Kansas Hollywood Casino 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Jeff Gordon – Kansas has been a pretty good track for Jeff Gordon since the repave. On it he’s been to victory lane once, has four top tens and has had a result in the top fourteen every race. This spring Gordon had a good car and finished 4th. Performance wise he wasn’t quite as good as his result. If the final caution didn’t come out he looked destined to finish 12th. Also in the race it should be noted he earned the 8th best driver rating and had a 10th place average running position. Last fall he had a quality performance and was better than his result. In the race he started in 5th and he ran within a few deviations of that until lap 84. At that time he was running in 4th but him and McMurray got loose together and as a result Gordon dropped down to about 23rd. He was able to drive up to about 7th again but poor pit strategy at the end caused him to finish 14th. In spring 2014 he emerged victorious after beating Kevin Harvick off pit road during the final pit cycle. From that point on he never looked back and led the remainder of the race. From a performance standpoint I think him and Harvick had equal cars despite the 110 lap led difference. In fall 2013 he started in 14th, had a 12th place average running position, earned the 6th best driver rating and finished 3rd. In the race he had a solid afternoon and early in the event he climbed up into the top five. Then in the middle portion of the race he ran mid pack because of pit strategy. Then at the end of the race because of pit strategy he climbed up to the front again. In spring 2013 Jeff Gordon started dead last. It wasn’t much of a problem for him though. The 24 car worked good in traffic and by lap 30 he was up to 25th. His race in spring 2013 didn’t have any highlights. He finished 13th, had a 17th place average running position and earned the 21st best driver rating. In the first race on the current configuration he had a good performance. In that race he started in 17th, had a 9th place average running position and finished in 10th. From about lap #75 and on he never really ran outside the top ten. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Aric Almirola – If you’re looking for an under the radar sleeper pick Aric Almirola might the driver you’re looking for. He’s run fairly well in every race on the new surface at Kansas despite what his results tell you. In four of the last five races at this venue he’s finished between 8th and 11th. This spring he had a solid showing. He finished 11th, had a 15th place average running position and earned the 15th best driver rating. Last fall performance wise he had his worst race on the new Kansas surface. He started in 3rd and ran in the top ten for about the first 40 laps before he really started dropping in the runner order. Performance wise he had about a 20th place car but his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 112 he was off pace because of some sort of engine issue. He never blew up but whatever it was it caused him to finish 7 laps down in 31st. In spring 2014 he had a quality performance. He started in 12th, had an 11th place average running position, earned the 11th best driver rating and finished 8th. About the lowest he was in the running order minus low points in the pit cycle was about 14th. In fall 2013 he finished 10th and earned the 14th best driver rating. It’s important to note he had an 18th place average running position and only ran in the top fifteen in 28.3% percent of the laps completed. In spring 2013 he had a very good performance. He started in 6th, finished 8th and earned the 9th best driver rating. In the first race on the new configuration he potentially had the best car but his race was far from incident free. In that event he started in 5th but by lap 7 he was in the lead. In just 31 laps he built up a 5 second lead. Then in the middle of a pit cycle on lap 122 he was leading but had a blown tire and got into the wall. He battled back from that problem and with 95 laps to go he was challenging Mark Martin for the lead. Unfortunately trouble found him again and he spun on his own. Then later in the race with 54 laps to go he was running in 13th but his throttle hung and he got into the wall hard which ended his day. (Yahoo B Driver)

Further Recommended Reading – Kansas Top Tier Elite Picks, Kansas Mid Pack Predictions, Who will win at Kansas?, Kansas Scouting Report

Ryan Newman – Ryan Newman has experienced some recent success at Kansas. In the last three races he has a 9.0 average finish, 12.7 average running position and the 10th best driver rating. This spring he really didn’t run that well for much of the race but when the checkered flag waved he finished 10th. In the race he had an 18th place average running position and if it wasn’t for the late caution which allowed him to use pit strategy he likely would’ve finished 17th. Last fall at Kansas Newman had a quality performance. He finished 6th, earned the 6th best driver rating, led 6 laps and had a 10th place average running position. In spring 2014 he also had a good performance. He started in 7th, earned the 10th best driver rating, had a 10th place average running position and finished 11th. In fall 2013 at Kansas on lap 138 Ryan Newman and Justin Allgaier crashed together. Newman was running around 22nd at the time. What happened is Allgaier shot into the wall and then came down the track into Newman. The damage to Newman’s car was pretty bad. In spring 2013 Newman finished a respectable 14th. Also in the race he started in 9th, had a 14th place average running position and earned the 17th best driver rating. In the first race on the new surface Newman would’ve had a good finish but he was involved in a wreck. With #86 laps to go he was battling Kyle Busch for 7th but they had contact and both ended up in the garage. Before he wrecked I would estimate his average running position was around 8th. (Yahoo A Driver)

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