Martin Truex Jr. has won the last two editions of the Quaker State 400. He’s definitely a driver to watch this coming Saturday, but him aside, there are other competitors that deserve our attention. Below, we discuss two other favorites, two sleepers, and a long shot to win the 2019 Quaker State 400.
Well, Busch appears to be cooling off a bit lately. After a hot stretch in which he made five consecutive top-five finishes, Busch has now seen himself finish 14th or worse in his past two races. In Chicago late last month, Busch ended up 22nd before a 14th-place finish in Daytona last weekend. It could just be a matter of time before Busch gets his form back. After finishing 30th in Kansas last May, Busch went on the aforementioned five-race tear, beginning at the All-Star Race where he finished third. Busch has two wins in eight career races in Kentucky. He was fourth in last year’s edition of the Quaker State 400.
Brad Keselowski
Keselowski disappointed big time in Daytona, as he managed just a 39th finish. Prior to that, he went fifth at Chicagoland Speedway. The race in Kentucky this coming weekend gives Keselowski tasty chance to catch up on Busch and Martin Truex in the Monster Energy Cup NASCAR standings, as he’s often done well at the Kentucky Speedway. In eight races at the track, Keselowski has won three times and finished inside the top 10 six times. He was third during the 2018 Quaker State 400 and won it in 2016, 2014, and 2012.
SLEEPERS
Daniel Suarez
Suarez, who is still searching for his first win of the season, failed to gain significant ground in the Monster Energy Cup NASCAR standings last week, as he only finished 40th in Daytona. Suarez heads into the Quaker State 400 race on Saturday sitting on the 17th place of the standings, though, h’s only three points outside of the playoff picture. Suarez only has two career races at Kentucky Speedway, but in both events, he managed to steer his car to top 18 finishes.
Erik Jones
Like Suarez, Jones is on the outside looking in of the playoff picture this season, He is 13 points back of the cut. He’s been up and down of late. He was third at Pocono early last month then followed that up with a 31st place finish at Michigan before going eighth and seventh at Sonoma and Chicago, respectively. Last weekend, slipped again, going 23rd at Daytona. Jones could be in for a solid showing at Kentucky Speedway, though. Although he only has two races there to date, Jones placed inside the top seven on both.
LONG SHOT
Paul Menard
Menard had a relatively good performance last week, as he finished 16th at Daytona — his best finish in three races. Menard finished 11th the last time he raced at Kentucky Speedway, which was during the 2018 Quaker State 400. He also went 12th in the same race back in 2012.
