With both cars advancing to the second round of the Chase, and with Kansas Speedway the first race of the round, things are shaping up nicely for JR Motorsports.
Why? Because the numbers favor JRM drivers Justin Allgaier and Elliott Sadler.
Of the remaining eight Chase drivers, Allgaier has the best average finish at Kansas with a 7.2, and Sadler is fourth (13.0). Daniel Suarez is second (9.0).
Allgaier and Sadler also lead the way in laps led, top-five and top-10 finishes at Kansas. They have combined to lead 54 laps (only one other Chase driver, Brendan Gaughan, has led at Kansas). Eight top-10 finishes between Allgaier and Sadler also are more than the rest of the Chase drivers combined.
Lack of experience also is notable throughout the Chase field at Kansas. Erik Jones, the 2016 Rookie of the Year candidate, will make his first Xfinity start at the speedway Saturday. It will also be his 100th start across all of NASCAR’s three national series.
Jones does have one start apiece in the Camping World Truck and Sprint Cup series at Kansas. Jones finished 11th in a truck race on May 8, 2015, and 40th the next day in his Sprint Cup debut (crashing late after running in the top five and leading in place of injured Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Toyota).
Here is how the Chase drivers stack up at Kansas Speedway:
The Kansas Lottery 300 is Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.