The NASCAR Cup Series travels to back to Kansas Speedway for another race on a 1.5-mile, intermediate track. The Cup Series used to be filled with tracks similar to Kansas, but Chicago and Kentucky were removed and replaced by tracks that are a problem for the Gen-7 car. We have seen some of the closest finishes in NASCAR history at Kansas, so buckle your seat-belt… We are in for a wild ride in the Heartland. The Hollywood Casino 400 can be seen Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
PRACTICE SPEEDS FOR KANSAS
NASCAR broke the teams down into two groups for practice and qualifying Saturday afternoon. The first group was made up of the non-playoff drivers and the second group included the 12 drivers racing for a championship and a few drivers who ran well in New Hampshire. Kansas is a 1.5-mile, intermediate tracks. Most of the drivers were able to make at least one long run in practice.
Practice speed usually translates into race speed at Kansas Speedway, but you need to know what chart to look at. The 10-lap average speed chart typically translates into race speed more than the single lap speed. This has a lot to do with the bumps on the track. Many of the drivers can turn one fast lap at Kansas, but few can get their car to ride well of the bumps consistently. Kyle Larson posted the fastest speed on the 10-lap average speed chart in May. The No. 5 car then went out and led 221 of the 267 laps, won both Stages and went to Victory Lane.
Here are the speeds from Saturday’s practice at Kansas Speedway…
STRATEGY FOR KANSAS
This is not the race to save allocations. The drivers from Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Team Penske and 23X1 Racing typically finish up front at Kansas Speedway. I plan to build my lineups around the drivers for these top teams. I will try to save allocations with my top drivers next week at the Charlotte Roval and at Talladega.
Here are the picks for the race at Kansas Speedway…
FANTASY LIVE LINEUP FOR KANSAS
CHASE BRISCOE (4): Briscoe was one of the best drivers this summer, but his top-five results did not gain him much of an advantage in the playoffs. Briscoe sits eighth in the Cup Series Playoff Standings. He needs to score a lot of Stage Points and finish in the top-10 Sunday in order to avoid making the Roval a must win race. Briscoe finished 4th at Kansas, 3rd at Charlotte and he won the last race on an intermediate track at Darlington. Briscoe has the speed and the track position to run well again Sunday.
DENNY HAMLIN (1): I have one allocation with Hamlin left. I had to decide if I wanted to use Hamlin this week in Kansas or save him for Martinsville. Those are the best tracks left on the schedule for the No. 11 car. I decided to take a chance with Hamlin Sunday in the Heartland. Hamlin has finished seven of his last eight races in Kansas in the top-eight. The only race he failed to finish in the top-10 was last May. Hamlin ran up front in that race, but his drive-train broke and ended his race. Hamlin has an average finishing position of 3.6 in the Gen-7 car at Kansas, if you removed the race last May. He is just too good at this track to fade Sunday.
KYLE LARSON (2): Larson is a lock for all Fantasy Live lineups this week. He posted the fastest speed in practice, won the pole, won both Stages, led 221 of the 267 laps and went to Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway in May. He also won the race at Kansas last year. Larson has the speed and the track position to score a lot of Stage Points and win the race Sunday.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (2): Bell sits fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings and he is 29 points above the cut line. The No. 20 team needs to run up front, score some Stage Points and finish in the top-10. That is what Bell is good at doing in Kansas. Bell finished the last four races at Kansas Speedway in the top-10. That includes a second-place finish last May. He led 122 laps in this race last year. I expect Bell to finish in the top-five Sunday, with the upside to win the Hollywood Casino 400.
CHASE ELLIOTT (5): Elliott would have a good chance to win more races if he could learn to qualify. Despite his poor starting positions, Elliott continues to finish in the top-10. He finished four of his last five races at Kansas Speedway in the top-10. The No. 9 can has the speed to finish in the top-10 again Sunday.
(GARAGE PICK) WILLIAM BYRON (3): Byron has been one of the best drivers on the intermediate tracks this year. He finished 4th in Las Vegas, 2nd at Darlington, 2nd at Texas and 5th at Nashville. Byron finished 24th at Kansas in May, but I will give the No. 24 team a mulligan for that race. Byron finished 2nd in the Hollywood Casino 400 last year and he finished 3rd at Kansas in 2023. Byron has the speed to finish in the top-five again Sunday.
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.