Countdown To The Chase: Kentucky

Joey Logano, of the #20 Gamestop car, wins one of his three straight Nationwide Kentucky races.

We now have 9 races to go before The Chase for the Sprint Cup begins and the next stop is at Kentucky Motor Speedway.

This isn't just an ordinary race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule; It is the inaugural event for NASCAR's top series. So in actuality, there should be no favorites right? Not so fast! (No pun intended)

This may the be the inaugural event for the Cup Series, but it's not the same case for the other series like the Nationwide and Truck Series. Both series have raced there since 2001 (Nationwide) and 2000 (Camping World Truck) respectively. 

The point of this information you ask? Well, Cup regulars have a tendency to participate in Nationwide and Truck Races before Sunday's usual Cup race to prepare what to expect on race day. Therefore, there are a handful of cup drivers that have an advantage starting with...

The Favorites

Joey Logano

In four starts at Kentucky for the Nationwide Series, Logano has won three of them - all from the pole. Not to mention, he won three in row (2008-2010). Not sure how exactly he'll fare in the Cup car considering he has been shaky up to the point in his career, but his Kentucky results are astounding and one can't help not to overlook his success here.

Kyle Busch

My pick to win this race. "Wild Thing" won in his 1st start for Nationwide there in 2004. He has an average finish of 9.8 in five Nationwide races. He has been atop the leaderboards throughout all three practice sessions. It also helps that he won the Truck event here on Thursday too.

Brad Keselowski 

Like Logano, it is weird for me to put him in among the "Favorites".  I just cannot deny his Kentucky resume either. He has the best average finish of anyone in the field who has raced here previously with a 2.8 in four starts. He won last night's race with a mixture of a fast car and fuel mileage. Pretty ironic considering he won Kansas early this year on fuel mileage and this track has been closely compared to Kansas. Look for Brad K. to make another push towards being in the Chase.

Darkhorses

Jeff Gordon

Since this track is compared to Kansas, I'm taking a look at past Kansas results for the darkhorses. Jeff Gordon has the best average finish of anyone at Kansas with an 8.1 in 11 starts while winning the first two races ever there. He has won three inaugural events (Indy, Kansas, and California). Look for ol' 4-time to be a factor. 

Jimmie Johnson

Ol' 5-time has an average finish of 9.1 in 10 starts at Kansas with a win in 2008. Johnson is having an off-year with just 1 win (Talladega). Look for "The Dominator" to try and, well, dominate.

Greg Biffle

He has an average finish of 8.3 with two wins in 10 starts. He has the most laps led at Kansas with 323. Look for success at Kansas to carry over to Kentucky.

As for risk takers........None. For the most part, everyone has a clean slate. 

Needless to say, just one man's opinion.

Note: I do NOT take credit for any of this photo.