas this week.
While most hunting folks are heading to Kansas for hunting, we are going to have to wait until next year for that opportunity, instead we are headed to Kansas Motor Speedway to catch up on the Race for the Chase and interview Richard Childress who is a tremendous hunter and works daily in the world of conservation world. He has been on the board of directors for the NRA, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation as well as SCI, RMEF and Grand Slam/Ovis. He regularly takes hunting trips with his two grandson’s Ty Dillon and Austin Dillon.
We know many of you would rather be out chasing big whitetail in the great state of KANSAS but we could not be more excited to take the weekend off to help promote our other passion for NASCAR. We are excited they are working with Team HuntingLife to help promote the sport and conservation groups are often the benefactor of charity work by various drivers and teams. We are off to the races and we will be using social media to connect with all of you throughout the race and the weekend. Please check out our posts on Facebook at www.facebook.com/huntinglife and twitter at www.twitter.com/huntinglife.
Clint Bowyer, last week’s winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway, heads to his native Kansas this week with one goal in mind – win at his hometown track. The Emporia, Kan., native has recorded three top-10 finishes at the mile-and-half oval, including a runner-up finish in 2007 and has only finished outside the top 10 once since the Chase commenced five weeks ago. While Bowyer, who ranks fourth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, has never visited Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway, his past results, momentum, the will to win and a brand-new racing surface could make him a tough driver to beat in Sunday’s race.
You could also look no further than the top-three drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings for a possible victory in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400. Brad Keselowski, the current points leader, captured his first career victory in Kansas in 2011 and boasts a 10.2 average finish that ranks him fourth best. Two-time Kansas Speedway winner Jimmie Johnson has the second-best average running position amongst his competitors but owns the field when it comes to Driver Rating (120.7) and most laps led. Denny Hamlin scored his first win at Kansas earlier this year when the series visited the facility in May and his run was solid in every respect – started fourth, twice a leader including the final 31 laps and a Driver Rating of 128.6.
On the flipside, two previous victors at Kansas Speedway need to take charge of the field on Sunday. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, who are both 50 points in arrears to Keselowski’s lead and rank eighth and ninth, respectively in the standings, need to mount a charge and take home the checkers. Depending on where their fellow Chase teammates finish in the race, a win could put them back in the mix, but without that elusive triumph they could be mathematically eliminated from this year’s title hunt.
Race Title: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway
Tune In Info: Sunday, Oct. 21, 2 p.m. ET on ESPN
Track Configuration: 1.5-Mile Oval
Distance: 400 miles (267 laps)
Track Website: http://www.kansasspeedway.com
Driver Twitter Handles:
Brad Keselowski — @keselowski
Jimmie Johnson — @JimmieJohnson
Denny Hamlin — @dennyhamlin
Clint Bowyer — @ClintBowyer
Tony Stewart’s race team — @StewartHaasRcng
Kasey Kahne — @kaseykahne
Dale Earnhardt Jr’s race team — @TeamHendrick
Martin Truex Jr. — @MartinTruexJr56
Kevin Harvick — @KevinHarvick
Jeff Gordon — @JeffGordonWeb
Greg Biffle — @gbiffle
Matt Kenseth — @mattkenseth
Twitter Handles: @NASCAR, @KansasSpeedway, @MissSprintCup
Hashtags to watch: #NASCAR, #Chase, #HC400
Facebook Pages:
NASCAR – www.facebook.com/NASCAR
Kansas Speedway – www.Facebook.com/KansasSpeedway
