Kansas Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick will be a good fantasy NASCAR pick to win the Kansas SpoongeBob SquarePants 500. Over the last three Kansas races nobody has been better than him. Over this stretch he has three poles, the best driver rating, a 5.0 average finish,  5.7 average running position and has led 318 laps. Last fall he had a very strong showing and walked away with an asterisk mark 12th place finish. 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 down. That dropped him back to 23rd but he still battled back for a respectable result. In the race 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 lost the race on pit road late when Jeff Gordon had a quicker final pit stop. 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 he also started on the pole and closed out strong racing his way to victory lane. In that event he earned the best driver rating and led a race high 138 laps. While his car was out front probably the only driver who had anything for him was Jimmie Johnson. On lap 87 there was a caution during the pit cycle and it trapped him back in the 20′s. He was able to get his track position back later in the race but it was mostly through pit strategy. In spring 2013 Harvick had a good race. He finished 12th but in my opinion his car was better than that. What happened is that late in the event he elected to pit for four tires and almost everybody else did two. In the race he earned the 6th best driver rating and had an 8th place average running position. In the first race on the new surface he finished 11th. This year at high-speed intermediate tracks he’s been extremely strong. In the four races on this track type he’s scored the most points, has the best driver rating, 1 win and three 2nd place results. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Jimmie Johnson – You have to like Jimmie Johnson’s fantasy value heading into Kansas. This year at 1.5 mile tracks he’s been a fantasy ace and has arguably been the best driver. He won at Atlanta & Texas and at Las Vegas he was leading until he had a loose wheel. Nobody else besides him has really taken it to Kevin Harvick. At Kansas Jimmie Johnson has been extremely good. He had problems last fall but prior to that he had 11 straight top tens! Last fall at Kansas Jimmie Johnson’s championship hopes took a fatal blow. In that race his car never seemed right. He started in 32nd and never looked sporty in the race. What made it worse is that his afternoon wasn’t incident free. On lap 82 while he was running around 21st he got collected in a wreck shortly after a restart. The damage he got from that was severe and it caused him to finish 87 laps down in 40th. In the first four races on the reconfigured Kansas surface he was very successful. Over those events he had a 6.8 average finish and a 9.3 average running position. Last spring he had a solid evening. He started in 14th, finished 9th and led 24 laps. Overall in the race I would say he likely had around an 8th place car. In fall 2013 he had a strong car that was good over long runs and could pass people at will. He started 3rd, earned the 4th best driver rating and finished 6th. His stats line is somewhat misleading because his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 87 there was a caution during the pit cycle. Just before it came out Johnson was leading and then when he was committed to pit road the caution came out. Because of how that circumstance worked out Johnson couldn’t pit and he had to drive down pit road and lost a number of positions. When he blended back into the field he was in 17th. Also in that event Johnson struggled during a few restarts. In spring 2013 the 48 car once again performed well. He started in 21st but by lap 60 he reached the top ten. From there on he continued to pass cars and when the checkered flag waved he finished 3rd and earned the 3rd best driver rating. In the first race on the new surface he had one of the best cars but his afternoon wasn’t incident free. He started in 7th, led 44 laps and finished 9th. His 9th place result deserves an asterisk mark because his car performed better than that. The pivotal moment of the race for him was when Almirola brought out a caution during a pit cycle. Johnson was the leader at the time but almost immediately after he pitted a caution came out. That trapped him back in the pack and on lap #136 while he was running in 20th he backed the #48 car into the wall. (Yahoo A Driver)

Recommended Reading – Front Runner Rankings, Mid Pack Predictions, Yahoo C List Preview, Kansas Scouting Report, Kansas Weekly Poll

Brad Keselowski – Brad Keselowski will be a contender at Kansas. This year at high-speed intermediate tracks he’s run extremely well. In the four races on this track type he’s scored the 3rd most points, has a 5.5 average finish and the 5th best driver rating (among drivers who competed in every race). Also in the races on this track type he’s one of five drivers who have finished in the top ten every race. On the new surface at Kansas Brad Keselowski has run well but he’s had some problems. Last fall he had about a 5th place car but his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 160 while he was running in 5th he had a blown tire and got into the wall hard. After that he was no longer competitive and finished 45 laps down in 36th. Also in the race he started in 6th and prior to his incident I would estimate his average running position was around 7th. In spring 2014 Keselowski started 3rd but by the end of the first lap he slid back to 8th. Then after his initial slide back he regrouped and drove up towards the front again. Through the first 100 laps of the race he was a stout performer. Then shortly after lap 100 a caution came out during the pit cycle and that trapped him back around 20th. From that point on he slowly climbed up to his eventual 13th place finish. In fall 2013 he had a strong performance at Kansas and was better than his 17th place result. That event wasn’t incident free for him. On lap 39 while he was running in the top five he made an unexpected pit stop because he thought he had a flat. Shortly after that a caution came out and he took the wave around. Then later in the race while he was leading with 44 laps to go he ran out of gas and after his pit stop he had trouble getting his car going again which dropped him down a lap. If he didn’t have problems in the race then I thought he would’ve been a top 5 contender. In April 2013 his race got off to a rough start. He started in 33rd and during the first caution he came to pit road and his crew couldn’t fill his car up with gas. To fix that issue he fell down on lap but he later got it back through strategy. Later in the race he used strategy again and that got him positioned in the top ten. When the checkered flag waved he crossed the finish line in 6th place. In fall 2012 Keselowski had a strong showing. He finished 8th, but his car was better than that. In that race he was top five good but after Jimmie Johnson wrecked he drove ultra-conservative because of his point’s situation. (Yahoo A Driver)

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