NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Quaker State 400 Preview

Race Information:

When: Saturday, June 30, 2012
Where: Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, KY
Laps: 267
Distance: 400.5

Clint Bowyer won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup road race at Sonoma on Sunday and hopes to build momentum this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. The win was also his first win as a member of Michael Waltrip Racing, but can Bowyer give them another first; a berth to the Chase for the Sprint Cup?

This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series gets ready for a Saturday night showdown at the 1.5-mile oval of Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, KY. This is only the second Sprint Cup race at the track and many hope the traffic woes of 2011 are a thing of the past.

Many of NASCAR’s fans never made it to their seats to see the Kyle Busch dominant, leading the most laps from the pole position. A win for Busch would definitely help the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who has had engine troubles three of the last four weeks which has caused him to fall to 12th in the points standings.

A cool stat is that a win for Carl Edwards on Saturday could join Kyle Busch as a winner in all three NASCAR national series at Kentucky Speedway. Edwards won his first Camping World Truck race at the track in 2003 and added his Nationwide Series victory in 2005. Can Edwards backflip to his first victory of the 2012 season?

My pick for the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway is Brad Keselowski. Something tells me he is ready for a great triple duty weekend at the 1.5 mile track. Now it’s your turn NASCAR fans, who is your race pick?

Entry List: 

1 1 Jamie McMurray Felix Sabates Kevin Manion 12 Chevrolet McDonald’s
2 2 Brad Keselowski Roger Penske Paul Wolfe 12 Dodge Miller Lite
3 5 Kasey Kahne Linda Hendrick Kenny Francis 12 Chevrolet Quaker State
4 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Todd Parrott 12 Ford Mac Tools
5 10 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Tommy Baldwin 12 Chevrolet Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
6 11 Denny Hamlin J D Gibbs Darian Grubb 12 Toyota FedEx Express
7 13 Casey Mears Bob Germain Bootie Barker III 12 Ford No. 13 Valvoline NextGen Ford Fusion
8 14 Tony Stewart Margaret Haas Steve Addington 12 Chevrolet OFFICE DEPOT / MOBIL 1
9 15 Clint Bowyer Rob Kauffman Brian Pattie 12 Toyota 5-Hour Energy
10 16 Greg Biffle Jack Roush Matt Puccia 12 Ford ARC
11 17 Matt Kenseth John Henry Jimmy Fennig 12 Ford 5th/3rd
12 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Dave Rogers 12 Toyota M&Ms Red-White-Blue
13 119 Mike Bliss(i) Randy Humphrey Skip Pope 11 Toyota Humphrey Smith Racing LLC.
14 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Jason Ratcliff 12 Toyota Dollar General
15 22 A J Allmendinger Walter Czarnecki Todd Gordon 12 Dodge Shell Pennzoil
16 23 Scott Riggs Robert Richardson Sr Greg Conner 12 Chevrolet North TX Pipe
17 24 Jeff Gordon Rick Hendrick Alan Gustafson 12 Chevrolet Drive to End Hunger
18 26 Josh Wise Jerry Freeze Charles Dickey Jr 12 Ford MDS Transport
19 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Slugger Labbe 12 Chevrolet Menards – Sylvania
20 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Shane Wilson 12 Chevrolet Budweiser Folds of Honor
21 30 David Stremme Kevin Buckler Steve Lane 12 Toyota Inception Motorsports
22 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Drew Blickensderfer 12 Chevrolet CATERPILLAR
23 32 Ken Schrader Jack Roush Frank Stoddard Jr 12 Ford FEDERATED AUTO PARTS
24 33 Stephen Leicht Richard Childress Tony Glover 12 Chevrolet LittleJoesAuto.com
25 34 David Ragan Bob Jenkins Jay Guy 12 Ford TBA
26 36 Dave Blaney Allan Heinke Ryan Pemberton 12 Chevrolet Seal Wrap
27 38 David Gilliland Brad Jenkins Patrick Tryson 12 Ford Taco Bell
28 39 Ryan Newman Tony Stewart Tony Gibson 12 Chevrolet TORNADOS
29 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Chris Heroy 12 Chevrolet Target
30 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Michael Ford 12 Ford Eckrich
31 47 Bobby Labonte Tad Geschickter Todd Berrier 12 Toyota Scotts Products
32 48 Jimmie Johnson Jeff Gordon Chad Knaus 12 Chevrolet Lowe’s Ermine White
33 249 J J Yeley Jay Robinson Tony Furr 12 Toyota America Israel Racing / JPO Absorbents
34 51 Kurt Busch James Finch Nick Harrison 12 Chevrolet PHOENIX CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, INC.
35 52 Mike Skinner Kelly Owen Scott Eggleston 11 Toyota CrusaderStaffing.com
36 55 Michael Waltrip Bill Jenkins Rodney Childers 12 Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine
37 56 Martin Truex Jr Michael Waltrip Chad Johnston 12 Toyota NAPA Auto Parts
38 74 Stacy Compton Vickie Compton Peter Sospenzo 12 Chevrolet Turn One Racing
39 78 Regan Smith Barney Visser Pete Rondeau 11 Chevrolet Furniture Row
40 83 Landon Cassill Thomas Ueberall Doug Richert 12 Toyota Burger King
41 87 Joe Nemechek(i) Andrea Nemechek Steven Gray 12 Toyota AM/FM Energy Wood and Pellet Stoves
42 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr Rick Hendrick Steve Letarte 12 Chevrolet Diet Mtn. Dew / National Guard
43 93 Travis Kvapil Thomas Ueberall Todd Anderson 12 Toyota Burger King
44 195 Scott Speed Bob Leavine Wally Rogers 12 Ford Leavine Family Racing
45 98 Michael McDowell Mike Curb Gene Nead 12 Ford Phil Parsons Racing
46 99 Carl Edwards Jack Roush Bob Osborne 12 Ford UPS