Martin Truex Jr. swept both races last season at Kansas and Kyle Busch has finished in the top 10 in each of the last five races there, including a win in this event in 2016. (Photo: Getty Images)

Kansas Fantasy Racing Preview

May 10, 2018 at 5:45 PM

Driver Averages | Laps Led Leaders | Driver Ratings | Past Winners

Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for Saturday night’s KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Who’s HOT at Kansas

  • Martin Truex Jr. swept both races last season and combined to lead 195 laps.
  • Kyle Busch is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last five races, including a win in this event in 2016.
  • Kevin Harvick has finished eighth or better in the last four races, including a win in the 2016 fall race.
  • Joey Logano has won two of the last seven races, but has had some tough luck in the last two spring races with accidents.
  • Ryan Blaney (3.5) and Brad Keselowski (7.5) each ranked in the top five in average finish in the two races last season.

Keep an Eye On at Kansas

  • Matt Kenseth, who is a two-time winner at Kansas, will return to the Monster Energy Cup Series this weekend to drive the No. 6 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.
  • Kurt Busch (10.5), Chris Buescher (12.0), Denny Hamlin (14.0) and Clint Bowyer (14.0) each rank in the top 10 in average finish in the two races at Kansas last season.
  • Jimmie Johnson has one win and an average finish of 11.5 in the since Kansas was reconfigured. He’s yet to lead a lap in the last  four Kansas races and in the 11 races in 2018.
  • Kyle Larson (16.0), Austin Dillon (17.7) and Chase Elliott (18.3) have been the three best Chevrolet drivers this season based on average finish at the three 1.5-mile tracks with the new Camaro ZL1. Larson has the most top 10s with two at the intermediate tracks in 2018.
  • Erik Jones (7.7) ranks fifth in average finish in the three races at 1.5-mile tracks this season.
  • Aric Almirola, who finished ninth last fall at Kansas, saw his average finish in his three starts at 1.5-mile tracks with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018 go from 11.5 to 18.3 last month when he was swept up in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway.
  • Jamie McMurray, who finished eighth last year in this event, saw his only top 10 (third) so far in 2018 come at Texas Motor Speedway last month. He also ranked sixth in stage points earned at Kansas in 2017.

Notes: Teams will run the same multi-zone right-side tire code they ran twice at Kansas last year and will have a new left-side tire code for the KC Masterpiece 400…There have been 11 races contested at Kansas since the track was repaved and reconfigured to include variable banking – Harvick leads all drivers that have competed in each of the the 11 races with a 6.4 average finish…There were six pit road speeding penalties in this event last year and 15 caution flags for 61 laps.

*Best Average Finish at Kansas

Last # of Races Driver Average Finish
Two Races Martin Truex Jr. 1.0
Four Races Kevin Harvick 3.5
Six Races Kevin Harvick 5.3
Eight Races Kevin Harvick 5.8
Ten Races Kevin Harvick 5.9

* – The best average finish is based off a driver entered in the race who has competed in EVERY race during that time span.

Laps Led Leaders at Kansas

Last # of Races Driver Laps Led
Two Races Martin Truex Jr. 195
Four Races Martin Truex Jr.  367
Six Races Martin Truex Jr. 462
Eight Races Martin Truex Jr. 462
Ten Races Kevin Harvick 513

Click Here to view all laps led leaders at Kansas over the past 10 races.

Kansas Loop Data Stat Leaders (2005-2017, 20 Races)

Average Running Pos. Laps in Top 15
1. Kevin Harvick – 9.4 1. Martin Truex Jr. – 4,366
2. Matt Kenseth – 9.8 2. Kevin Harvick – 4,142
3. Jimmie Johnson – 9.8 3. Matt Kenseth – 4,138
4. Ryan Blaney – 10.9 4. Kasey Kahne – 3,506
5. Martin Truex Jr. – 11.7 5. Martin Truex Jr. – 3,486
Fastest Laps Run Driver Rating
1. Jimmie Johnson – 566 1. Jimmie Johnson – 107.7
2. Kevin Harvick – 410 2. Kevin Harvick – 106.4
3. Martin Truex Jr. – 393 3. Matt Kenseth 105.9
4. Matt Kenseth – 373 4. Martin Truex Jr. – 100.0
5. Joey Logano – 180 5. Ryan Blaney – 94.6

Top 10 Stage 1 &2 Points Earned Among Active Drivers at Kansas
Spring and Fall Race

Driver Points Earned
Kyle Busch 32
Ryan Blaney 28
Denny Hamlin 26
Kevin Harvick 22
Martin Truex Jr. 20
Jamie McMurray 17
Kyle Larson 16
Brad Keselowski 14
Matt Kenseth 12
Jimmie Johnson 11

2017 Spring Kansas Stage Finishes

Stage 1 Stage 2
1. Kyle Busch 1. Ryan Blaney
2. Martin Truex Jr. 2. Kyle Larson
3. Ryan Blaney 3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Kyle Larson 4. Jamie McMurray
5. Brad Keselowski 5. Kyle Busch
6. Jimmie Johnson 6. Denny Hamlin
7. Kevin Harvick 7. Kasey Kahne
8. Denny Hamlin 8. Matt Kenseth
9. Kasey Kahne 9. Erik Jones
10. Kurt Busch 10. Joey Logano

Rookie Report
Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates William Byron and Darrell Wallace Jr. each will be making their first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway. Both have made starts in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series at the 1.5-mile track with Byron having the most success. Byron finished fourth last year in the Xfinity race and won the truck race in 2016. Wallace, who finished seventh in the 2013 truck race, is coming off an eighth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway to mark the best finish among the two at a 1.5-mile track in 2018. Byron also finished 10th in that event. Wallace will also compete in Friday night’s truck race.

MRN.com Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Ryan Blaney
Pete Pistone: Martin Truex Jr.
Tyler Burnett: Kyle Busch

Driver Notes – Ordered by Average Finish (Top 15) in the Last Five Races at Kansas

Kyle Busch is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last five races at Kansas, including a win in this event in 2016. Busch is the latest winner at a 1.5-mile track after leading 116 laps last month at Texas Motor Speedway. His 3.3 average finish in the three races at 1.5-mile tracks ranks second among all drivers.

Kevin Harvick has finished in the top 10 in the last four races at Kansas, including a win in the 2016 fall race. Harvick, who also won at Kansas in 2013, has combined to lead 121 laps in the last three races, which ranks third among all drivers. This season, Harvick has dominated the three races at 1.5-mile tracks with two wins, a 1.3 average finish and 482 laps led.

Ryan Blaney has posted a 10.0 average finish in six starts at Kansas. Blaney finished in the top five in both races last season when he drove for the Wood Brothers and led 83 laps from the pole in this event. This season with Team Penske, Blaney has recorded a 7.3 average finish in the three races at 1.5-mile tracks, which ranks fourth among all drivers.

Martin Truex Jr. swept both races at Kansas last season and combined to lead 195 laps. Last month, Truex crashed at Texas after a cut right-front tire to snap his streak of consecutive top 10s at 1.5-mile tracks at 13. In the other two races this season at 1.5-mile tracks, Truex finished in the top five.

Kurt Busch finished second last fall for his fourth top 10 in the last six races at Kansas. Last month, Busch won the pole and led 40 laps at Texas Motor Speedway en route to his second top 10 in the three races at 1.5-mile tracks this season.

Jimmie Johnson scored his third win at Kansas in this event in 2015. Johnson has yet to lead at lap in his last four starts at Kansas where he has a 14.0 average finish in that span. Johnson has also yet to lead a lap in the 11 races this season. His best finish at an intermediate track in 2018 came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in 12th. Johnson had a good Friday and Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway, but issues in the race along with getting swept up in a crash on Sunday relegated him to a 35th-place finish.

Kasey Kahne is making his first Kansas start with Leavine Family Racing. He finished 16th or better, including two top 10s, in the last five races with Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne is coming off his best finish at a 1.5-mile track with LFR, 17th at Texas Motor Speedway.

Brad Keselowski finished second in this event last year for his fifth top 10 in 10 races behind the wheel of a Ford at Kansas. Keselowski, who won this race (held in the day) in 2011 driving a Dodge, finished second and sixth, respectively, in the first two races at 1.5-mile tracks this season. He was swept up in a crash last month at Texas Motor Speedway while running 13th.

Ty Dillon finished 14th last year in this event for his best finish in three starts at Kansas. Dillon has posted a 21.0 average finish in the three races at 1.5-mile tracks this season and finished 13th last month at Texas Motor Speedway.

Matt Kenseth returns to the Monster Energy Cup Series this weekend to drive the No. 6 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. One of Kenseth’s two wins at Kansas came with RFR in his last track start with the team in 2012. In his last 10 track starts with Joe Gibbs Racing, Kenseth posted an 11.7 average finish, 458 laps led and a win in 2013.

Denny Hamlin is coming off his sixth top 10 (fifth) in 19 starts at Kansas, which includes a win in the 2012 spring race (held in the day). Hamlin’s lone top 10 (fourth) at a 1.5-mile tracks this season came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Last month at Texas Motor Speedway, Hamlin got loose in Turn 3 to trigger a multi-car accident, raising his average finish to 18.3 in the three races at 1.5-mile tracks.

Austin Dillon has finished 16th or better in the last four races at Kansas, including a pair of sixth-place finishes in 2016. This season, Dillon has posted two top-15 finishes and an average finish of 17.7 in the three races at 1.5-mile tracks.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has yet to finish in the top 10 in 10 starts at Kansas. Last year in this event, Stenhouse equaled his best finish, 11th. A mechanical issue last month a Texas raised his average finish to 18.3 in the three races at 1.5-mile tracks this season.

Chris Buescher is coming off his first top 10 (sixth) in four starts at Kansas. A pair of 15th-place finishes in his last two starts at 1.5-mile tracks have lowered his average finish to 18.3 in the three intermediate tracks in 2018.

Chase Elliott is coming off his second top 10 (fourth) in four starts at Kansas. Elliott has finished 10th and 11th in two of the races at 1.5-mile tracks this season. He was swept up in an accident with Kurt Busch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to raise his average finish to 18.3 in the three races at intermediate tracks this season.