NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Kansas

 

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):

By Race
Kyle Busch - 5

All with 3 - Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and Ryan Blaney

By Track
Kyle Busch - 8

Both with 7 - Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch
Both with 6 - Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. 

All with 5 - Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney
All with 4 - Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones

 

Last Year's Race Winner:  Denny Hamlin

The Likely Suspects: My Kansas go-tos include: Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, and Ryan Blaney.

My 2 Cents: Here we are at the beginning of the Round of 8 at a track where Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin are pretty stellar. Imagine that. My no-brainer pick this week is Kevin Harvick. My next choices are Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson. I will complete my team with Tyler Reddick and Cole Custer.

My Final Four: Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, and Tyler Reddick.

Second-Look Driver: This week's second-look driver is Erik Jones. Erik got his first career Cup Series start at Kansas Speedway when he filled in for the injured Kyle Busch in 2015. He got his career-best finish of third here in the Spring 2019 race and has finished in the Top 10 in his last five starts at this track. Last week's second-look driver Clint Bowyer started in 11th, finished in 10th and led nine laps. Although he didn't make it into the Round of 8, Clint gave it his all despite finishing the race with no power steering. This was Clint's third straight Top 10 at the Roval. The race's end left Clint clearly spent. After the race, he made a brief visit to the care center, where he was evaluated and released.

Points to Ponder:  

• Kevin Harvick (2013, 2016, 2018),  Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2011, 2015) and Denny Hamlin (2012, 2019, 2020) lead all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Kansas Speedway with three victories each.
• Kevin Harvick (2014, 2015, 2016) and Martin Truex Jr. (2012, spring 2018 and Playoff race 2018) lead the NASCAR Cup Series in runner-up finishes at Kansas with three second-place finishes each.
• Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. lead all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in Top 5 finishes at Kansas Speedway with nine each.
• Jimmie Johnson leads the series in Top 10 finishes at Kansas Speedway with 19.
•  Kevin Harvick leads the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at Kansas Speedway with 864 in 29 starts.

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your final picks by 2:30 p.m. ET on race day Sunday, October 18th.

Enjoy the race!

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Carol D’Agostino wields fantasy-racing superpowers. Each week, Carol researches statistics and combs through her personal racing notes to provide fans with fantasy racing advice in NASCAR Fantasy Fusion, a column she has written for Skirts & Scuffs since October 2011. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. This year she joins the NASCAR Expert Picks panel at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet (FRCS). When she isn’t crunching numbers, you’ll find Carol in business meetings or hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat.