Successes and disappointments from the Quaker State 400

A new track surface, a narrower tun one and a brand new aero package awaited the forty NASCAR sprint cup teams as they rolled into the Kentucky Speedway last weekend. There were initial doubts over the new track and car changes but the race proved to be one of the most spectacular so far this year. Here's a look at who performed well and who should have done better.

The successes

Brad Keselowski: The 2012 series champion took his forth victory of the season in dramatic fashion. A brave call by crew chief Paul Wolfe initially looked to of turned sour when Keselowski ran out of fuel with only two laps remaining, but he managed to get the #2 Ford restarted and just managed to cling on to take his second win in a row and his fourth of the season. This now means that Keselowski has won more races than any other driver so far this season and he is beginning to look like a serious threat for the championship.

Ryan Newman: The Quaker State 400 was a very typical Ryan Newman race, no drama, no accidents and no heroics but a solid and consistent performance that yielded a good result. Third place to be specific, his best finish of the season. While Newman gained no championship positions, he did increase the gap back to the crucial sixteenth place points spot. If the former race winner can keep up this sort of performance, he should be a shoo-in for a chase spot come Richmond.

Greg Biffle: For the second time in two weeks, Greg Biffle makes it onto out list of successes. Similarly to Ryan Newman, the forty six year old had a relatively quiet night but a solid and consistent run lead to a sixth place finish. This is fantastic news for Roush Fenway Racing who seem to be returning to their former glory, however it's all a little bit too late for Biffle. He's seventy points behind the crucial sixteenth place spot, occupied by his teammate Trevor Bayne, and that will be a very hard gap to make up. However that shouldn't detract from his recent run of form - there's no denying, "The Biff" is back.

Cole Whitt: Twenty first usually wouldn't be anything to shout about, but for Premium Motorsports and Cole Whitt, it most certainly is. A decent run showing reasonably strong pace proved that Whitt has the makings of a very competitive driver. The result also showed the potential of Premium Motorsports, who had a car inside the top twenty for the third time this year. Some more results like this would be great news for Whitt and the whole of Premium Motorsports.

Danica Patrick: 2016 hasn't been as good for Danica Patrick as expected, no major stand-out results and a current twenty fourth position in the championship standings is a long way off what everyone expected of her. In Kentucky, she had a fairly reasonable run to a seventeenth place finish - her second best result of the year. This was a fine performance and it should provide Patrick with a confidence boost that could see her achieving these better results more often.

The disappointments

Denny Hamlin: Fifteenth is not a bad result, it's not amazing but it's not bad. Unless you're a Joe Gibbs Racing driver that is. Edwards was second, Kensenth was eighth and Kyle Busch was twelfth. Furthermore, Hamlin was the only one of the four cars to not lead a lap during the race and he never looked like a front running car and sadly that has been the story a few too many times this year.

A.J. Allmendinger: With the chase getting ever closer, now is a bad time to be involved in a wreck and Allmendinger was ultimately involved in two. This lead to a finishing position of thirty sixth and just five points scored. While technically not Allmendinger's fault, he is now in a very difficult position and his hopes of making the chase now firmly rest on the hope of winning at Watkins Glen International.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr: Just like Allmendinger, Stenhouse Jr. has the potential to make the chase on points, but not if he keeps wrecking just nine laps into a race. Considering that Stenhouse Jr. isn't a specialist on any type of track, the likelihood of him getting a win is quite low. He needs more consistency and better results and he needs them soon if he is to make the chase this season.

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