We continue on with this NASCAR Fantasy season this weekend with the Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway. This will be our second “low wear” 1.5-mile race of the season, with Kyle Larson winning the first one back at Las Vegas a couple of months ago. Other “low wear” tracks of this length include Charlotte, Kentucky, and Texas in addition to Kansas and Las Vegas, so it’s worth looking at the race data from those races last season as well as this year’ Vegas race. Brad Keselowski and William Byron are on the front row for Sunday’s race and you can click here to see the full Starting Lineup. Now to the picks!
*Please note: the picks and suggestions below are my opinions and strategy for the Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest. These are not meant to sway your thinking in any way, but rather give you insight into the drivers I am most likely to pick on race day.*
My Algorithm Predicted Finishing Order for Sunday’s race at Kansas can be found by clicking here! Also, if you enjoy the FREE NASCAR content on this site and everything it has to offer, consider supporting by donating here.
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Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest Picks for Kansas
The Safe
Denny Hamlin ($12,800) – Even after his negative Slingshot score last week at Talladega, Denny Hamlin is still averaging over 100 fantasy points per race in this game, and it’s very possible he goes way over that mark here at Kansas on Sunday. Denny will be starting from 20th for the Buschy McBusch Race 400, which means he has great place differential upside as well as finishing upside; Hamlin has won two of the last three races here at Kansas and was a contender here last fall as well before he got into the wall and ended up finishing 15th. At Las Vegas earlier this year, Hamlin had the 4th-best Green Flag Speed and finished 4th as well.
Kyle Larson ($12,200) – Kyle Larson might have even more Slingshot NASCAR Fantasy upside than Denny Hamlin this week. Because of his engine woes at Talladega, Larson will be starting from outside of the top 30 here on Sunday at Kansas, which is some major place differential potential for a driver of his caliber. Here at Kansas, Larson has finished 8th or better in four of his last six starts, and at Las Vegas earlier this season he led 103 of the 267 laps en route to victory lane. Larson has had some disappointing race days here lately but as long as nothing unexpected happens on Sunday, he should put up a huge Slingshot score.
Joey Logano ($12,000) – Does that chalk taste good yet? Yeah, this is what happens often times after a superspeedway race when the starting lineup is determined by the qualifying formula. Joey Logano will start back around where Larson will start on Sunday and has similar upside. Joey is the most recent race winner here at Kansas Speedway and has finished 8th or better in three of his last six starts at this track. At Las Vegas earlier this year, Logano had the 11th-best Green Flag Speed and ended up finishing 9th. If he has a similar outing this weekend (a 9th-place finish), you’re still looking at 122 fantasy points in the Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest due to the place differential.
The Risky
William Byron ($10,600) – Like always, the category of “Risky” here is relative to this Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest game. William Byron will start 2nd for the Buschy McBusch Race 400 on Sunday at Kansas, so one mistake from him would absolutely ruin your fantasy day. However, guess who is 3rd when it comes to Slingshot points scored this season? William Byron. And he’s doing that with most of his starts being inside the top 10, and four of his last seven being in the top 4. This kid really isn’t getting enough credit for the season he’s having thus far. As far as Kansas goes, Byron is on a three-race top 10 streak here and he finished 8th at Las Vegas earlier this season although he did have the 5th-best Green Flag Speed in that race. Again, risky, but a nice underdog fantasy pick here.
Christopher Bell ($9,000) – If you want to get off of the place differential chalk with your Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest lineup this weekend, make sure you consider Christopher Bell. Looking back at Las Vegas earlier this year, Bell was strong all day, finishing 6th and 7th in the two Stages before ending the race in 7th. That now gives CBell an average finish of 6.6 over the last three “low-wear” 1.5-mile track races. Another positive: the last time we raced at Kansas, Bell came home 10th–and that was in the Leavine Family Racing Toyota. Looking at Erik Jones’ stats here in the #20 Toyota, he finished 7th or better in five of his six starts at this track.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ($8,300) – Well, it finally happened: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. wrecked for the first time in 2021. You can thank the #JordanJinx for that. However, it’s still noteworthy how consistent Stenhouse has been this year despite last week’s blunder, and we all know the potential that he can have at these 1.5-mile intermediate tracks. Here at Kansas, Stenhouse has finished 16th or better in seven of his last eleven starts with three of the last eight being 11th-place finishes. He also finished 11th at Las Vegas earlier this year. Stenhouse will start a little worse than mid-pack here at Kansas on Sunday so there’s potential there for a strong Slingshot score, but still risky because, well… it’s Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
The Winner
“Race Winner” Pick = Brad Keselowski – I liked what I saw from this #2 team at Las Vegas, and if they have similar speed here at Kansas on Sunday, I think Keselowski can dominate a good portion of this race. Also, my algorithm has Keselowski ranked #1 this week. Here at Kansas, Keselowski finished 2nd and 4th in the two races last season, and had a win here back in 2019 (as well as one way back in 2011). BK has a history of going on hot streaks in Fantasy NASCAR, and now that Brad got his first win of 2021 achieved at Talladega last weekend, don’t be surprised if he goes on a tear here during the month of May.
