NASCAR Pre-race: TNT's Countdown to Green - 6:30pm/et

Television Race Coverage: TNT, 7:30pm/et

In the Booth: Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach Jr., Kyle Petty

Pit Reporters: Matt Yocum, Marty Snider, Ralph Sheheen, Chris Neville

TNT's Pre-race show: Lindsay Czarniak, Larry McReynolds, Kyle Petty

SPEED's NASCAR Raceday Pre-Race Show: 4:30pm/et with John Roberts, Jeff Hammond, Kenny Wallace

Scheduled Race Re-Air Dates/Times:
Wednesday, July 13 at 12:00pm/et on SPEED

TV Listings, Links and Info:
Jayski's TV Listings Page
NASCAR on TV
Race Fan TV

This Week - Performance Racing Network (PRN) and XM Sirius Satellite Channel 90

goprn.com

sirius.com

Track Specs:
Track/Race Length: 1.5 mile oval, 267 laps, 400 miles
Banking in turns 1-4: 14 degrees
Banking in tri-oval: 10 degrees
Banking on backstretch: 4 degrees
Length of frontstretch: 1,662 feet
Length of backstretch: 1,600 feet
Length of short chute from start/finish to Turn 1: 681 feet
Length of apex of tri-oval at the start/finish Line: 300 feet
Length of short chute from Turn 4 to start/finish: 681 feet
Grandstand Seating: 117,000.
Opened: 2000

Race Festivities/Officials:
Grand Marshal: Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear
Command to start engines: Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear
Honorary Starter/Wave Green Flag: ?
Invocation: Raceway Ministries Pastor John Roberts
National Anthem: Nick Lachey
Military Flyover: 4 T-38C Talons, 50th Flying Training Squadron, Columbia AFB, MS

Websites:
Kentucky Speedway
Speedway Motorsports
Kentucky Speedway - Facebook
Twitter - kyspeedway

July 2010: none, inaugural race

2010 July Race Winner: none, inaugural race

Track Race Record: none, inaugural race

2010 July Pole Sitter: none, inaugural race

The Numbers for the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway:
6 number of jet dryers available for track drying this weekend at Kentucky Speedway
90-120 minutes  approximate time it takes to dry the 1.5-mile track after a significant rainfall
(First Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway, no event statistics available)
2011 Caution Update
4  number of races extended beyond scheduled distance in 2011; six of the first 17 races in 2010 were extended beyond the scheduled distance
4  fewest cautions this season (Fontana and Pocono); four also the fewest cautions in the first 17 races of 2010 (Michigan and New Hampshire)
16  most cautions this season (Daytona); Martinsville had 13 cautions, the most in the first 17 races of 2010
131  number of cautions in the first 17 races of 2011 compared to 133 in 2010
63  cautions for accidents this season compared to 72 for the same number of races in 2010
621 of 5,028  number of laps under caution in 2011; 686 of 5,368 in 2010
867.759 of 6,915.900  miles under caution in the first 17 races
(Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports)(7-7-2011)

For news, stats, records and more about this race track, see: Jayski's Kentucky Speedway Track News/Stats/Records/Links page

Practices:
Thursday, July 7, 11:00 am - 3:00pm/et, TV-none
Thursday, July 7, 4:00 - 6:00pm/et, TV-none
Friday, July 8, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm/et, TV-SPEED

Happy Hour 'Final' practice: Friday, July 8, 1:30 - 3:00pm/et, TV-SPEED

Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-42, Friday, July 8 at 5:10 pm/et, TV-SPEED, re-air scheduled at 12:00am/et

Kyle Busch wins at Kentucky: #18-Kyle Busch won the inaugrual Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway for his 3rd win of 2011, 22nd career win and taking the points lead. #00-Reutimann finished second followed by #48-Johnson, #39-Newman, #99-Edwards, #17-Kenseth, #2-Keselowski, #6-Ragan, #22-Busch and #24-Gordon.
The points leader going in to the race, #29-Harvick finished 16th and lost the points lead to #18-Busch, who goes to the points lead by 4 points over Edwards.
There were 20 lead changes among 12 drivers; 6 cautions for 32 yellow flag laps. The attendance is listed as 107,000 for the first race.
Scheduled Race Re-Air: SPEED, Wednesday, July 13 at 12:00pm/et
See race results, awards, laps led and more on Jayski's Kentucky Race Results/Awards page.(7-9-2011)

Race Fast Facts - Kentucky:
#18-Kyle Busch won the Inaugural Quaker State 400 , his 22nd victory in 240 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his third victory and 11th top-10 finish in 2011.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in one races at Kentucky Speedway.
#00-David Reutimann (second) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Kentucky Speedway. It is his second top-10 finish in 2011
. #48-Jimmie Johnson (third) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Kentucky Speedway.
#71-Andy Lally (32nd) was the highest finishing rookie.
#18-Kyle Busch leads the point standings by 4 points over Carl Edwards.(NASCAR Statistics)(7-9-2011)

Kentucky Notes-n-Nuggets:
" Kyle Busch's victory in the inaugural Cup race at Kentucky Speedway was his 22nd series victory in his 240th start.
" Kyle Busch tied Kevin Harvick with his third victory of the season and assumed the Cup points lead by four points over Carl Edwards.
" Kyle Busch won from the pole, the first driver to do that in a Cup race in 2011.
" Five of Kyle Busch's 22 career victories (23 percent) have come from the pole.
" It was the fourth win of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2011, tying Roush Fenway Racing for the most.
" David Reutimann (second) scored his best finish of 2011 and only his second top-10 in 18 races.
" Jimmie Johnson (third) finished in the top 10 for the 11th time this season.
" Ryan Newman (fourth) earned his best finish of 2011.
" Carl Edwards (fifth) picked up his 13th top-10 finish in 18 races, the most of any driver.
" Matt Kenseth (sixth) has finished 14th or better in each of the past eight races.
" Jamie McMurray (36th) blew his engine and has not finished in the top 10 in the past eight races.
(Racing Recall/nascar.com)
Kentucky Odds and Ends
" Of the 20 lead changes in Saturday night's race, eight of them (40 percent) happened under caution.
" Kyle Busch is tied with Terry Labonte with 22 career Cup wins, putting Kyle in a tie for 27th on the all-time wins list.
" David Reutimann's 2nd-place finish was his best of the year (previous best was 9th at Coca-Cola 600).
" Kasey Kahne finished 13th on Saturday. He has one top-10 finish in his last eight races.
" Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 30th _ marking the fourth consecutive race he's finished worse than 15th.
" Since finishing 2nd at Dover in May, Mark Martin has one top-10 finish in his last seven starts.
" David Ragan's eighth-place finish came after his win at Daytona last weekend. It marked the second time this season he's had back-to-back top-10 finishes.(Virginian Pilot)(7-10-2011)

2011 Sprint Cup Driver Championship Points Standings:
[after Kentucky, race 18 of 36]:
rank, car#, driver, points, behind
1) #18-Kyle Busch [3 wins], 624
2) #99-Carl Edwards [1 win], 620, -4
3) #29-Kevin Harvick [3 wins], 614, -10
4) #22-Kurt Busch [1 win], 606, -18
5) #48-Jimmie Johnson [1 win], 605, -19
6) #17-Matt Kenseth [2 wins], 602, -22
7) #24-Jeff Gordon [2 wins], 553, -71
8) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 548, -76
9) #39-Ryan Newman, 538, -86
10) #11-Denny Hamlin [1 win], 529, -95
wild cards
11) #6-David Ragan [1 win], 494, -130 [15th in points, win]
12) #14-Tony Stewart, 527, -97 [11th in points]
Two race winners are not inside the top-20: #2-Keselowski is 21st, 3 pts out of 20th; #78-Smith is 27th, 70 pts out of 20th
NOTE: wild cards are drivers not in the chase with a win as long as they are in the top-20 in points, then if no wins by drivers points
See drivers championship points standings on Jayski's Drivers Points Standings page.(7-9-2011)

Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at New Hampshire:
No changes in the top-35, the #7 lead decreases it's pts lead over the #71 to 7 pts.
32) #32-Bliss/FAS Lane, 261, +47
33) #13-Mears/Germain, 261, +47
34) #36-Blaney/TBR, 260, +46
35) #7-Wimmer/RGM, 221, 7 points ahead of 36th
these teams / drivers will need to qualify by speed:
36) #71-Lally/TRG, 214, 7 points out of top 35
37) #38-Kvapil/Front Row, 205, -16
38) #21-Bayne/Wood Brothers, 204,-17
The teams are NOT locked in past the next race as the owners points change after each race.
For the owner points standings, see my Owners Points Standings page.(7-9-2011)

Penalty Report / Infraction Sheet - Kentucky:
Car#, Lap, Infraction, Flag, Penalty, Lap Assessed
#11 Pre-Race to the rear, W, Tail of Field, Engine
#36 Pre-Race to the rear, W, Tail of Field, Transmission
#83, 77, Speed-Entering pits, G, Pass Thru, 79
#36, 79, Lug nut(s) not installed, G,Must Come In, 81
#32, 127, Speed-Entering pits, G, Pass Thru, 129
#88, 254, Pitting before pit road is open, Y, Tail of Field, 259
#42, 257 Speed-Exiting pits, Y, Tail of Field, 259
#33, 263 Pitting before pit road is open, Y, Tail of Field, 265
(NASCAR Statistics)(7-9-2011)

Lucky Dogs - Who got a lap back on each caution at Kentucky: (and their finish)
Caution 1: #66-McDowell, 41st
Caution 2: #5-Martin, 22nd
Caution 3: #47-Labonte, 26th
Caution 4: #9-Ambrose, 20th
Caution 5: #42-Montoya, 15th
Caution 6: #51-Cassill, 23rd
(7-9-2011)

Race Coverage of the Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, July 9, 2011.
Television (TV): TNT at 7:30 pm/et; pre-race show at 6:30 pm/et; green flag approx 7:48pm/et
Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio 90
Scheduled Race Re-Airs:
SPEED, Wednesday, July 13 at 12:00pm/et

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway have been made.
Pole sitter #18-Busch chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #42-Montoya took pit stall 14, the next stall with an opening in front of it.
#22-Busch, who starts 3rd took the 31st pit stall, the last stall with an opening in front of it.
The 43rd and final pit stall was taken by #17-Kenseth, who starts 13th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(7-8-2011)

Kyle Busch going for another Trifecta: As Kyle Busch is set to compete in all three races this weekend at Kentucky, he will look to repeat his record-breaking weekend sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway last August. Busch won the Camping World Truck Series race, along with the Nationwide Series race, before wheeling his #18 Toyota to victory and into the history books in the Sprint Cup race. Busch led four times for a race-high 282 laps in the Sprint Cup race. For the weekend, the Las Vegas native led 514 of a possible 956 circuits. Before finally completing his historic trifecta at Bristol last August, Busch won two out of the three weekend NASCAR races five times in his career (Phoenix fall of 2007 1st in Truck, 1st in Nationwide, 8th in Sprint Cup; Atlanta 2008 spring of 2008, 1st, 24th, 1st; Auto Club Speedway in February 2009, 1st, 1st, 8th; Bristol in August 2009, 1st, 28th, 1st; and Texas in November of 2009, 1st, 28th, 1st). So far in 2011, Busch almost accomplished a weekend sweep once again by winning the Truck Series and Nationwide races in February at Phoenix before coming up just short of winning Sunday's Sprint cup event, when he settled for a solid second-place finish.(JGR/True Speed Commincations)(7-7-2011)
UPDATE: Busch won the Truck Series race.(7-8-2011)

NASCAR Green-White-Checkered Race Procedure: NASCAR allows a maximum of three restart attempts prior to the White Flag under NASCAR's Green-White-Checkered flag finish. If the leader has taken the White Flag and the caution flag is displayed, the field is frozen and the race will not be restarted. Previously, there was only one restart attempt. The procedure applies to all three national series. See rule and notes on the Green-White-Checker rule page.(2-11-2010)

Wave-around rule: The wave-around rule dictates that cars under penalty at the time of the caution are ineligible for the wave around.(10-11-2009)

See Jayski's - 2011 Sprint Cup Race Results Page for pole winner, race winner with speed and starting/finishing position, links to race results, drivers & owners points, pit stall selections, qualifying results/starting lineup, practice speeds and chase stats as well as link to race track and race information page for each race

Kyle Busch on Kentucky pole: #18-Kyle Busch will start from the pole for the Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway after rain halted qualifying and NASCAR was unable to get it restarted. The starting lineup was set based on Friday's practice speeds. #42-Montoya will start second followed by #22-Busch, #4-Kahne, #48-Johnson, #2-Keselowski, #99-Edwards, #6-Ragan, #14-Stewart, and #27-Menard.
The go-or-go homers who made the race (8): #87-Nemechek, #60-Skinner, #46-Yeley, #38-Kvapil, #66-McDowell, #71-Lally, #81-Riggs, and #37-Raines.
The go-or-go homers who failed to qualify for the race (5): #30-Stremme, #50-Bell, #15-Waltrip, #95-Starr, and #77-Gordon
See the starting lineup, qualifying speeds and notes on my Kentucky Starting Lineup/Qualifying Results page.(7-8-2011)

Coverage of Qualifying for the Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway is scheduled for Friday, July 8, 2011 at 5:10pm/et.
Television (TV): SPEED, 5:00pm/et
Jayski.com: Jayski's Kentucky Qualifying Page
Qualifying Re-Air: re-air scheduled at 12:00am/et on SPEED

Qualifying Order for the Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway is posted. 48 cars/drivers are listed. Go-or-go homers are now mixed in with the top-35 drivers, slowest by fastest in first practice.
The first of the drivers scheduled to go out is #7-Wimmer, slowest in practice.
The final driver scheduled to go out is #18-Busch, who was fastest in first practice.
Qualifying order is set by the first practice session, with slowest driver going out by speed and the fastest going out last. The non-top 35 drivers are now mixed in with the top-35 in owners points, slowest to fastest.
See the full qualifying order on the Kentucky Qualifying Page.(7-8-2011)

Happy Hour practice for the Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway is over after rain washed out the first practice. After 90 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#18-Kyle Busch 182.803
#42-Montoya 182.500
#22-Busch 182.346
#4-Kahne 182.291
#48-Johnson 182.285
slowest: #7-Wimmer 174.893 and #32-Bliss 174.921
notes: #11-Hamlin's team changed the engine due to a bent crankshaft. So Hamlin will start from the rear of the field no matter where he qualifies.
fastest 10 lap average
#14-Stewart 178.513
#2-Keselowski 177.409
#78-Smith 177.321
See fastest speeds, laps run, average speeds, fastest 10 lap averages on the Kentucky Practice Speeds Page.(7-8-2011)

Practice rank for the non top-35 drivers:
if things stay the same, these eight drivers would make the race:
#30-David Stremme, 30th fastest overall
#15-Michael Waltrip, 32nd
#87-Joe Nemechek, 33rd
#60-Mike Skinner, 35th
#46-J.J. Yeley, 38th
#38-Travis Kvapil, 39th
#66-Michael McDowell, 40th
#50-T.J. Bell, 41st
these drivers would miss the race if the order stayed the same:
#95-David Starr, 42nd
#71-Andy Lally, 43rd
#77-Robby Gordon, 44th
#81-Scott Riggs, 45th
#37-Tony Raines, 46th

Another new twist to the qualifying format: Starting this weekend at Kentucky Speedway, there will be a rain-out qualifying procedure change for all three NASCAR national series. If first practice is run, but qualifying is unable to take place, the starting lineup will be based on speeds from the car's fastest lap from the first practice, with top-35 cars in owner points no longer segregated from the non-top 35 cars. Previously, the top 35 cars lined up in front of all other eligible car owners.(NASCAR)(7-7-2011)

Testing at Kentucky - Session 2: the scheduled two-hour second session of testing/practice is over for the Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway, after 120 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#18-Busch 178.849
#22-Busch 177.936
#99-Edwards 177.930
#27-Menard 177.912
#39-Newman 177.830
slowest: #7-Wimmer 170.794 & #32-Bliss 171.789
no speed listed: #81-Riggs, #34-Gilliland
fastest 10 lap average
#31-Burton 174.388
#27-Menard 173.995
#24-Gordon 173.992
Five Cars are testing fuel injection and assigned special numbers:
#121-Ricky Stenhouse, Ford, 176.171
#125-Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 175.256
#124-Mike Skinner, Toyota, 174.537
#123-Austin Dillon, Chevy, 173.433
#122-Aric Almirola, Chevy, 170.138
Note: teams can change engines after Thursday's testing is over with no penalty, cars were not inspected, qualifying order will NOT be set by Thursday's testing speeds.
See fastest speeds, laps run, average speeds on the Kentucky Practice Speeds Page.(7-7-2011)

Testing at Kentucky - Session 1: the scheduled four-hour first session of testing/practice is over for the Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway, after 240 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#48-Johnson 175.879 mph
#27-Menard 175.593
#38-Kvapil 175.296
#18-Busch 175.171
#16-Biffle 175.165
slowest: #81-Riggs 169.279 & #7-Gordon/Wimmer 170.600
no speed listed: #77-Gordon, #34-Gilliland
Robby Gordon is entered in the #77 and Scott Wimmer is in the #7
Five Cars are testing fuel injection and assigned special numbers:
#121-Ricky Stenhouse, Ford, 174.340
#124-Mike Skinner, Toyota, 173.717
#123-Austin Dillon, Chevy, 173.210
#125-Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 173.071.
#122-Aric Almirola, Chevy, 172.227
Note: teams can change engines after Thursday's testing is over with no penalty, cars were not inspected, qualifying order will NOT be set by Thursday's testing speeds.
See fastest speeds, laps run, average speeds on the Kentucky Practice Speeds Page.(7-7-2011)

The Entry List for the Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway is posted, 48 teams/drivers [for 43 spots] are listed, including:
Not in top 35 of owners points:
#15-Michael Waltrip (46/2)
#30-David Stremme (44/6)
#37-Tony Raines (39/17)
#38-Travis Kvapil (38/17)
#46-J.J. Yeley (40/17)
#50-T.J. Bell (50/4)
#60-Mike Skinner (43/17)
#66-Michael McDowell (41/17)
#71-Andy Lally (37/17)
#77-Scott Wimmer (53/2)
#81-Scott Riggs (47/7)
#87-Joe Nemechek (42/17)
#95-David Starr (48/2)
In the event that qualifying is cancelled:
the eight who would make it [8]: #'s 71,38,37,46,66,87,60,81
missing the race would be [5]: #'s 30,50,15,95,77
See the full entry list at my Jayski's Kentucky Entry List.(7-5-2011)

Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Kentucky:
No changes in the top-35, the #7 increases it's pts lead over the #21 to 10 pts.
32) #32-TLabonte/FAS Lane, 251, +47
33) #36-Blaney/TBR, 249, +45
34) #13-Mears/Germain, 242, +38
35) #7-RGordon/RGM, 214, 10 points ahead of 36th
these teams / drivers will need to qualify by speed:
36) #21-Bayne/Wood Brothers, 204, 10 points out of top 35
37) #71-Lally/TRG, 202, -12
38) #38-Kvapil/Front Row, 189, -25
The teams are NOT locked in past the next race as the owners points change after each race.
For the owner points standings, see my Owners Points Standings page.(7-2-2011)

2011 Sprint Cup Driver Championship Points Standings:
[after Daytona, race 17 of 36]:
rank, car#, driver, points, behind
1) #29-Kevin Harvick [3 wins], 586
2) #99-Carl Edwards [1 win], 581, -5
3) #18-Kyle Busch [2 wins], 576, -10
4) #22-Kurt Busch [1 win], 570, -16
5) #17-Matt Kenseth [2 wins], 564, -22
6) #48-Jimmie Johnson [1 win], 564, -22
7) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 534, -52
8) #24-Jeff Gordon [2 wins], 519, -67
9) #33-Clint Bowyer, 505, -81
10) #39-Ryan Newman, 498, -88
wild cards
11) #11-Denny Hamlin [1 win], 495, -91 [11th in points]
12) #6-David Ragan [1 win], 457, -129 [17th in points]
Two race winners are not inside the top-20: #2-Keselowski is 23rd, 19 pts out of 20th; #78-Smith is 28th, 69 pts out of 20th
NOTE: wild cards are drivers not in the chase with a win as long as they are in the top-20 in points, then if no wins by drivers points
See drivers championship points standings on Jayski's Drivers Points Standings page.(7-2-2011)

Chassis selections for Kentucky: see the list of many teams and what chassis were selected by the team to run at Kentucky Speedway:
#1-Jamie McMurray: Crew Chief Kevin Manion and the McDonald's team have elected to bring Chassis #1004 which will be making its 2011 debut this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. The chassis ran at Texas, Michigan and Pocono in 2010 and has served as the backup in eight races this season.
#2-Brad Keselowski: The #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-747 during Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. Keselowski drove this chassis to a victory at Kansas Speedway last month. The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend in Kentucky will be "Now This Is Horsepower." This is in honor of the Kentucky Derby which is run every year at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
#5-Mark Martin: crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-672 for Saturday's inaugural race at Kentucky Speedway. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to a ninth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway last month. The team also tested this chassis at Kentucky during the Goodyear tire test on June 1.
#6-David Ragan: Primary Chassis RK-750 last ran at Charlotte  finished 2nd. The backup chassis RK-711 last ran at Darlington - finished 21st. UPS's Worldport is located a short distance away from the track in Louisville. Worldport is the largest fully automated package handling facility in the world. The operation currently turns over 130 aircraft daily, processing an average of 1.5 million packages a day with a record 2.9 million packages processed on Peak Day 2010.
#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 735 for this weekend's 400-mile race. This Porter Cable Ford Fusion has been run previously this season in Las Vegas, Texas and Charlotte. Australian Word of the Week: Chokkie = Chocolate (Ambrose, always has a bite of Chokkie at the car before the race). Ambrose will have a different look this weekend as Porter Cable will be the primary partner of the #9 Ford Fusion.
#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-591 debuted last May in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. It qualified 26th and finished 15th in its maiden race. It saw extensive wind tunnel time before returning to action in late July for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There, it qualified 15th and ran most of the race at the lower end of the top-10. But a savvy two-tire pit call on the team's final stop allowed it to rally to a fifth-place finish. Chassis No. 14-591 spent the rest of the 2010 season as a backup, and in the offseason, it received a new body and logged many hours in the wind tunnel. The Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas was its third career start and first of 2011. It was impressive, as Stewart dominated, leading four times for a race-high 163 laps. He opened up a four-second advantage until a pit road miscue derailed the perfect outing and left him second when the checkered flag dropped. Chassis No. 14-591 returned to action in May's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, where it had a quiet run, qualifying 22nd and finishing 17th. It spent more time in the wind tunnel in preparation for Saturday night's inaugural Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.
#17-Matt Kenseth: will run primary chassis RK-741 which last raced at Michigan, this weekend Kenseth will pilot the #17 Crown Royal Ford. Crew chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Kentucky Speedway: "We're actually taking two cars with us this weekend to Kentucky. Since we have a test day on Thursday, we're going to test chassis 733, and then on Thursday if we feel like the tires are wearing well and if the car's handling well on the track, then we'll most likely use 741 as our primary this weekend. The track surface is really rough at Kentucky so we want to see how the test goes and if we feel the data looks good, we'll opt to run 741 since that's been a race-winning car for us. We're basing a lot of our planning for this weekend off of the No. 16 team's trip to Kentucky for a tire test earlier this season."
#18-Kyle Busch: Chassis No. 308 will make its second-ever start in Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. No. 308 made its debut last month at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, where Busch started third and finished 12th.
#22-Kurt Busch and his Steve Addington-led Shell-Pennzoil "Double-Deuce" Dodge Team will be racing their "PRS-752" Penske Racing Dodge Charger at Kentucky this weekend. This chassis debuted in the May 15 FedEx/Autism Speaks 400 at Dover, where Busch started sixth and finished 14th. This weekend's Quaker State 400 will be the second race for this car. The "PRS-749" chassis, wgich ran at Richmond, will serve as the backup Dodge Charger.
#27-Paul Menard will pilot Chassis No. 356 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This #27 Menard's / Sylvania Chevy was a brand new addition to the RCR fleet for the 2011 season, making its on-track debut at Charlotte in May when Menard started from the 16th position andbrought home a 29th-place result. The Slugger Labbe-led team will use Chassis No. 328 for Thursday's test session at the 1.5-mile racetrack. Also built new for the 2011 season, this car made appearances at Las Vegas (started 18th/finished 12th) and Darlington (started 18th/finished 22nd).
#29-Kevin Harvick: will race chassis No. 288 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. The team utilized this car eight times in 2010, earning one win (Michigan, 8/15), three top-five (Fontana, 2/21; Indianapolis, 7/25) and six top-10 finishes. Harvick also raced this car to a fifth-place finish earlier this year at Pocono (6/12). As Sprint Cup Series teams prepare to compete at Kentucky Speedway for the first time this weekend, NASCAR has allotted nearly six hours of testing for the teams on Thursday. In addition to the extra track time this weekend, the #29 Budweiser Chevy team was one of seven teams that participated in the Goodyear tire test at the track last month.
#31-Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 259 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in this weekend's Quaker State 400. Burton tested this RCR racer back in 2009 at Rockingham Speedway. This #31 Caterpillar Chevy will make its first competitive laps this weekend at Kentucky Speedway.
#33-Clint Bowyer: will pilot chassis No. 360 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This #33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevy, built new in 2011, saw action earlier this season at Kansas Speedway when Bowyer recorded an 18th-place finish after starting 27th.
#36-Dave Blaney: will debut the No. 293 chassis this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. TBR purchased the chassis from Richard Childress Racing, and Jeff Burton most recently drove the chassis.
#39-Ryan Newman In five previous starts, chassis No. 39-609 has two top-five and three top-10 finishes. The car made its debut at Indianapolis in July 2010 where back-to-back flat tires early in the race trapped Newman two laps down and dropped him as low as 39th. But Newman was able to stage an impressive comeback and got back on the lead lap with 15 laps to go to finish a respectable 17th. The car's second start came at Auto Club Speedway, last fall, finishing fifth. Its final appearance of the 2010 season came at Texas. Newman was in position to score a top-10 finish, however, he was overtaken by several cars with fresher tires on a late restart and finished 20th. During the offseason, the car's front clip was updated for 2011. The car's first appearance this year came in March at Auto Club Speedway. Thanks to key adjustments and pit strategy throughout the 200-lap race, Newman scored his third top-five of the season. Newman followed up that impressive run with a top-10 finish that didn't come easily for he and his team at Pocono. With 21 laps to go, Newman lost third gear in his transmission. Thankfully, there wasn't a late-race caution and Newman was able to fight through the adversity and hang onto a ninthplace finish. Saturday's Inaugural Sprint Cup Series Race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta will be the car's third start this year. Tornados colors will run at Kentucky
#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: Team Target Crew Chief Brian Pattie has elected to bring chassis #1105 to Kentucky Speedway this weekend. This chassis has already run four times in 2011 at Texas, Darlington, Kansas and got its best finish (third) at Las Vegas in March.
#43-A.J. Allmendinger: The #43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 742 for this weekend's event at Kentucky Speedway. This Valvoline Ford Fusion has been run previously this year at California. Allmendinger will have a different look this weekend as Valvoline will make its second appearance of the year as the primary partner of the #43 Ford Fusion.
#48-Jimmie Johnson: will pilot chassis No. 659 at Kentucky. Johnson finished 27th in this chassis at Michigban in June. Backup chassis No. 669 finished seventh at Kansas in June 2011.
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-657 for this weekend's Cup event at Kentucky. Earnhardt last raced this chassis to a runner-up finish at Kansas Speedway in June. The team will test this chassis during Thursday's open test at Kentucky.
#99-Carl Edwards: The #99 Aflac crew will be unloading chassis 765. Edwards last raced this car at the Coke 600 in Charlotte where he finished 16th. This will be the second race for the car.
(from team PR's/sites if reported)(7-8-2011)

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials

Number of Tires:
Sprint Cup: Left-side -- 1,800, Right-side -- 1,800;
Nationwide: Left-side -- 575, Right-side -- 575

Set limits:
Sprint Cup: 10 sets for test day, 5 sets for practice/qualifying and 10 sets for race;
Nationwide: 7 sets for weekend

Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-4396; Right-side -- D-4440

Tire Circumference: Left-side -- 87.2 in; Right-side -- 88.4 in.

Technical Inspection Inflation:
Left Front -- 30 psi; Left Rear -- 30 psi;
Right Front -- 48 psi; Right Rear -- 45 psi

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 22 psi; Left Rear -- 20 psi;
Right Front -- 46 psi; Right Rear -- 42 psi

Estimated Pit Window: Every 48-52 laps, based on fuel mileage (Sprint Cup).

Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run the same Goodyear tire codes at Kentucky this weekend . . . this tire set-up came out of a Goodyear tire test held at Kentucky on June 1 . . . Sprint Cup drivers participating in that test were Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Travis Kvapil, Joey Logano, Mark Martin and David Reutimann . . . this is a different combination of left- and right-side tires that Nationwide teams ran at Kentucky last year . . . compared to last year's Kentucky set-up for Nationwide teams, this left-side tire (D-4396) features a mold shape change, while this right-side tire (D-4440) features slight construction and compound changes . . .teams in both of these series ran this left-side tire code at Michigan three weeks ago . . . this is the first time they have run this right-side code . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Kentucky . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.