Kansas Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings/ Driver Breakdowns

1) Kevin Harvick / Starting 1st / DraftKings $11,500 / FanDuel $14,000

Kevin Harvick is an elite performer at Kansas who’ll be a favorite. Kansas has been a phenomenal track for Harvick and since 2016 he’s won twice, has a series best 6.1 average finish, the 2nd best average running position (6.1), the best driver rating by a healthy margin, and he’s had a result in the top 13 every race. In two of the last three races at this mid-west track he’s ranked #1 in our exclusive PROS Rankings (Projected Ranking Of Strength) Last fall at Kansas, Harvick started 40th, had a 13th place average running position and finished 9th. It wasn’t a spectacular race, but its hard to say he raced with full effort since it marked the end of the 2nd round of the 2019 Playoffs, and he essentially just needed to avoid a disaster. Last spring at Kansas, Harvick had a great car and ranked #1 in our PROS Rankings, but finished a misleading 13th. In the race he started on the pole, led 104 laps, won Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2 and was likely the driver to beat, but around lap 178 while he was the leader he slowed on the track and made an unexpected pit stop because he felt like he had a tire issue and had debris on his grille. In fall 2018, Kevin Harvick had the best car, but finished an asterisk mark 12th. In the race he finished 2nd in Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 76 laps but with 51 laps to go while he was leading he was caught speeding on pit road during green flag pit stops which dropped him back to the teens. In spring 2018, when Harvick had his most recent incident free Kansas race where he put in full effort, he raced his way to victory lane. Additionally, he earned the best driver rating, had a 2nd place average running position, led 79 laps and finished 2nd in Stage #1 and #2. This year at 1.5 mile tracks, Harvick has been fast. Minus Homestead where he had a misleading result he’s finished in the top ten every race and has a 5.7 average finish. On Thursday night, Kevin Harvick will start on the pole. Over the last five Kansas races where he’s started first he’s averaged leading 100.2 laps per race.

[themify_box]Want to be a better fantasy racer? Get the ifantasyrace advantage and read all of our full exclusive content. Join Now![/themify_box]

2) Ryan Blaney / Starting 4th / DraftKings $9,900 / FanDuel $11,000

Ryan Blaney is a strong performer at Kansas who’ll be tough to beat. It’s been a great track for him, and in half of his starts he’s finished in the top 7. Essentially the only times he’s finished lower than that mark, he’s had trouble. If it wasn’t for trouble in recent races, then in 5 of the last 6 he would’ve finished in the top 7. One of the key attributes I like about Blaney is how strong he’s been at 1.5 mile tracks this year. Over the combined races held at tracks of this length he has a series best 5.4 average result and he’s only finished outside the top ten once, which was an 11th. At Las Vegas when he finished outside the top ten, he was poised to win if there wasn’t a late caution. At low to minimal tire wear 1.5 mile tracks where the correlation is the highest, Blaney’s had the #1 Green Flag Average Speed in 3 of the 5 races. Last fall at Kansas, Blaney was a top five contender but finished 21st. In the race he finished 7th in Stage #1, 2nd in Stage #2, had a 7.2 average running position and was running in 4th with 16 laps to go before he got into the wall hard which led to his asterisk mark result. In spring 2019, Blaney didn’t have a great race and got into the wall hard late which led to his 32nd place finish. His average running position was 20th, and its hard to say he was any better than the high-teens. In fall 2018, Blaney was fast. When the checkered flag waved he finished 7th, had a 4th place average running position and earned the 4th best driver rating. Additionally, he finished 3rd in Stage #1 and 2nd in Stage #2. In spring 2018, Blaney had one of the best cars but finished a misleading 37th. In the race he started 2nd, led 54 laps, had a 4th place average running position, earned the 5th best driver rating, won Stage #1 and finished 3rd in Stage #2. With 20 laps to go while he was battling Larson for 3rd he wrecked. In 4 of the 5 Kansas races prior to that he finished between 3rd to 7th.

Further Recommended Reading – Kansas Projected Finish Ranges, DraftKings Kansas Playability Value Chart, FanDuel Kansas Playability Value Chart

3) Martin Truex Jr. / Starting 5th / DraftKings $10,600 / FanDuel $12,700

Martin Truex Jr. is one of the premiere performers at Kansas and on Thursday night he’ll be a favorite. At Kansas, he’s performed at an exceptionally high-level and over the last six races he has 2 wins and has only once finished outside the top 6. Last fall at Kansas, Truex ran well. He finished 6th overall, finished 4th in Stage #1, 3rd in Stage #2, led 33 laps, had a 5.6 average running position and his driver rating ranked as the 2nd best. In terms of speed analytics, Truex had the best green flag average speed and ranked as the 4th fastest driver late in a run. In spring 2019, Truex had an off-race and his team missed the setup. In the event he finished 19th and had a 19th place average running position. In the four Kansas races prior to that he had a 2.3 average finish. In fall 2018, Truex Jr. had a solid showing. He finished 5th, earned the 8th best driver rating and had a 9th place average running position. In spring 2018, he was strong. He finished 2nd, earned the 6th best driver rating, had a 9th place average running position and finished 10th in Stage #2. In 2017, Truex brought out the broom and had a season sweep. This year at 1.5 mile tracks, Truex Jr. has been strong and has been in contention to win multiple races, but he has a lot of misleading results. If Truex can avoid trouble, I think he’ll be a factor to win.