After the chaos that ensued at the end of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, NASCAR looks for a quieter weekend as all three national touring series invade the Bluegrass State. From the seasoned pros of the Sprint Cup Series, to the fresh rookies of the Xfinity and Trucks Series, everyone is looking for a night race win during the midsummer stretch.
Here are your four storylines heading into the NASCAR weekend at Kentucky Speedway:
Night Racing, For Better Or Worse
In a rarity for NASCAR racing it seems nowadays, all three major touring series will race this weekend at the same track under the lights. With that in mind, while a look at the entry list sees no triple dippers across all the series, expect to see lots of drivers sharing information between each race day, and lots of drivers from each series on pit road, especially for the Trucks and Xfinity races. Learning is half the battle after all.
First Time Track Winners
While NASCAR’s #2 and #3 series have been stomping in the bluegrass for many years, this will only be the fifth race for the Sprint Cup Series at the track. Brad Keselowski (#2 Miller Lite Ford) has one two of the previous four races at the track. Doing the math, only three drivers have won for the Sprint Cup Series in Kentucky, making the numbers certainly side on the side of a first time track winner this weekend. Consider this – no Chevrolet-powered team has won at the track in the premier series. Could that change this weekend?
Kyle Busch Getting Desperate
After a rough going at Daytona, where bad luck snagged him early and caused him to never be a contender again in the Coke Zero 400, Kyle Busch (#18 M and Ms Toyota) needs to mount his charge starting at Kentucky if he wants to get into the Chase. It’s a great track to get back on track for Busch, where he won from the pole in 2011 and has the most Top 5’s and Top 10’s in the Series there. Should Kyle Busch falter in the Bluegrass State, however, he may be kissing his Chase hopes goodbye.
New Rules, Just Right
After what was deemed some sub-par racing in the first half of the season, NASCAR is set to debut a new rules package at Kentucky for that race and few more later in the season. Included in the new package are changes to both the front splitter and rear spoiler, which will be tested by teams on Thursday. Only time will tell how the new package will change the racing at Kentucky, and how the drivers will react.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be the first to take over the Kentucky Speedway, on Thursday night on Fox Sports 1. Then tune in for the Xfinity and Sprint Cup Series, the next two nights on NBCSN.
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