NASCAR: Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway: What you need to know
Distance: 267 laps, or 400 miles.
Where: Kentucky Speedway, a 1.5-mile trioval speedway in Sparta, Ky.
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
TV: NBCSN.
Radio: PRN.
Last year’s winner: Brad Keselowski.
Also this week: Alsco 300, Xfinity Series, Kentucky Speedway, 8 p.m., Friday, NBCSN. Buckle Up In Your Truck 225. Kentucky Speedway. 7:30 p.m. Thursday. FS1.
Worth mentioning: Kentucky Speedway has hosted six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races. Chevy hasn’t won any of them.
Who’s Hot/ Who’s Not
HOT
Danica Patrick: The results don’t show it, but Patrick is showing signs of increased speed. In the first nine races of the season, her pass differential was negative 63. But in the past eight races,that total is positive 22. She passed 177 cars in the first nine and 289 in the next eight. Her average finish over the second stretch is still just 25.5 because she crashed out of four races.
NOT
Joey Logano: In the past eight races his average finish is 23.5. He has dropped from “comfortably in the playoffs” to “on the outside looking in” (when wins are counted). He is points behind Matt Kenseth for the 16th and final postseason spot. For a driver who was expected to battle for the championship, that’s a shocking drop from contention.
Matt Crossman
This story was originally published July 6, 2017 at 5:17 PM with the headline "NASCAR: Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway: What you need to know."