The NASCAR Cup Series travels to the Heartland this weekend to race at Kansas Speedway. The picks continue to climb in the standings. The picks entered the race at Bristol outscoring 94.4% of the entries and they are now outscoring 96.5% of the entries. My goal every year is to outscore 99% of the entries and that goal was accomplished from 2012-2024. We missed the mark last year, but I made some changes and we are heading back to the top in 2026. We need another good race at Kansas Speedway. I think we will get it.
STRATEGY FOR KANSAS
There are some races on the NASCAR schedule where it is wise to save your allocations with your top drivers. The AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway is not one of them. The drivers from Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports scored 7 of the top-8 positions in the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. These two organizations scored 4 of the top-5 spots in the spring race at Kansas Speedway last year and 5 of the top-6 spots in the playoff race at this track. The chances of Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports dominating the race in Kansas are high, so we will have to use our top drivers Sunday.
Here are the picks for the race at Kansas Speedway…
TYLER REDDICK (9): I have no problem using another allocation with Reddick Sunday. I want to use Reddick while he is running hot. He won the race at Kansas in 2023 and he finished 7th in the playoffs at Kansas Last year. Reddick posted the 2nd-fastest long-run speed in practice and the No. 45 car won the pole for the race. Reddick is running to well right now to fade.
DENNY HAMLIN (6): I am quickly running out of allocations with Hamlin. That may worry a lot of people, but not me. It really doesn’t matter if we get a top-3 finish from Hamlin now or if we get it at the end of the regular season. It is clear that the No. 11 team has a speed advantage over the field. Hamlin posted the 5th-fastest long-run speed in practice and the No. 11 car qualified 2nd for the race. I want to use Hamlin while he is dominating the Cup Series races.
KYLE LARSON (6): Larson has been a beast at Kansas Speedway in the spring. He finished 2nd in 2022, 2nd in 2023, 1st in 2024 and 1st in 2025. That is an average finishing position of 1.5 in the Gen-7 car in the spring at Kansas Speedway. Larson looks fast again this weekend. The No. 5 team decided to work on their car, instead of practice. It worked. Larson qualified 4th for the race. He has a great chance to win the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday.
CHASE BRISCOE (8): Briscoe got off to a horrible start in 2026. That is the bad news. The good news is that I still have a lot of allocations left with the No. 19 car. Briscoe finished 8th earlier this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and he finished 4th in his two races at Kansas while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Briscoe looks fast this weekend, so I will start using my allocations with the No. 19 car Sunday.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (7): Bell is the best driver in the field who has never won at Kansas Speedway. Bell finished 2nd and 3rd in his two races at Kansas Speedway last year and he finished 4th at Las Vegas earlier this season. Bell posted the 3rd-fastest long-run speed in practice and the No. 20 car qualified 11th for the race. Bell has the speed, track position and the No. 1 pit crew. He should have a good chance to win Sunday.
(GARAGE PICK) BUBBA WALLACE (8): Wallace has been hit or miss at Kansas Speedway, so there is some risk with this pick. He won the race at Kansas Speedway in 2022 and he finished 5th in the playoff race last year. The No. 23 car posted the fastest speed in practice and Wallace qualified 10th for the race. He has the speed and the track position to run well Sunday. I want as many Toyota’s as possible at Kansas Speedway (except for Kyle LarsonJ).
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.