Kansas Speedway is the site of this week’s race, and as far as FOX Fantasy Auto goes, we should be able to put up a pretty big score, as there are a handful of very good drivers that will be starting outside of the top 10 on Sunday. Additionally, Kansas is one of those tracks where drivers can make up spots throughout the race. In addition to studying previous races at this track, I’d also recommend looking at how the races at other 1.5-mile tracks played out this year, including Charlotte and Chicagoland, both of which we were at within the last month.
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My team points last week (Talladega 2): 244
Overall team standings: 8th
Total team points for the season: 5,673
FOX Fantasy Auto Picks for the 2017 Hollywood Casino 400 Race
Kyle Larson ($11,100) – One of the most surprising happenings during qualifying on Friday was that Kyle Larson didn’t make it to the final round. The #42 Chevrolet was blazing fast during the opening practice session–he was over two tenths faster than the rest of the field–and Larson was pretty confident that they would race well on Sunday. And why wouldn’t he be? Kyle has the 2nd-best average finish on 1.5-mile tracks this season (7.8) and he also wound up 6th here back in May after starting 9th. Larson career average finish of 18.4 at Kansas is nothing to get excited about, but he will be much better than that on Sunday. During the practice sessions on Saturday, the #42 Chevrolet ranked P1 and P8 in Happy Hour.
Kyle Busch ($10,800) – Kyle Busch doesn’t give us the possibility for a huge amount of place differential fantasy points this weekend (he qualified 7th), but with him being a near lock for a top 5 finish on Sunday, as well as the fact that he’s down to the $10,800 salary in FOX Fantasy Auto, Rowdy is nearly a must-own on Sunday. Kansas Speedway hasn’t always been kind to Busch throughout his career–it took him 15 tries to post a top 5 finish here–but he’s currently on a five-race streak of finishes of 5th or better at this track, and that includes a win in the spring race here last season. The #18 Toyota was 8th-fastest in Saturday’s first practice session and wound up 2nd-fastest in Happy Hour. Rowdy should be good for at least a top 5 finish here on Sunday.
Chase Elliott ($10,200) – The #24 Chevrolet will roll off the grid from 14th when the Hollywood Casino 400 goes green on Sunday, but you can expect Chase Elliott to finish much better than that. This team is performing on a higher level over the last couple of months, and there’s no reason to think that that will change just because of a subpar qualifying effort. Chase is averaging a finish of 11.4 on the 1.5-mile tracks this season, but he should have a better car than that this weekend; the #24 Chevrolet ranked 12th-fastest in Practice #2 on Saturday morning and then wound up 20th-fastest on the Happy Hour speed chart (but don’t forget he was penalized the first 15 minutes). Chase hasn’t fared well in the last two Kansas races–he has posted finishes of 29th and 31st–but he did wind up 9th in his first start here in 2016.
Ryan Blaney ($8,200) – Statistically, Kansas Speedway is one of the best tracks on the circuit for Ryan Blaney, and since his qualifying speed was disqualified on Friday, he’s going to be starting from dead last when the Hollywood Casino 400 goes green on Sunday. So, yeah, Blaney is a no-brainer pick this week, but not so much that he is even close to a fade option. Even a 20th-place finish out of the #21 Ford on Sunday is going to net FOX Fantasy Auto owners 41 fantasy points, and Blaney should be much better than that, assuming he doesn’t have any mechanical issues. I mean, he was 3rd-fastest in qualifying before his time was disallowed. Blaney had one of the best cars here back in May and has finished 7th or better in three of his last four starts at Kansas Speedway.
Other viable options: Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kasey Kahne
FOX Fantasy Auto Fade Option
Martin Truex, Jr. ($11,100) – Just playing the numbers game here… Martin Truex, Jr. is hands down the best option in Fantasy NASCAR this weekend, and he’s probably going to win this race. However, as far as FOX Fantasy Auto goes, the maximum number of fantasy points that he can score is 45 because the #78 Toyota is starting from the pole. Meanwhile, over half of all FOX Fantasy Auto teams will probably have Truex on them, so he makes a good fade option just in case he does have mechanical issues on Sunday. Just for comparison, Kyle Larson can earn 45 fantasy points in this game by finishing 5th, just because of how the scoring is in FOX Fantasy Auto.
