Kansas Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings/ Post Practice Predictions
On Sunday, NASCAR will be racing at Kansas for the Advent Health 400. Kansas is a smooth 1.5-mile track that has progressive banking that offers drivers multiple grooves, and they can race from the top of the track to the bottom. Tire wear at Kansas is low to minimal, and mixed pit strategy can definitely come into play. To prepare for Kansas, make sure you look back to Las Vegas as a reference. It’s the track with the most correlation, and it’s also the only race held at a conventional 1.5-mile track with the Next Gen. The same tires that were raced at Las Vegas, will once again be raced this weekend.
On Saturday, practice was held for Kansas. Teams only had 15 minutes, and keep in mind teams have different agenda’s (some want to focus on long runs, some just want to feel out their car, some might focus on qualifying so they can start near the front etc.). Make sure you check out our Kansas Practice Notes and Kansas 5 and 10 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet.
Here’s Kansas Qualifying Results/ Starting Lineup.
Kansas Fantasy NASCAR Full Field Rankings
1) Kyle Busch
Start 6th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Speed Rankings| 5 Lap Average – 5th /10 Lap Average – 2nd
Kansas Breakdown – At Kansas, look for “New Dad”, Kyle Busch to be a factor (I think that’s a real intangible). Kansas has been a stellar venue for Busch, but one key variable I love about him was his strong performance at “Sin City.” Las Vegas is by far the most similar track visited, and this spring in the Next Gen’s 1.5-mile track debut, Busch led 49 laps, had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking in the 3rd and 4th segments and was likely poised to walk away with the win until the late caution came out which ultimately led to his 4th. At Kansas, Busch has been strong. He’s the defending spring winner, and over the last fourteen races, Busch has 2 wins, 9 top fives and only two results south of 11th. Over the last five races minus last October, Busch’s average finish is 5th. Last fall, Busch had problems early and often, so don’t read into his 28th. At the time of his first problem on lap 23 when he had a flat tire and got into the wall, Busch was running in 7th. In spring 2021, Busch had a stellar car and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Busch won Stage #1 (outraced Larson to win the Stage late), finished 2nd in Stage #2, led 20 laps, had the best driver rating, was the Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. In the three Kansas races prior to that, Busch had results of 3rd, 5th and 11th. Heading into the weekend, you have to like how well the #18 team is running. They ran well at Darlington but crashed, but in the five races prior to that he had a series best 5.4 average finish. In practice, Kyle Busch was pleased with his car and said it was fast off the truck. Busch was also fast on the stopwatch and had the 5th best 5 lap average and the 2nd best 10 lap average.
DraftKings $9,800 / FanDuel $13,500 / DK Betting Odds To Win +700
2) Kyle Larson
Start 3rd / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Speed Rankings| 5 Lap Average – 7th/ 10 Lap Average – 3rd
Kansas Breakdown – At Kansas, Kyle Larson will be a factor. Larson was the best driver in both Kansas races last year, and this year at high-speed intermediate tracks, nobody has been better in the results column. At Auto Club this spring, Larson raced his way to victory lane, and then at Las Vegas, he finished 2nd. Larson wasn’t quite as good as his results in either race, but that’s where he finished when the checkered flag waved. Las Vegas is by far the more similar of the two and at that venue, Larson had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking and was running in 6th before the final caution came out. At Kansas, Larson has been a stellar performer and he could’ve easily brought out the broom and won both races last year. Last fall, Larson was the class of the field and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Larson won Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, led 130 laps, had a 2.3 average running position, the best Total Speed Ranking and the 2nd best Green Flag Speed. In spring 2021, Larson was stellar, but victory lane eluded him thanks to late cautions. In the race, Larson started 32nd, but when Stage #1 ended he was 2nd. In Stage #2 he finished 1st. Late in the race, Larson looked to have the race in hand, but late cautions cost him what looked like a certain victory. During the final restart with 2 laps to go, Larson was pushing Blaney and got into the wall, which then tumbled him back in the running order to his 19th place finish. In the race, Larson led 132 laps (49.4% of the race), had a 3.2 average running position, was tied for having the best driver rating and had the best Total Speed Ranking. In terms of speed by segment, Larson ranked 4th, 1st, 1st and then 1st over the quarters. In practice, Larson had the 3rd best 10 lap average.
DraftKings $11,100 / FanDuel $14,000 / DK Betting Odds To Win +700
Further Recommended Reading – Kansas Finish Projections, DraftKings Kansas Playability Value Chart, FanDuel Kansas Playability Value Chart
3) Christopher Bell
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 3-8 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Speed Rankings| 5 Lap Average – 1st/ 10 Lap Average – 1st
Kansas Breakdown – At Kansas, look polesitter, Christopher Bell to be a contender. The #20 team is clicking off good results on a weekly basis, and since Atlanta when you credit him with a 2nd (where he crossed the line before getting penalized) minus Martinsville and Talladega, Bell’s average finish is 4.6 and he’s had a result in the top 7 every race. Las Vegas is the most similar track visited this year, and at that venue, Bell didn’t have an incident free race but when the checkered flag waved he finished 10th and had the 9th best Total Speed Ranking. At Kansas, Bell has been solid and “Performance Wise”, he’s been top ten good over the last three races. Last fall, Bell had an early flat tire around lap 40, but when the checkered flag waved he finished 8th. In terms of speed analytics, Bell had the 8th best Green Flag Speed and the 9th best Total Speed Ranking. In spring 2021, Bell was top ten good but finished an asterisk mark 28th. In the race, Bell finished 10th in Stage #1, 9th in Stage # 2, had a 10.9 average running position, the 9th best Total Speed Ranking and was running in 9th at the time of his late demise in the closing laps. In fall 2020, Bell finished 10th, had a 12.6 average running position and had the 9th best Total Speed Ranking. In practice, Bell had the best 5 and 10 lap averages.
DraftKings $8,400 / FanDuel $8,200 / DK Betting Odds To Win +2000
