Kansas Hollywood Casino 400 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick is a good fantasy NASCAR pick to win at Kansas. Nobodies been better than him here recently. In the last four Kansas races he has the best driver rating, best average starting position (2.3), led the most laps (371), is tied for the best average running position (5.3) and has a misleading 4.3 average finish. This spring he had a great car and finished runner-up. In the race he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position and led 53 laps. If the final caution didn’t come out at the end he would’ve won. 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 but it was mostly through pit strategy. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Joey Logano – Joey Logano can be counted on for a good performance at Kansas. Recently he’s ranked as one of the strongest performers here. Over the last four Kansas races he has a 3.5 average finish, 5.3 average running position, the 2nd best driver rating and has led 247 laps. This spring he had a great car and rallied to a 5th place finish. It wasn’t an easy 5th though because he made two mistakes on pit road. The first was when his crew went over the wall too soon and the second is when he had a mental error and pitted when pit road wasn’t open following a caution. He had a very strong car though so he was able to slice and dice his way up through traffic. In the race he started on the pole and led 29 laps. Last fall he had a very impressive performance and led 45.6% percent of laps. Outside of a segment of the race where he took four tires and nearly everyone else took two he essentially ran in the top four for the entirety of the event. When the checkered flag waved he earned the best driver rating and had a 3rd place average running position. In spring 2014 he was very strong. He started 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position, finished 4th and led 63 laps. Outside of Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon he probably had the next best car. In fall 2013 Logano had a great car. He started in 5th, had a 6th place average running position, finished 4th and led 33 laps. His car in the race was very good and he even overcame other drivers pit strategies which shuffled him from the lead back to about 13th. (Yahoo A Driver)

Further Recommended Reading – Who will win at Kansas?, Kansas Scouting Report

Matt Kenseth – Matt Kenseth belongs on the short list of who’s been the best driver at Kansas since the repave. On the new surface he’s the only multi-time winner and in every event he’s finished in the top 13. This spring he had a quality performance and finished 6th. It wasn’t an easy 6th though. He started in 18th and on lap 130 while he was running in 9th he spun which dropped him back to the 30’s. He had a good car so he was able to rally back. Last fall he finished 13th but he was better than his result. In the race he started deep in the field in 27th but by lap 50 he raced his way up to 13th. By lap 200 he was running in 8th. Unfortunately his race wasn’t incident free. With 47 laps to go while he was running in 9th he pitted because he had a left rear tire going down which dropped him to about 23rd. From that point on he rallied hard up to his 13th place result. In spring 2014 he started in 28th, had a 20th place average running position and finished 10th. Outside of the final 60 laps he never really ran in the top twenty. I would chalk up much of his good result to pit strategy. In fall 2013 Kenseth had a solid race. He finished 11th, had an 11th place average running position and earned the 7th best driver rating. In the race he performed better than his result. What happened is that he got a pit road speeding penalty under yellow around lap 140. That sent him all the way back to 30th. Before that happened he was running in the top five. In spring 2013 Kenseth had a dominant performance en route to victory lane. He started on the pole, led 163 laps and earned a near perfect 146.0 driver rating. One aspect that should be noted from the race in April 2013 is that he took two tires nearly every pit stop. In the first race on the new surface Kenseth was very good. In that race he led the most laps (78), had the best average running position (6th), earned the best driver rating (141.7) and finished 1st. (Yahoo A Driver)

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