The Cup Series will compete at Kansas Speedway Sunday. The Cup Series schedule used to be filled with 1.5-mile intermediate tracks, but now NASCAR is focused on road courses and short tracks (something the Gen-7 car is not very good at). We are 12 races into the 2023 season and the only track we have to compare Kansas to is Las Vegas. The racing in Sin City was decent and I expect the same in the Heartland. The AdventHealth 400 can be seen Sunday at 3 pm ET on FS1.
ONE & DONE CONTESTS
This pick is for games where you can only use a driver once throughout the season.
BUBBA WALLACE will be my pick in games where you can use a driver once. 23XI Racing had Kansas Speedway figured out last year. Kurt Busch led 116 laps and went to Victory Lane in the spring and Wallace led 58 laps and went to Victory Lane in fall. Wallace also finished fourth at Las Vegas earlier this season. It is obvious that 23XI Racing has a good setup for the 1.5-mile intermediate tracks. I will roll the dice with Wallace this week in my One & Done contests.
ONE & DONE (REGULAR SEASON/PLAYOFF GAMES)
This pick is for games where you are allowed to use a driver once in the regular season (the first 26 races) and then you can use them again in the playoffs, if your team advances in the playoffs. We only need 26 drivers in these games so we can be a bit more aggressive with our picks. Here are my picks for games that reset at the end of the regular season…
DENNY HAMLIN will be my pick in games where you can only use a driver once in the regular season. Hamlin finished second in the last race at Kansas, and he owns the cars that won both races at the track in 2022. There is no doubt that Hamlin will be a threat to win Sunday. The No. 11 car posted the fastest speed in practice, and he was fastest on every long-run speed chart. Can the No.11 team ovoid problems in the pits? That is the only thing stopping Hamlin from ending his 33-race winless streak.
ONE & DONE (USE A DRIVER MORE THAN ONCE)
I play in a game where I can use a driver three times throughout the season. I know some of you have told me you can use your drivers twice. We will only need 18 drivers in these games, so we do not need to dig too deep with our picks. Here is my pick in games where you can use a driver more than once….
MARTIN TRUEX JR. will be my pick in games where you can use a driver more than once. Truex has been a beast at Kansas Speedway. He finished 5th, 6th, 7th, 6th, 9th, 3rd, 6th, 19th, 5th, 2nd, 1st and 1st in his last 12 races. That is an average finishing position of 5.8 over 12 races. The No. 19 car posted the third-fastest speed on the 10-lap average speed chart and the second-fastest speed on the 15-lap speed chart. He has a very good long-run car. This is a great race to take a chance with Truex.
Good luck Sunday!
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