NASCAR Cup Series joins the O’Reilly Series at Kansas Speedway this weekend. It is hard to believe, but the Cup Series 2026 season will be one-fourth complete after the race Sunday. We are getting very close to figuring out which teams are the contenders for the 2026 Cup Series Championship and which are the pretenders. There are eight races on the 1.5-mile, intermediate tracks left on the schedule. It will be important for the teams to find speed at Kansas, so they can run up front at the other intermediate tracks this year.
KANSAS SCHEDULE
The O’Reilly Series in on the track first. They will practice and qualify for the Kansas Lottery 300 Friday evening and then they will race Saturday night.
The Cup Series will practice and qualify for the AdventHealth 400 Saturday evening. Their cars will be impounded and then the Cup Series will race Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FOX.
* I will do my best to get some of the picks posted after practice Saturday evening, but you can expect most of the picks Sunday morning.
FANTASY STATS FOR KANSAS
NASCAR is starting to add more 1.5-mile, intermediate tracks to the schedule because the Gen-7 car puts on a good show at these tracks. There are nine races on these tracks in 2026 and the race this weekend in Kansas is the second. The Cup Series raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last month. I plan to use the stats from the last four races at Kansas Speedway and combine it with the stats from the race in Las Vegas this year. This will give us an idea of which drivers are good at Kansas and which drivers have the speed in 2026.
Here are the stats from the last four races at Kansas Speedway and the race at Las Vegas this year, sorted by Driver Rating…
KANSAS RACE REWIND (MAY 2025)
The AdventHealth 400 last year turned into “The Kyle Larson Show” as soon as the cars were unloaded in the Heartland. Kyle Larson posted the fastest speed in practice, won the pole, led 221 of the 267 laps, won both Stages and went to Victory Lane. Christopher Bell qualified 3rd and finished 2nd. Ryan Blaney also looked fast. The No. 12 car qualified 10th and finished 3rd. They were all competing for second place though. There was no catching the No. 5 car last year at Kansas Speedway.
The best drivers in the race were Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe. The best sleeper picks were Ryan Preece and Zane Smiith.
You can watch the highlights of last year’s race here: 2025 AdventHealth 400 Race Rewind
EARLY WEEK DRIVER RANKINGS
We have enough data from the 1.5-mile tracks to figure out who should be fast at Kansas Speedway. I looked at the stats from the previous races at Kansas Speedway and the stats on the 1.5-mile, intermediate tracks last year. I gave more weight to the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, because the Chevy’s seem to be lacking a bit of the speed that they had last year with the new nose on their cars. I also factored in the speed of the pit crews since pit stop have become very important in the Gen-7 car era.
Here are the early week Driver Rankings for the AdventHealth 400….
* These rankings will be updated after all of the practice sessions are completed and the field is set for the race.
STRATEGY FOR KANSAS
SEASON-LONG GAME STRATEGY: The 1.5-mile tracks are typically dominated by Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. That is mostly true at Kansas Speedway, but we have seen some other teams in Victory Lane. Bubba Wallace won in his 23XI Racing Toyota in 2022. Tyler Reddick took his 23XI Racing Toyota to Victory Lane at Kansas in 2023 and Ross Chastain too his Trackhouse Racing Chevy to Victory Lane at Kansas in 2024. Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing scored the top-five spots at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last month. It would be a good idea to fill in your lineup with the drivers from these two powerhouse teams and sprinkle in some drivers from 23XI Racing and RFK Racing. Brad and the Boys have had some speed too this year.
DFS GAME STRATEGY: Denny Hamlin led 134 laps in the last race at Kansas Speedway and he led 159 laps in Las Vegas earlier this season. Kyle Larson has averaged 142 laps led in the last two spring races at Kansas Speedway. There is a good chance that the No. 11 and No. 5 cars dominate the race Sunday.
This race always has a driver lead over 120 laps and it will be difficult to win our DFS Contest without this driver in our lineup. We need to pay up for the top drivers with the best chance to lead the most laps Sunday. The winning combination has been two high-priced drivers (drivers priced over $9,500), two value picks (drivers priced in the $8K and $7K price ranges) and two cheap drivers (drivers priced in the $6K and $5K price ranges). I expect this trend to continue Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
EARLY WEEK BEST BETS FOR KANSAS
I like to look at the odds early in the week and see if there are any drivers who are mispriced. I like to bet on these drivers before they get on the track for practice or qualifying and then we lose these odds. I am not suggesting that these drivers are the best picks in the field, but they are worth some a few bucks to return a nice profit.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (6-1): Bell is my pick to win at Kansas so I will add him to my card now. Bell ranks No. 1 in average green flag speed in the Gen-7 car at Kansas. His 4.5 average finishing position in the Gen-7 car at Kansas is the best in the field. His pit crew has been lights out and rank No. 1 in the Cup Series. Bell won the pole at Las Vegas and finished 4th. He won the pole in 3 of the last 5 races at Kansas Speedway. His odds will not stay at 6-1 if he wins the pole Saturday.
BUBBA WALLACE (25-1): Wallace won the race at Kansas in 2022 in the Gen-7 car. It was not a fluke. He led 58 laps and had the second best average finishing position in that race. Wallace also finished 5th in the last race at Kansas and he qualified 4th and finished 9th earlier this season at Las Vegas. 23XI Racing has had a lot of speed this year. 25-1 odds for a driver who has a win at this track in the Gen-7 car is too good to pass up.
ALEX BOWMAN (55-1): OK, come on now…. I know Bowman has had a rough start to the 2026 season, but 55-1 odds are ridiculous for a Hendrick Motorsports car. Bowman finished 6 of the 7 races in the Gen-7 car at Kansas Speedway in the top-10. Bowman has the 8th-highest driver ranking on the 1.5-mile intermediate tracks over the last two seasons. It may be better to bet him for a top-five finish (+650) or a top-10 (+280), but I will through a few dollars at Bowman at 55-1 odds Sunday.
* I will add a one or two drivers to the card that I think are Best Bets after qualifying Saturday.
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