NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: AdventHealth 400 at Kansas

 

Last week at Dover Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin let the field — and especially William Byron and Kyle Larson — know that the No.11 team means business this year. Denny earned his third win of the season, his third straight on concrete tracks this season (Dover, Richmond, and Bristol), and his second Cup victory at Dover.

The win ties Denny with William for the most this year. Remarkably, we've clicked off 11 points-paying races so far, and six of the 11 have been won by either the No. 11 or the No. 24 car. The victory also hit the record books as it was Denny's 54th of his career, tying him on NASCAR's all-time wins list with NASCAR Hall of Famer Lee Petty. 

 

And guess what? The first, second, and third-place finishers at last year's AdventHealth 400 at Kansas was Denny, William, and Kyle Larson. Oh, and did I mention that Martin Truex Jr. finished eighth in this race last year? It could be redemption time for Martin Truex Jr. who had the Dover victory in sight, but finished third. Stay tuned!

 

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

By Race
Martin Truex Jr. - 4 

All with 3 - Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick

By Track (2019-2023)
Martin Truex Jr. - 8

All with 7 - Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and William Byron

Both with 6 - Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman  

All with 5 - Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and Christopher Bell

Last Year's Pole Winner: William Byron

 

Last Year's Race Winner: Denny Hamlin

The Likely Suspects: My Kansas go-tos are Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and Brad Keselowski.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick this week is a tie between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. My next picks are Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, and Brad Keselowski. I will complete my roster with Justin Haley and Noah Gragson

My Final Four: Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, and Justin Haley.

Points to Ponder:

• Nine of the 36 NASCAR Cup Series races have been won from the front row (25%). 
• Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing are tied with for the most NASCAR Cup Series wins at Kansas Speedway with eight victories each. 
• Four manufacturers have won at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series, led by Chevrolet with 13 victories, followed by Toyota with 12. 
  
• Ten of the 19 NASCAR Cup Series Kansas Speedway winners are active this weekend: Denny Hamlin with four wins; Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson with three each; Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. with two each. Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott each have one win at Kansas. 
• Denny Hamlin (2015, 2022, 2023), Martin Truex Jr. (2012 sweep, 2018) and Kyle Larson (2014, 2022, 2023) are tied for the series-most runner-up finishes at Kansas with three each. 
• Denny Hamlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series in Top 5 finishes at Kansas Speedway with 13.
• Among active drivers this weekend, Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Speedway in Top 10 finishes with 19, followed by Martin Truex Jr. with 17.
• Among active drivers Chase Elliott has the best average finishing position at Kansas with 10.625.
• Martin Truex Jr. leads all active drivers in laps led at Kansas with 906 in 31 starts.

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your initial picks by 4:50 p.m. ET on May 4th and your final picks by 3 p.m. ET on race day Sunday, May 5th.

Enjoy the race!

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 17 years. She launched  NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.