This weekend the Nascar Nextel Cup Series heads to Kansas City for the LifeLock 400.  This race is the 3rd of 10 in the Chase for the Championship right now; Jeff Gordon holds a slim 2 point lead over Tony Stewart.  The LifeLock 400 is held at the Kansas Speedway, a 1.5 mile tri-oval that, despite its unique banking, is considered one of those classic cookie cutter tracks.  This track is new to the circuit, with only 6 Cup races in its history.  Last year, Jimmie Johnson dominated the race but with a few laps left, got penalized for speeding in the pits as he tried to gas and go.  Tony Stewart benefited by not pitting and won the race, despite running out of gas on the last lap.

When it comes to racing at Kansas, a good handling car is the biggest key to success.  With this relatively new surface, the second groove is not as worn as the lower groove, which means handling will be critical as a car will need to stay in the lower groove and avoid drifting up the track.  A driver must display patience, stay in his groove and pick and choose on when to move forward.  As we saw last year, fuel mileage and pit strategy could also play a major factor as well. 

In the six races run at Kansas, Jeff Gordon won the first two, Ryan Newman won the next while Joe Nemechek, Mark Martin and Tony Stewart won the last 3 races. Tony Stewart has the best average finish with 1 win, two top 5's and a two top 10's.  His lowest finish was 14th in 2004.  Jeff Gordon has the best record for Hendrick, with two wins, a top 5 and a top 10.  His lowest finish was 39th in 2006.  Greg Biffle has had the most success for Roush-Fenway racing, with two top 5's and two top 12's.  This is not a COT race, so expect the normal 1.5 mile suspects when picking a winner for this race.

Others to Watch

Dale Earnhardt Jr. - He's only one of eight active drivers with at least three Top 10's in six career races at Kansas. He's also raced well recently, clinching three Top 5's in the past five races.

Carl Edwards - Edwards has been one of the circuit's top drivers in recent weeks. He's raced to five Top 10's in his last seven starts (two wins and six top-15 finishes).

Ryan Newman - He's had strong success at Kansas, winning in ‘03 and finishing second in '02 and '01. He owns the most Top 5's (3) in six career races at the track.

Casey Mears - If you're looking for fantasy help in group B of the yahoo's fantasy nascar, look no further than Mears.  Mears has been on a roll of late, racing to six top 15 finishes in his last eight starts. He's also claimed back-to-back Top 10 finishes while averaging a nine-position improvement over his qualifying slot.

Mark Martin - He's fared well recently at Kansas, winning in '05 and placing third last season. He owns the most Top 5's in six career races at the track.

What the experts think

My pick - Tony Stewart - He's been the most successful at Kansas among active drivers. Stewart won last year's race and owns the most Top 10's (4) and Top 5's (3) in the past five seasons. In addition, Stewart has compiled nine top 10s, six Top 5's and three victories in his last 10 Cup races

Sleeper pick - Clint Bowyer- Coming to his home track, Bowyer having a tremendous run right now, winning his first-ever race two weeks ago, moving to fifth in the Nextel points standings and clocking four top 15 rides in the last five weeks.