NASCAR DFS DraftKings Lineup Advice: Kansas Speedway Picks 5/13/2017
The Monster Energy Cup travels to America’s Heartland for its next race to battle in the Go Bowling 400 race at Kansas Speedway. Kansas Speedway is another 1.5-mile intermediate track, much like its sister tracks of Texas, Atlanta and Charlotte. The Go Bowling 400 will take place on Saturday Night, and will run 267 laps. For a track like this, practice and qualifying are important as the cars that qualify up front, tend to stay up front. The driver with the best car could easily lead 100 laps out of the 267, so the team with a fast car, great practice runs, and a decent qualifying position could dominate in fantasy points this week.
Last Week at Talladega: Kyle Busch’s Nightmare “Close, but no Cigar” Season Continues
The superspeedway Talladega is well-known for the “Big One”, where a crash could wipe out a large part of the racing field. Well, last week the Big One occurred on Lap 168, and the carnage claimed the victims of Chase Elliott, Matt Kenseth, Erik Jones, Martin Truex, and Joey Logano. Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski were also involved but finished the race with damage to their cars affecting their final performance. Kyle Busch was leading with 3 laps to go and looked like he could hold off Jimmie Johnson, but Ryan Newman crashed into the wall bringing out the caution. In the two-lap overtime restart, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bolted to the front challenging Kyle Busch and eventually held him off with bump-drafting help from Jimmie Johnson. Jamie McMurray aggressively threaded the needle between Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch in the final lap to take 2nd place. Stenhouse Jr. and McMurray were two of my value picks from last week.
My Top 5 Drivers for the Go Bowling 400
Martin Truex Jr($9,700): Truex Jr. has won last year’s spring race pole at Kansas and led 172 of the 267 laps in that race. He is an intermediate specialist, winning the Las Vegas race earlier in the year, which is another intermediate track. Truex Jr. had the fastest car in the first practice, and he is my pick to win the race.
Kevin Harvick($10,400): Harvick will probably be one of the highest owned drivers this week. He completely dominates this racetrack in leading laps and top finishes. Harvick has finished either 1st or 2nd in 5 of the last 7 races at Kansas. He could easily make his way to the front and lead a lot of laps.
Kyle Busch($9,400): Kyle Busch is on the cusp of winning a race. He has been snake bitten all year and has had some back luck with late restarts. Kyle Busch has had great success at Kansas, especially in the last three races, winning one of them and placing 5th in the other two. This week, he scored the highest speeds in the 2nd practice and his car is looking very fast.
Jimmie Johnson($10,100): Johnson runs really well at Kansas, scoring three Top 5 finishes in the last three races, winning one of them. Johnson also performs and finishes well at intermediate tracks in general. Because of issues with inspection before the qualifying round, Johnson is forced to start in the 29th giving him great Place Differential upside. His car has run extremely well in practice, making him a must-start for both Cash and GPP lineups.
Joey Logano($9,500): Logano has finished in the Top 5 in six out of the last seven races at Kansas Speedway taking the checkered flag twice. Logano has had his one win encumbered(rescinded due to failing an inspection) and has had fast cars all year. Expect him to nail down another Top 5 finish, with a possible chance to win it all.
Value Picks
Matt Kenseth($8,400): Other than Kyle Busch, the Joe Gibbs Racers have had slower cars this year and have underperformed. Kenseth is sneaky good at this track. He has had Top 10 Finishes in the last three out of four races at Kansas. He has led the most laps during the last two fall races. In the two practices, he has generated Top 10 speeds. He is a great value at $8,400.
Kasey Kahne($7,800): Kahne runs well at Kansas finishing 4th in the Fall of 2015 race, and 3rd in the Spring 2014 race. He is a great value at this price and also performs well at all intermediate tracks. Due to failing to make it through inspection before Qualifying, he did not participate in the Qualifying round and is forced to start in the 31st position. Like Jimmie Johnson, this makes Kahne a very attractive DFS play, as he has great Place Differential upside.
Ryan Newman($7,600): Newman is a consistent fixture at Kansas where he has finished in the Top 12 in the past 6 races, with his highest finish being 6th. I would expect another Top 10 finish from this veteran.
Hometown Narrative: Clint Bowyer($8,600)
If you like the hometown story-line, Clint Bowyer returns to his home track looking for his first win this year. In the last four races at Kansas, he has not finished well. However, this year, being on a quality and hard-working garage in Stewart-Haas Racing, Bowyer has two Top 5’s, and five Top 10’s. He is recharged and motivated and has a great shot at another Top 5.
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