Track Update
Jeff Gordon won the first two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Kansas Speedway with Ryan Newman finishing second in both. Newman won the third race there while Gordon finished fifth. Neither finished in the top-10 last season.

Qualifying
There have been four different Bud Pole winners in the four NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Kansas Speedway: Jason Leffler (2001), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2002), Jimmie Johnson (2003) and Joe Nemechek (2004). All but Leffler posted top-10 finishes in the race that they won the Bud Pole.

Manufacturer Update
Dodge swept the top-three finishes in the 2003 Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway with Ryan Newman, Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield. While there have been several times that two Dodge drivers have finished in the top three, that remains the only sweep of the top-three for Dodge since they returned to NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing full-time in 2001.

Update of the Week
Twenty-four drivers have competed in all four NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Kansas Speedway. While six drivers have all scored three top-10 finishes apiece – no one has posted a top-10 in all four.

Notebook

The Money
Purse $5,860,750
NASCAR NEXTEL Leader Bonus $20,000
MBNA Mid-Race Leader Bonus $25,000

Tire/Fuel Data
Goodyear Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-6852; Right-side -- D-6854
Other Nextel Cup Tracks At Which This Tire Combination Is Run: California and Chicagoland
Estimated Pit Window: Every 60-65 laps, based on fuel mileage.

The 2005 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup

Kansas Has Been Good for Most of The Chase Drivers

Defending NEXTEL Cup Champion at Kansas Speedway
Kurt Busch has competed in four races at Kansas Speedway, scoring two top-10 finishes. His best Kansas finish (sixth) came one year ago.

Point Leader at Kansas Speedway
Tony Stewart has competed in four races at Kansas Speedway, scoring three top-10 finishes in his first three races there. Stewart finished 14th in this race one year ago, his fourth straight top-15 finish at Kansas

Starting Up Front at Kansas is the Trend
All four races at Kansas Speedway have been won from a starting position of 11th or better. Two of the four races there have been won from the front row including last year when Joe Nemechek won from the Bud Pole.

Active Kansas Dominators (Four Races)

“The Rocket” at Kansas
Of the 24 drivers that have competed in all four races at Kansas. Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all drivers with an 8.5 starting average. Ryan Newman follows closely with a 9.5 starting average at Kansas.

Manufacturer Domination at Kansas
Chevrolet has won three of the four races at Kansas Speedway. Dodge has one Kansas victory and Ford has never won there.

“Last-Timers” at Kansas Speedway

And the Beat Goes On
Tony Stewart, Joe Nemechek, Rusty Wallace, Ken Schrader, Jeremy Mayfield, Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, and Ricky Rudd have been running at the finish in all four of their races at Kansas Speedway.

Owner Domination at Kansas
Rick Hendrick has two victories at Kansas Speedway, the most of all owners- both were scored by Jeff Gordon.

Starting and Finishing Up Front at Kansas Speedway

Top 10 Lap Leaders at Kansas Speedway
Driver Races Led
1. Gordon, Jeff 4 169
2. Elliott, Bill 3 151
3. Wallace, Rusty 4 140
4. Newman, Ryan 4 117
5. Mayfield, Jeremy 4 109
6. Biffle, Greg 3 64
7. Harvick, Kevin 4 48
8. Nemechek, Joe 4 41
9. Kahne, Kasey 1 39
10. Jarrett, Dale 4 29

Would You Believe?
Rusty Wallace will make his 700th career start at Kansas, 10th all time. One week later at Lowe's Motor Speedway he is expected to make his 701st start and tie Buddy Baker for ninth all-time.

Winning Tougher than Ever in 2005
After 29 races in 2005, there are still four drivers who won in 2004 that have not won in 2005: Mark Martin, Elliott Sadler, Rusty Wallace and Joe Nemechek. There are two drivers ranked in the top 10 that have not won a race in 2005 (Wallace and Martin). There are six drivers not in the top 10 that have scored at least one victory in 2005.

Manufacturer Dominance
Chevrolet has won 14 of the 29 races in 2005. Ford has won 12 and Dodge has three victories.

Streaks
Rusty Wallace has been running at the finish in 42 consecutive races - since Bristol last fall, the longest current streak.

Would You Believe?
The 500-mile UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega took exactly 10 seconds longer to run than the 400-mile MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover the week before.

Who's Hot

Top 10 in 2005 Points at This Track

First
Tony Stewart finished second in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and climbed from fifth to first in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He returned to the top of the point standings for the eighth time in the last nine races. Stewart has scored top-10 finishes in 14 of the last 15 races. He has scored 14 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes this season, both the most of all drivers. He leads second-place Ryan Newman by just four points after the third of 10 races in the 2005 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Stewart ranked sixth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after 29 races one year ago. He has competed in four races at Kansas Speedway, scoring three top-10 finishes. Stewart finished 14th in this race one year ago, his worst Kansas finish. Stewart has an 8.5 average finish at Kansas Speedway and is tied with Rusty Wallace for first among the Chase drivers there. Stewart has never led at Kansas.

Second
Ryan Newman finished fourth in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and climbed from third to second in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. This is the highest point standings of his career which he has held just four times, most recently after Darlington in March 2002. He trails first-place Tony Stewart by just four points. Newman is the only driver that has scored top-five finishes in the first three races in the 2005 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Newman ranked seventh in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after 29 races one year ago. He has scored 13 top-10 finishes in 29 races this season. Newman has competed in four races at Kansas Speedway scoring three top-five finishes and is tied with Jeff Gordon for the most of all drivers. Newman finished second (2001), second (2002), first (2003) and then 33rd in this race one year ago. Newman's 9.5 average finish at Kansas Speedway ranks third among the Chase drivers there.

Third
Rusty Wallace finished 25th in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and dropped from second to third in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He trails first-place Tony Stewart by 76 points. He has scored 23 top-15 finishes in 29 races this season, the most among all drivers. He is making his first appearance in the Chase. Wallace has scored two top-10 finishes in the first three races in the 2005 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. He has competed in four races at Kansas Speedway, scoring three top-10 finishes. Wallace has led 140 laps at Kansas Speedway and ranks third overall in laps led at Kansas, He finished 18th in this race one year ago his worst finish at Kansas. Wallace has an 8.5 average finish at Kansas Speedway and is tied with Tony Stewart for first among the Chase drivers there. Wallace's best Kansas finish, third, came in 2002.

Fourth
Jimmie Johnson finished 31st in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and dropped from first to fourth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He scored top-10 finishes in the first two races in the Chase for the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Johnson led the point standings after 17 of the 29 races this season. He has scored three victories in 2005 (Las Vegas, Charlotte and second Dover). He has scored 17 top-10 finishes in 2005, three less than Tony Stewart. Johnson ranked ninth in the point standings after 29 races one year ago. He has ranked among the top-10 drivers since Las Vegas in March 2004, 62 straight races. Johnson has competed in three races at Kansas Speedway, scoring two top-10 finishes there. Johnson finished 32nd in this race one year ago, scoring his first DNF at Kansas. Johnson has a 16.3 average finish at Kansas Speedway and ranks fifth among the Chase drivers there. Johnson's best Kansas finish, seventh, came in 2003.

Fifth
Greg Biffle finished 27th in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and despite his finish climbed from sixth to fifth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He ended a streak of six straight top-15 finishes. Biffle has ranked among the top five after 27 of the 29 races in 2005. Biffle is making his first appearance in the Chase. He trails first-place Tony Stewart by 98 points after the third of 10 races in the 2005 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. He has scored five victories in 2005, tied with Tony Stewart for the most of all drivers. He has scored 16 top-10 finishes in 29 races this season. Biffle has competed in three races at Kansas Speedway scoring just one top-10 finish. Biffle finished third in this race one year ago, his best Kansas finish. He led 64 laps in this race one year ago, the only laps that he has led at Kansas Speedway. Biffle has a 17.0 average finish at Kansas and ranks sixth among the Chase drivers there.

Sixth
Carl Edwards finished fifth in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and climbed from eight to sixth in the point standings One year ago he ranked 41st in the point standings after competing in just seven races in 2004. Edwards has scored 16 top-15 finishes in 29 races in 2005 including 12 top-10 finishes. He finished 22nd in this race one year ago, his only race at Kansas Speedway. He has never led at Kansas. Edwards has a 22.0 average finish at Kansas Speedway, ranking ninth among the Chase drivers there.

Seventh
Matt Kenseth finished third in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and climbed from ninth to seventh in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He has scored two third-place finishes in the first three races in the 2005 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Kenseth ranked fifth in the NASCAR NEXTEL CUP point standings after 29 races one year ago. Kenseth has scored 17 top-15 finishes including 13 top-10 finishes in 2005. Kenseth has competed in four races at Kansas Speedway scoring one top-10 finish. He finished 17th in this race one year ago. Kenseth has a 23.0 average finish at Kansas Speedway and ranks last among the Chase drivers there.

Eighth
Jeremy Mayfield finished 14th in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and dropped from seventh to eighth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Mayfield has scored only eight top-10 finishes but has 18 top-15 finishes in 29 races in 2005. Mayfield ranked 10th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after 29 races one year ago. He has competed in four races at Kansas Speedway, scoring three top-10 finishes, all in his last three races there. He finished fifth in this race one year ago, his second straight top-five finish there. Mayfield has a 13.25 average finish at Kansas Speedway and ranks fourth among the Chase drivers there. Mayfield finished third in this race in 2003, his best Kansas finish.

Ninth
Mark Martin finished 41st in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and dropped from fourth to ninth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings, now 138 points behind point leader Tony Stewart. He scored top-10 finishes in the first two races in the 2005 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Martin ranked fourth in the point standings after 29 races one year ago. He has posted 14 top-10 finishes in 2005. He has competed in four races at Kansas Speedway, scoring a sixth-place finish in the first race there in 2001. He has finished 20th or worse in his last three races there. Martin has a 17.75 average finish at Kansas, which ranks seventh among the Chase drivers there.

10th
Kurt Busch finished eighth in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and remained 10th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Busch is 180 points behind first-place Tony Stewart. One year ago Busch started the 2004 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup by scoring a victory at New Hampshire and then scored top-10 finishes in the first six races of the Chase. Busch ranked first in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after 29 races one year ago and went on to record his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship by just eight points over Jimmie Johnson. He has scored 15 top-10 finishes in 29 races this season. Busch has competed in four races at Kansas Speedway scoring two top-10 finishes. He finished sixth in this race one year ago. Busch has a 21.5 average finish at Kansas Speedway and ranks eighth among the Chase drivers there.

Streak Leaders
Ricky Rudd has competed in 781 conseuctive races, the all-time record for consecutive races.
Rusty Wallace has been running at the finish in 42 consecutive races, the longest current streak.
Jimmie Johnson has ranked in the top-10 of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point standings for 62 consecutive races, the longest current streak.

The Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
Week No. 3, Race No. 29 - Dale Jarrett won the UAW-Ford 500, breaking a 99-race winless streak that dated back to Rockingham in February 2003. Tony Stewart finished second and re-took the lead in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup as the top nine point positions changed hands. The race saw five of the Chase drivers be involved in accidents and also had almost half of the field lead at least one lap.

This Week in The Chase - 2004
Week No. 4, Race No. 30 - Joe Nemechek won the Banquet 400 and became the first non-Chase driver to post a victory in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Elliott Sadler was the highest finishing Chase driver, finishing fourth and moving from eighth fourth in the point standings. Jeremy Mayfield, who had yet to lead a lap in a Chase race, led five times for 72 laps - leading the most laps in a race for the second time this season. Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman both posted their second DNF in the four races of The Chase.