The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series roars into Kentucky this weekend, a state also known for its horsepower. Like NASCAR, horsepower was so important to Kentucky that the legendary Daniel Boone reportedly introduced a bill to “improve the breed of horses” at the state’s first legislative session.
Boone and the state of Kentucky were talking about the four-legged kind of horsepower. But, come Saturday night, millions of fans will be watching as NASCAR shows its horsepower, the four-wheeled kind, on the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway tri-oval in Sparta. The circuit is only making its third visit to the Bluegrass State track where Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s team have never won – one of five on the circuit they have failed to conquer. Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and Homestead-Miami Speedway are the others. However, Johnson has finished in the top-10 in both previous visits to Kentucky – third in 2011 and sixth last year.
Despite the good finishes, Johnson knows this weekend is no time to rest with only 10 races left before the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. His three wins this season make him the top seed for the Chase. Matt Kenseth also has three wins but Johnson wins the tiebreaker with a next-best finish of second to Kenseth’s next-best finish of sixth. But the five-time champion Johnson knows it’s time to giddyup, not rein in the horses this weekend in Kentucky.
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