Kansas Hollywood Casino 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Martin Truex Jr.
Kansas Fantasy Outlook – Martin Truex Jr. is one of the premiere performers at Kansas and on Sunday, look for him to be a top ten performer who might be a factor for a top five IF he can avoid bad luck which is never far. Considering he’s finished 20th or worse over the last eight straight races, he’s definitely a roll of the dice. At Kansas, Truex is a two-time winner, and his level of consistency has been off the charts with him finishing in the top ten in 13 of the last 15 races. This year at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks, Truex has the 5th best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and a 9.3 average finish.
Kansas Track History – At Kansas, Martin Truex Jr. has been elite. Truex was a standout performer this spring and since fall 2019 minus last fall where he completed just 3 laps before crashing, Truex has finished in the top ten every race and has a 6.0 average finish! This spring, Truex started 13th, finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 5th in Stage # 2, was up to 2nd and chasing down Denny Hamlin before the final caution came out and then finished 4th. Additionally, Truex had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking, ranked 3rd for Speed Late In A Run and had a 6.9 average running position. Last fall, Truex started 3rd, ran over something right at the start, had a rapid free fall in the running order and then on lap 4 he slammed into the wall hard, leading to a 36th. Last spring, Truex was one of the best and performed better than his 8th. In the race, Truex had a 4.1 average running position, led 79 laps, ranked 2nd for Total Speed Rankings and 3rd for Speed Late In A Run. In the final Stage, the #19 just wasn’t at its best and Truex said he was plowing in the turns. In fall 2022, Truex had a hot rod and finished 5th. In the race, Truex led 24 laps and had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking. To make his afternoon a little more impressive, Truex was even caught speeding on pit road during the competition caution. In spring 2022, Truex had a great car and finished 6th, despite having a flat tire right at the end of Stage #2 while running in 4th. During a caution around lap 200, Truex was also caught speeding on pit road.

Noah Gragson
Kansas Fantasy Outlook – If you’re looking for a Kansas dark horse, don’t overlook Noah Gragson. Gragson was sporty this spring en route to a 9th and he’s had other success at high-speed intermediates. In 2024 on this sub-track type, Gragson has the 16th best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and minus Charlotte his average finish is 11.3. On Sunday, I would view Gragson as a mid to high-teens driver who’ll have upside.
Kansas Track History – Noah Gragson had a great performance this spring at Kansas and for fantasy purposes, that’s all that really matters for him. In the race, Gragson finished 9th in Stage #1, finished 10th in Stage #2, had a 9.8 average running position and then finished 9th overall. In terms of speed stats, Gragson had the 11th best Total Speed Ranking and then ranked 14th for Speed Late In A run. Last spring in the #42, Gragson was realistically about a 20th place performer, but he finished an asterisk mark 29th. On lap 206 while running in 20th, Gragson had a flat tire and spun which brought out the caution which happened shortly after hard racing with Ross Chastain. In 2022 in the #16, Gragson had results of 18th and 18th.

Chase Briscoe
Kansas Fantasy Outlook – At Kansas, I would view Chase Briscoe as a teen’s driver. Kansas has never been a good track for him and in 5 of his 7 starts he’s finished between 19th to 24th, so he’s risky but I think he’ll have upside and have “Surprise Speed” that people aren’t expecting. This year at high-speed intermediate tracks, Briscoe has the 19th best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and a 24.5 average finish, minus Texas where he’s just been unusually competitive throughout his career (6th).
Kansas Track History – Kansas hasn’t been pretty for Chase Briscoe and in 6 of his 7 starts, he’s finished 19th or worse. In the Next Gen minus spring 2023, Briscoe has a 19.25 average finish. This spring, Briscoe started 10th, had a 26.9 average running position, had the 31st best Total Speed Ranking and then finished 21st. I would say Briscoe’s average running position is more reflective of his performance than his result and with 20 to go, Briscoe was back in 27th. Last fall, Briscoe finished 19th.  Additionally, Briscoe had a 24.9 average running position, earned the 27th best Driver Rating and had the 28th best Total Speed Ranking. I’ll note, Briscoe did have an electrical issue in the race. On lap 126 while running in 14th, he was slow and limping around the track and told his team that his car “Shut off.” Last spring, Briscoe had a tough afternoon. He never ran well and was shown to have lost a wheel on pit road on lap 56 during green flag pit stops. When the checkered flag waved, Briscoe finished 32nd. Prior to losing his wheel, the only driver behind him was BJ McLeod, so I don’t know if it really hurt him. Over his four starts prior to that, Briscoe had results of 13th, 24th, 19th and 20th.

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