Kansas 2 Post Practice Fantasy NASCAR Predictions – Hollywood Casino 400

11. Ryan Newman – Starts 10th – Yahoo! A Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 12th
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

Ryan Newman is one of those drivers that really plays on track position and timing more than anything. Very rarely will you say that the #31 Chevrolet has top 5 speed, yet there are times when Newman finishes up there simply because he and his team are smart about what they do during the race and they’re cool under pressure. Thus, it’s incredibly hard to handicap a guy like Newman because I don’t know how exactly a race is going to play out. I do think “The Rocketman” will be decent on Sunday, though. Newman is currently on a three-race streak of finishes 11th or better here at Kansas Speedway and is looking to make it on to the next round of the Chase on consistency once again. On a positive note, Newman was 11th-fastest in Happy Hour and 13th in terms of ten-lap average. Expect another 11th-through-15th place run out of this #31 team during Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400.

12. Jeff Gordon – Starts 6th – Yahoo! A Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 9th
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

After qualifying on Friday, I thought things were looking pretty good for Jeff Gordon and the #24 team. They ended up 6th in the final round, which is their best qualifying effort since Darlington back in early September. Also, Kansas is a pretty good race track for Gordon, as he has three top 5s in the last four races here, including a win in last year’s spring race. But then Saturday happened and this team was searching for speed all day, which is pretty concerning for someone like me–especially the fact that they couldn’t find it in either session. Gordon was 28th-fastest on the speed chart in Practice #2 on Saturday and then ended up 29th-best in Happy Hour. In terms of ten-lap average, Gordon was 18th-best on that chart in the final session. All in all, I think the #24 Chevrolet is a teens car at best going into the Hollywood Casino 400, and I’m not impressed with this team’s ability to make the car better during a race. If you’re a believer in streaks, Gordon should finish between 12th and 16th on Sunday. Looking at the last six races (starting with the oldest), Jeff has ended up: 16th at Darlington, then 7th at Richmond, then 14th at Chicago, then 7th at Loudon, then 12th at Dover, and then, finally, 8th at Charlotte last weekend. So, if that streak continues, expect another teens-like run out of the #24 team on Sunday. And I think that about all the car has in it anyway.

13. Kyle Busch – Starts 3rd – Yahoo! A Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 13th
**Risk Factor: High Risk**

Kyle Busch hates Kansas Speedway…and Kansas Speedway seems to hate Kyle Busch as well. There are only two tracks on the circuit that Rowdy has a worse average finish, and those are Talladega and Homestead. So, when it comes to Busch’s championship hopes, you have to bet against him, as this race at Kansas is pretty vital, and then the one at Homestead decides who hoists the trophy. However, I think Kyle Busch is poised to have a good run here in the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday. Hear me out on this one. The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas are still probably the best all around organization in the garage right now. The #18 Toyota has good speed this weekend, too, as Rowdy qualified 3rd. However, practice didn’t go as planned for this team, as Kyle was 20th-fastest in Practice #2 and 24th-best in Happy Hour on Saturday. On a positive note, Rowdy finished 3rd in this race one year ago. This is significant because Kyle has just two top 10s in his last TWELVE starts at this track, and that was his first top 5 ever at this track. Busch missed the race here in May because of his injury. Picking the #18 Toyota this weekend is the ultimate high risk-high reward situation, and if you’re looking to just conserve your lead in your fantasy league, I’d probably shy away from Rowdy this week.

14. Jamie McMurray – Starts 28th – Yahoo! B Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 16th
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

I used to complain about Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and the #88 team’s qualifies woes, but I think Jamie McMurray and the #1 team have taken over as a worse qualifier. For example, over the last seven Sprint Cup races, Jamie Mac has started 20th or worse in five of them. However, on a positive note, he has finished 14th or better in all of those events. Still, bad qualifying efforts can still be discouraging for both the race team as well as fantasy owners. I like McMurray’s chances for a decent run here on Sunday, though. He ended up 13th here at Kansas back in May and has finished 16th or better in five of the last seven events at this track. Speed-wise, McMurray struggled on the speed charts on Saturday but seemed to make progress between the two sessions. Hopefully the #1 team can continue that improvement before and throughout the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, too. There might be other cars that are faster than Jamie Mac this weekend but I like how this #1 team has been running as of late and they just have a knack for showing up toward the end of races and getting a solid finish. One note: I would only pick McMurray this week in leagues that award points for pass differential, such as NASCAR.com and DraftKings.

15. Kasey Kahne – Starts 24th – Yahoo! B Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 17th
**Risk Factor: High Risk**

A lot of people were hyped up about Kasey Kahne last weekend at Charlotte and then once the race started he pulled a Kasey Kahne and finished 43rd. Sounds about right. For whatever reason, I’ve noticed over the years that the next week after Kahne majorly disappoints, he usually goes out and out-performs. So, if you’re looking for an outside of the box/sleeper pick this week, the #5 Chevrolet doesn’t look terrible. In fact, during the Happy Hour practice session on Saturday, Kasey had the 3rd-best ten-lap average as well as the 3rd-best 15-lap average. And, as I said before, I’m expecting long runs here on Sunday during the Hollywood Casino 400, so that should play into Kahne’s hands. As far as past results at this track, it’s been pretty normal for Kasey: hit or miss. Three of the last four races here have ended with him in a position between 15th and 22nd, but over the last eight races here Kahne has came home inside of the top 10 in five of them. The #5 Chevrolet is too risky to make it on to any of my fantasy rosters this week but I think this car has much better race speed than qualifying speed. Kasey will roll off the grid in 24th on Sunday.

The Next Ten:

16. Kyle Larson
17. Aric Almirola
18. Greg Biffle
19. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
20. Paul Menard
21. Ryan Blaney
22. Austin Dillon
23. Clint Bowyer
24. Tony Stewart
25. A.J. Allmendinger