Kansas Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kyle Larson
Kansas Fantasy Spin – Kyle Larson is a super-elite performer at Kansas and on Sunday, the road to victory lane might very well go thru him. Larson had the race all but won this spring and “Performance Wise” in the #5, Larson’s been a contender to win in 4 of his 5 Kansas races. This year at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks, Larson could’ve easily have won 2 of the 3 races. Larson was crashed here while leading on the last lap this spring, was the leader at Las Vegas until a late caution came out and I wouldn’t read too much into Charlotte since that race wasn’t incident free. Michigan is a good comp track, and Larson recently finished 5th there. In terms of Total Speed Rankings over the High-Speed 1.5’s + Michigan grouping, Larson ranks 4th this year.
Kansas Track History – At Kansas, Kyle Larson has performed at a super-elite level and over the last four races, Larson has the 2nd best average finish (3.3), the best average running position (6.2) and the best driver rating. This spring, Larson had the race all but won until Denny Hamlin dumped him on the last lap while leading. In the race, Larson finished 10th in Stage #1, 9th in Stage #2, led 85 laps, ranked 2nd for Speed Late In A Run and then 3rd for both Total Speed Rankings and Green Flag Speed. Over the final quarter of the race, the #5 was the fastest car on the track. Last fall, Larson finished 8th, had an 8.9 average running position and had the 11th best Total Speed Ranking. It was sort of a letdown since he was the favorite. In spring 2022, Larson was stout and finished runner-up. In the race, Larson finished 2nd, earned the 3rd best driver rating, had a 6.3 average running position and led 29 laps. In terms of speed stats, Larson had the 3rd best Green Flag Speed, the 4th best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 6th for Speed Late In A Run. I’ll note, Larson’s race wasn’t completely incident free. While leading around lap 35, Larson had a slow pit stop that dropped him outside the top ten. Then later in Stage #1, Larson had a long stop to repair some fender damage. In 2021, Larson could’ve easily pulled out the broom for the season. In fall 2021, Larson was the class of the field and raced his way to victory lane and in the spring, he led 132, laps, had the best Total Speed Ranking but finished a misleading 19th.

Denny Hamlin
Kansas Fantasy Spin – Denny Hamlin has been a super-elite performer at Kansas and on Sunday, look for the spring winner to finish in the top five and compete for the win. In the Next Gen at Kansas (last three races), nobody has been better than Hamlin and his average finish is 2.3. This year over the high-speed 1.5-mile tracks + Michigan grouping which I like as a comp reference, Hamlin has the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. In terms of performance at similar tracks this year, Hamlin finished 3rd at Michigan, was running in 3rd at Las Vegas with 4 to go before a late caution came out (11th) and was a top five contender at Charlotte until Chase Elliott crashed him.
Kansas Track History – At Kansas, the #11 is always fast and Hamlin will be a favorite on Sunday. At Kansas over the last eight races, Hamlin has 3 wins, 6 results in the top 5 and a 5.1 average finish. This spring, the #11 was stout and Hamlin raced his way to victory lane after sending Larson into the wall on the last lap. In the race, Hamlin earned the best driver rating, had a race best 3.6 average running position and led 34 laps. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin ranked #1 across the board in terms of Total Speed Rankings, Green Flag Speed and Speed Late In A Run. Last fall, Hamlin didn’t have an incident free race (equipment interference penalty during the Stage caution) but finished runner-up. In the race, Hamlin’s strength was being fast late in a run, and in that speed analytic he ranked #1. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hamlin ranked 8th but take note in the final segment when the trophy was on the line, the #11 was the fastest car on the track. In spring 2022, Hamlin was one of the best despite his race not being incident free. In the race, Hamlin started in the rear of the field, got an equipment interference penalty around lap 35, finished 8th in Stage #2 and then rallied to finish 4th when the checkered flag waved. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin was the 2nd Fastest Driver Late In A Run, had the 6th best Green Flag Speed and the 7th best Total Speed Ranking. In fall 2021, Hamlin finished 5th and had a 6.9 average running position. In spring 2021, Hamlin had one of the best cars and was a contender to win, but he finished an asterisk mark 12th after getting into the wall hard while leading on lap 242.

William Byron
Kansas Fantasy Spin – At Kansas, look for William Byron to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win. The #24 is one of the fastest, week in and week out, and that won’t change at Kansas where he’s arguably had the best car in 2 of the last 4 races and rallied to finish 3rd this spring, despite multiple problems. This year at high-speed intermediates, Byron has the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking over the combined events and at the 1.5-mile tracks he’s come home with results of 1st, 2nd and 3rd for the season.
Kansas Track History – At Kansas, William Byron has performed at a high-level and in 7 of the last 8 races, he’s finished in the top ten. Over that stretch minus a misleading result in spring 2022 where he might’ve just had the best car, Byron has a 6.7 average finish. This spring, Byron’s race was anything but incident free, but he rallied to finish 3rd. In the race, Byron won the pole, led 10 laps but a very eventful Stage #1 made for a high-level difficulty afternoon. During the opening round of green flag pit stops when he had faded back to 9th, Byron was caught speeding on pit road. Then late in Stage #1 on lap 73, he got into the wall and made an unexpected pit stop. After that, Byron hit the after burners en route to his 3rd. In terms of Total Speed rankings, Byron ranked 11th but take note his 4th segment speed ranked as the 3rd fastest. Last fall, Byron had a 7th place average running position, led 9 laps and then finished 6th when the checkered flag waved. Last spring, Byron might’ve just had the best car, but he finished an asterisk mark 16th. In the race, Byron started 13th, finished 5th in Stage #1, led 25 laps but while leading in Stage #2 on lap 113, Byron had a flat tire which dropped him off the lead lap back to 32nd. In fall 2021, Byron had a great car but finished a misleading 6th. In the race, Byron finished 5th in Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 57 laps but then during the last Stage while leading around lap 220 he pitted twice during a caution because of loose lug nuts. In the race, Byron had the best Green Flag Speed and the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. In the four races prior to that, Byron had results of 9th, 8th, 10th and 5th.

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