Kansas Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. will be a favorite to win at Kansas. This year at 1.5 mile tracks he’s been a fantasy ace and has been good enough to win half the them. Recently at Kansas he’s performed at a very high-level despite the fact he three straight misleading results. This spring at Kansas nobody was better than him. If he didn’t have to pit a second time during a late pit cycle under green he likely would’ve raced his way to victory lane. In the race he earned the best driver rating, led 172 laps and finished 14th. Over long runs he was the class of the field. In 2015 he had an asterisk result in both races. Last fall he had a solid showing and was probably around 10th place good but walked away with a misleading 15th place result. During pit stops around lap 215 Martin Truex Jr.’s pit crew had an uncontrolled tire and he had to serve a pass through penalty. His penalty dropped him a lap down back to 25th. In spring 2015 Truex Jr. had a great car and I would argue it was the strongest. In the race he earned the best driver rating, had a 2nd place average running position, led 95 laps and finished 9th. That result is very misleading and is the product of late pit strategy followed by a bad restart. His car was so strong that on lap 91 he had a 6.7 second lead. In fall 2014 he had a great performance. He started 15th, had a 7th place average running position, earned the 4th best driver rating and finished 4th. After he climbed into the top 7 around lap 50 he never left the top 8. (Yahoo B Driver)

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Jimmie Johnson – Look for Jimmie Johnson to be a factor at Kansas. In recent races at high-speed intermediate tracks he’s shown great speed and has been a serious threat to win. If he can put a whole race together like he did at Charlotte he may very well get back to back wins. At Kansas Johnson has run very well and since 2007 he’s only twice finished outside of the top 9. This spring he had one of those results and finished 17th. In the race he had top five speed but during a late caution with 35 laps to go while he was running in 5th he was caught speeding on pit road. Last year he had a great season at Kansas and nobody accumulated more points than him. In fall 2015 he had a great car. He was fast over long runs and raced his way up from his 21st place starting position to a 3rd place finish. Also in the race he earned the 3rd best driver rating, had a 5th place average running position and led 5 laps. In spring 2015 he had a great car and raced his way to victory lane. It should be noted his win can largely be attributed to pit strategy. During the final caution he elected not to pit and that’s how he got the lead. If the final caution didn’t come out he probably would’ve finished 4th. In fall 2014 his weekend was a complete disaster and it ended when he wrecked while running in 21st on lap 82. In the first four Kansas races on the current layout he had results of 3rd, 6th, 9th and 9th. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick will be tough to beat at Kansas. He’s an elite Kansas performer and has arguably been the best driver since the track was reconfigured. In the combined races on the current layout he has the best driver rating, best average finish and the best average running position. Over the last six Kansas races he’s been top five good performance wise. This spring he had a great car and had one of the fastest cars over long runs. When the race reached its conclusion he finished 2nd, earned the 3rd best driver rating and had a 6th place average running position. Last fall he was top five good but walked away with an asterisk mark 16th place finish. The reason for his lack luster result can be traced to him receiving a stop and go pit penalty when equipment left his pit box on lap 214. That dropped him a lap down back to 24th. Also it should be noted late in the race he had shifter problems. Prior to getting penalized he was running in the top five. In spring 2015 he had a great car and finished second. In that race if a late caution didn’t come out he likely would’ve won. In that race he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position and led 53 laps. In fall 2014 he had a great car but finished a misleading 12th. Performance wise he looked like a lock to finish in the top three, but with 53 laps to go while he was running in 3rd he slowed on the track and pitted under green because he thought he had a tire going flat. That dropped him back to 23rd with not many laps remaining. Even with his problem he led 61 laps, had a 5th place average running position and earned the 3rd best driver rating. In spring 2014 he had the best car but failed to reach victory lane because his final pit stop was a little longer than eventual race winner Jeff Gordon’s. In that event he started on the pole, earned the best driver rating, finished 2nd and led 119 laps. When his car was in clean air it was untouchable. In fall 2013 in the #29 RCR Chevy he led 138 laps and raced his way to victory lane from the pole. (Yahoo A Driver)

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