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Kansas Fantasy Racing Preview

Friday Update: First Practice Speeds | Larson to Backup


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

Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Who’s HOT at Kansas

  • Martin Truex Jr. finished second in the spring and won both races in 2017.
  • Kyle Busch has finished in the top 10 in each of his last seven starts, including a win in the 2016 spring race.
  • Kevin Harvick won the spring race for his fifth consecutive top 10, which also includes a win in this event in 2016.
  • Joey Logano has finished in the top five in seven of the last 10 races, including wins in this event in 2014 and 2015.
  • Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch each have a 9.7 average finish in the last three races.
  • Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson rank in the top five in laps led in the last three races. Blaney has combined to lead 140 laps (two top fives) in that span and Larson led 101 laps in the spring en route to a fourth-place finish.

Keep an Eye On at Kansas

  • Chase Elliott, who finished fourth in this event last year, posted the fastest lap in the two-day test at Kansas last month. Chris Buescher, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Logano, Jamie McMurray and Truex Jr. were also among the fastest in the test (Read More).
  • Denny Hamlin has finished fifth in the last two races at Kansas.
  • Clint Bowyer (12.1), Erik Jones (12.8) and Paul Menard (13.8) rank in the top 10 in average finish in the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks this season.
  • Aric Almirola has finished in the top 10 in the last two races at 1.5-mile tracks.
  • Jimmie Johnson has one win and an average finish of 12.2 in the 12 races since Kansas was reconfigured. He’s yet to lead a lap in the last five Kansas races.

Notes: Teams will run the same combination of left- and right-side tires they ran at Kansas this spring (Race Results)…There have been 12 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 12 races with a 5.9 average finish…The pole position has produced the most Kansas winners with six…Harvick is the only driver to win from the pole at Kansas multiple times with his second coming this past spring…Chevrolet leads current series manufacturers in victories (11) at Kansas, followed by Ford (seven) and Toyota (five).

*Best Average Finish at Kansas

Last # of Races Driver Average Finish
Two Races Martin Truex Jr. 1.5
Four Races Kevin Harvick 3.2
Six Races Kevin Harvick 5.2
Eight Races Kevin Harvick 5.6
Ten Races Kevin Harvick 4.8

* – 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 Kevin Harvick 116
Four Races Martin Truex Jr.  208
Six Races Martin Truex Jr. 380
Eight Races Martin Truex Jr. 475
Ten Races Kevin Harvick 592

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

Kansas Loop Data Stat Leaders (2005-2017, 21 Races)

Average Running Pos. Laps in Top 15
1. Kevin Harvick – 9.1 1. Kevin Harvick – 4,409
2. Ryan Blaney – 10.0 2. Jimmie Johnson – 4,366
3. Jimmie Johnson – 10.5 3. Martin Truex Jr. – 3,751
4. Martin Truex Jr. – 11.6 4. Denny Hamlin – 3,602
5. Denny Hamlin – 13.5 5. Kurt Busch – 3,449
Fastest Laps Run Driver Rating
1. Jimmie Johnson – 572 1. Kevin Harvick – 108.0
2. Kevin Harvick – 481 2. Jimmie Johnson – 105.4
3. Martin Truex Jr. – 402 3. Martin Truex Jr. – 100.0
4. Kyle Busch – 183 4. Ryan Blaney – 95.9
5. Joey Logano – 183 5. Kyle Larson – 91.4

Top 10 Stage 1 &2 Points Earned at Kansas
Three Races – Must Be Entered in Sunday’s Race

Driver Points Earned
Ryan Blaney 46
Kyle Busch 42
Kevin Harvick 40
Kyle Larson 32
Denny Hamlin 30
Brad Keselowski 22
Martin Truex Jr. 21
Jamie McMurray 17
Joey Logano 14
Jimmie Johnson 11

2018 Spring Kansas Stage Finishes

Stage 1 Stage 2
1. Ryan Blaney 1. Kyle Larson
2. Kevin Harvick 2. Kevin Harvick
3. Brad Keselowski 3. Ryan Blaney
4. Joey Logano 4. Kyle Busch
5. Kyle Larson 5. Joey Logano
6. Aric Almirola 6. Aric Almirola
7. Denny Hamlin 7. Kurt Busch
8. Kyle Busch 8. Clint Bowyer
9. Kurt Busch 9. Erik Jones
10. Clint Bowyer 10. Martin Truex Jr.

Rookie Report
Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates Bubba Wallace and William Byron finished 23rd and 33rd, respectively, in their first Monster Energy Cup Series start at Kansas Speedway. Both drivers each only have one top 10 in the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks in 2018, coming at Texas Motor Speedway.

MRN.com Staff Picks

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

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

Kevin Harvick won at Kansas in the spring for his fifth consecutive top 10, which also includes a victory in this event in 2016. Harvick’s 200 laps led in the last four races ranks second among all drivers. This season at the 1.5-mile tracks, Harvick has posted three wins and a series leading 614 laps. This weekend, Harvick will return in the same car (chassis No. 995) that he led 79 laps with in the spring.

Martin Truex Jr. has not finished worse than second in the last three races at Kansas, which includes a season sweep in 2017. Truex, who only scored one stage point in the spring at Kansas, ranks second in average finish (7.2) in the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks this season, which includes a win at Kentucky.

Kyle Busch is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last six races at Kansas, including a win in the 2016 spring race. Last month, Busch tested at Kansas and posted the second fastest lap. Busch’s 4.1 average finish in the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks leads all drivers. Busch is tied with Kevin Harvick for the most wins at 1.5-mile tracks this season with three and his last came at Chicagoland Speedway.

Kurt Busch has finished in the top 10 in his last two starts at Kansas, including a second last fall in this event. Last month, Busch tested at Kansas and was fourth fastest on the second day. This season, Busch has posted five top 10s and 157 laps led in the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks.

Austin Dillon has finished 17th or better in the last five races at Kansas, including a pair of sixth-place finishes in 2016. He was one of the 12 drivers that participated in the Dillon’s 11th-place at Las Vegas last month is his best finish in the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks this season.

Alex Bowman finished seventh in this event in 2016 when he subbed for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet. In May, he made his first track start in the Cup Series at Kansas since that race and finished 18th. Bowman has finished in the top 10 in two of the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks this season with the last (10th) coming at Chicagoland Speedway.

Ryan Blaney leads all drivers in stage points at Kansas Speedway. He won the opening stage in the spring and led 54 laps. Contact with Kyle Larson with 19 laps to go led to a DNF for Blaney. His 37th-place finish ended a streak of consecutive top fives at the track at two. Blaney has finished in the top five in his last two races at 1.5-mile tracks and has a 15.0 average finish in the eight races overall in 2018.

Jimmie Johnson scored his third win at Kansas in the 2015 spring race. Johnson has yet to lead at lap in his last five starts at Kansas where he has a 15.0 average finish in that span. Johnson’s only top 10 (fifth) in the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks this season came in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Brad Keselowski scored his last of eight top 10s in 17 starts at Kansas in the 2017 spring race with a runner-up finish. Keselowski, who won the 2011 spring race driving a Dodge, is the latest winner at a 1.5-mile track this season. His win at Las Vegas last month was his fourth consecutive top 10 at a 1.5-mile track in 2018.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has yet to finish in the top 10 in 11 starts at Kansas. In the spring race, Stenhouse equaled his best finish, 11th, for the third time. Stenhouse’s 10th-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is his only top 10 in the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks this season.

Denny Hamlin has finished fifth in the last two races at Kansas. Hamlin, who won the 2012 spring race, has finished in the top 10 four times and led 48 laps in the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks.

Chase Elliott finished fourth in this event last year for his best finish, and second top 10, in five starts at Kansas. Last month, Elliott posted the fastest lap in the two-day test at Kansas. Elliott’s only top 10 in the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks this season came at Atlanta Motor Speedway, 10th.

Trevor Bayne did not race in the spring race at Kansas. His only top 10 in seven starts came in the 2017 spring races, 11th. Bayne has competed in the five of the eight races this season at 1.5-mile tracks with his best finishes coming at Texas Motor Speedway (12th) and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (13th).

AJ Allmendinger finished 16th in the spring at Kansas for his best finish second placing eighth in both races in 2016. Allmendinger’s 14th-place finish last month at Las Vegas is his best finish in the eight races at 1.5-mile tracks this season.