The Cup Series will continue their playoffs at Kansas Speedway this week. The picks for the playoffs had some “mechanic issues” last week. Kevin Harvick was on his way to another top-10 finish with his car went up in flames. The other picks worked out well, but Harvick sank the lineup that only scored 200 points. We are going to need a bounce back race at Kansas.
Here are my picks for the Hollywood Casino 400…
TYLER REDDICK (4): Reddick is having a career season and now he is fifth in the Playoff Standings. Reddick finished seventh at Las Vegas and sixth at Charlotte. He had a lot of speed at Kansas in May but was caught up in an accident. Reddick posted the fastest speed in practice and won the pole for the race. Reddick has finished his last three races in the top-seven. The hot streak should continue with the No. 8 car Sunday.
ROSS CHASTAIN (5): Can we trust Chastain Sunday? His average finishing position in his last seven races is 25th. That is not good, but it is not because the No. 1 car did not have speed. Chastain posted the second-fastest speed in practice and qualified fifth for the race, so the car has speed again this week. Sooner or later Chastain will get out of his slump. I will take a chance that it happens Sunday.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (4): Bell is having his best season in the Cup Series and he has been good on the 1.5-mile tracks this year. Bell finished 10th at Las Vegas, fifth at Kansas and fifth at Charlotte. Bell posted the third-fastest speed in practice and qualified fourth for the race. Bell should add his 16th top-10 finish to his 2022 resume Sunday.
MARTIN TRUEX JR. (5): Truex is no longer racing for a championship but he proved last week that he is not going to let that slow him down. Truex had one of the best cars at Darlington and the No. 19 car looks fast at Kansas. Truex posted the 14th -fastest speed in practice and qualified 12th for the race. Truex has finished six consecutive races at Kansas in the top-10 with a sixth-place average finishing position. I will play Truex and hope for another top-10 finish Sunday.
KYLE LARSON (5): What should we do with Larson this week? His car has speed. Larson posted the fifth fastest speed in practice and qualified seventh for the race. His car also had engine problems in the last two races. Kansas is a great track for Larson. He won this race last year and finished second at Kansas in May. I will take a chance with Larson and if his car has engine problems again I will put Larson in the Garage.
GARAGE DRIVER KYLE BUSCH (5): Rowdy has been at his best on the 1.5-mile tracks this year. He finished fourth at Las Vegas, third at Kansas and second at Charlotte. The No. 18 car was also one of the best cars last week at Darlington. Busch was not fast in practice and he did not qualify up front but I expect the No. 18 car to quickly go to the front Sunday. Busch should be a good insurance policy to have in the Garage.
Bonus Picks
Fantasy Live has a new Bonus Picks section this year. Instead of selecting the winning team or manufacturer, we will earn 10 bonus points for selecting the driver who finishes the best in a Head-to-Head matchup. Here are my picks for the matchups…
ERIC JONES vs. DANIEL SUAREZ (My Pick: DANIEL SUAREZ)
KYLE BUSCH vs. DENNY HAMLIN (My pick is KYLE BUSCH)
KYLE LARSON vs. CHASE ELLIOTT (My pick is KYLE LARSON)
RYAN BLANEY vs. JOEY LOGANO (My pick is JOEY LOGANO)
Good luck and be sure to follow me on 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.
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