Kansas AdventHealth 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Austin Cindric
Kansas Fantasy Outlook – Austin Cindric is a driver flying below the radar at Kansas who you don’t want to overlook. Cindric currently has four straight +30 finishes at Kansas, but he ran well in both races last year and was strong this spring at Las Vegas (6th place finish, 9th best Total Speed Ranking). Just last week at Texas, the #2 once again showed speed for much of the race. Heading into the weekend, I’m going to view Cindric as a teens driver who might just compete for a top ten.
Kansas Track History – Close your eyes when you look at Austin Cindric’s Kansas track record because it hasn’t been pretty, with him having a 26.0 average finish and four straight results in the 30’s. In terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings, Cindric ranks 20th. Last fall, Cindric legit looked like a top ten contender but finished 34th. In the race, Cindric started 17th, finished 7th in Stage #1 but then following his Stage pit stop, Cindric had to pit twice for a loose wheel which dropped him to the back. Then in Stage #2 on lap 157 when he battled back up to 13th, he was spun and crashed which marked the end of his race. Over the first two segments which were incident free for him, Cindric had speed rankings of 8th and then 15th (was back in traffic). Last spring, Cindric finished 37th but you can get out an asterisk mark for that result and “Performance Wise” I would argue he looked like a low double-digit to mid-teens driver. In the race, Cindric had the 12th best Total Speed Ranking but then crashed on lap 184 while running around 13th. In fall 2023, Cindric’s race wasn’t incident free and on lap 115 during a restart lap while running in 18th, he spun and brought out a caution. After that, Cindric never ran higher than the high 20’s. In spring 2023, Cindric also looked about high-teens good but on lap 108 while running in 19th, Cindric lost a wheel and got into the wall hard. In 2022, Cindric legitimately ran well in both races and came home with results of 11th and 12th.

Josh Berry
Kansas Fantasy Outlook – Don’t overlook Las Vegas winner, Josh Berry at Kansas. I view “Sin City” to be the sister track and he was stout there this spring en route to victory lane. In addition to winning, Berry earned the best Driver Rating, had the 3rd best Average Running Position and had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking. At Texas just last week, the #21 was fast too but Berry crashed while leading. Heading into the weekend, I would view Berry as a risky top ten contender.
Kansas Track History – Josh Berry has three starts under his belt at Kansas and his average finish is 26th. Minus last fall which shouldn’t get looked into, his average finish drops to 20th. Last fall, Berry finished 38th but you can quickly disregard that result. Berry completed exactly ZERO laps and was spun on the first lap, getting flat tires and was then towed to the garage area, getting an instant DNF. Last spring, Berry finished 15th. Berry was at his best to close out the race so that result is legit despite his 25th place average running position and 28th best Total Speed Ranking. Over the 4th segment, Berry ranked as having the 12th fastest car on the track. In spring 2023 in the #48, Berry finished 25th and had the 19th best Total Speed Ranking.

Chase Briscoe
Kansas Fantasy Outlook – High-speed 1.5’s haven’t been a strong suite for Chase Briscoe and he’s not run well at Kansas, so buckle up if you’re thinking of picking him. He’s in more competitive equipment than the past but that didn’t mean anything at Las Vegas where he never looked good and finished 17th. Heading into the weekend, I would view Briscoe as a teens driver who’ll have upside.
Kansas Track History – Chase Briscoe hasn’t been too good at Kansas and in the Next Gen, he’s 5 for 6 at finishing 19th or worse, has a 22.2 average finish and his Next Gen Speed Ranking is 27.8. Last fall, Briscoe finished 24th, had a 22.5 average running position and ranked 27th for Total Speed Rankings. Last 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. In 2023, Briscoe finished 19th in the fall and then in the spring, 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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