KANSAS CITY, Kan. –Kansas Speedway, site of Saturday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400, has to be considered a Jeff Gordon track.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver with four Sprint Cup championship trophies decorating his den won the first two races (2001, 2002) held at the 1.5-mile oval located on the far west side of Kansas City. Then, a year ago, Gordon won for a third time at Kansas.
He also has seven other top-5 finishes and an average finish of 10th in his 18 starts at Kansas.
On Friday, Gordon, who has said 2015 will be his final season as a full-time Sprint Cup driver, was asked where the Kansas intermediate sits on his list of favorite venues.
“I would say it’s in the top-five,” Gordon said. “Now Clint Boyer (walks in) on the other hand, he’s somewhere in my top 15 or 20 drivers of all-time (Laughing). I’m certainly very comfortable and enjoy this track. But you’re talking about going against tracks like Indianapolis, which certainly goes to the top of my list, or Bristol or Michigan are ones that stand out. I like a lot of tracks, so it’s hard to grade them in any way. But Kansas is certainly way up there.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
- NASCAR to debut new short track package at Phoenix - February 28, 2023
- The Wrench Who Stole Racing - December 16, 2022
- Matt DiBenedetto’s excellent run comes to abrupt, violent end - February 17, 2019
