The first race of the Contender round is in the books and Joey Logano secured his spot in the Eliminator round by picking up his first win at Charlotte last Sunday in a race that was postponed by rain on Saturday night. Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kyle Busch were the three biggest losers on the weekend of all the Chase contenders as they were all involved with contact on the track and suffered damage to their cars.
Matt will have the biggest hole to try and climb out of and he along with the rest of the drivers who want to move on to the third round of the Chase will really want to get it done this week at Kansas before heading to Talladega for the final race in the second leg of the Chase.
HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400
Kansas Speedway is another of the mile-and-a-half tracks that make up half of the entire Chase series of races. This track is banked a little less than Charlotte but the big differences will be in the track surface and the weather difference between this week and last week. I still look for those drivers who were fast last week to have an advantage over those who struggled as we enter this weekend.
Matt Kenseth: I am going to pick Matt to win this race and move on to the next round. He has won two races here and those wins came in back to back races in 2012 and 2013. Matt has also finished in the top ten here in eleven of his nineteen starts and will do everything he can to win this race and not have to go to Talladega and win that race. This team has been really good on this type of track lately and should have a car capable of getting the job done this weekend.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin will be Matt’s biggest competition once again this weekend. Kevin started out the second round with a second place finish which is much better than he started the first round. However, a second place finish doesn’t guarantee him a spot in the second round and all of these drivers know what can happen at Talladega so that means Kevin will do everything he can to win this race and try to eliminate some of his tougher competition as the Chase winds down.
Carl Edwards: Carl is looking for his first career win at Kansas but he has always run very well here. He has eleven top ten finishes in only sixteen races and this is another of the Joe Gibbs drivers that have been dominating the second half of the season. All of these cars will be capable of being at the front of the field all day on Sunday if the teams can make the correct adjustments and the drivers avoid making mistakes.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale is also looking for his first win at this track and now is the time for him to get it and wipe out the deficit he is in after a disappointing finish at Charlotte last weekend. Dale needs two strong finishes in his next two races if he wants to move on the the next round. Even though he is very good at Talladega, he doesn’t want to go there knowing he has to win that race to survive.
Jimmie Johnson: Despite being out of the Chase and struggling for most of the second half of the season you never know when this team will break out and win a couple of races in a row. Jimmie has three wins at Kansas and has finished in the top ten in fifteen of his eighteen starts here. They might be trying some things to get ready for next year but you can never count them out from week to week.
Jeff Gordon: Jeff has won three races at Kansas during his career and has finished in the top five here an astounding eleven times in his nineteen starts. If Jeff wins this weekend it would be one of his biggest victories in his entire career as it would propel him into the third round of the Chase and keep his dreams alive for another championship in his final season.
Kyle Busch: Kyle finished third in this race last season but that is about where his success here ends. In fifteen career starts, Kyle only has three top ten finishes at this track. After last weekend’s disappointing race, Kyle needs a really good finish to climb back into a spot where he can make it into the third round of the Chase and try to win his first Sprint Cup Championship.
Brad Keselowski: Brad is sitting on the bubble right now in the standings and would like to improve his position this weekend at Kansas where he has one win in eleven starts. Of those eleven starts he has finished in the top ten in five of those races. His teammate, Joey Logano has looked better than Brad on this type of track this season, but Brad knows that he also has a car that is good enough to win at this track.
Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is looking for his first career win here to go along with two runner-up finishes he already has here. He had a good start to the second round and has been very good at Kansas during his career. He led ninety-five laps here in the spring race before falling back late and finishing ninth in that race. This is the type of track where Martin can come away with another good finish and just try to stay out of trouble at Talladega and advance again.
Joey Logano: Even though Joey is already qualified for the next round he still wants to win every race he starts. He won this race last season and has finished in the top five here in his last four starts. With nothing to lose this team might take a chance on fuel mileage late in the race to try and steal a win and learn a little about how much fuel they can save for future reference.
YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR KANSAS SPEEDWAY
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Matt Kenseth
- Kevin Harvick
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Carl Edwards
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Aric Almirola
- Kyle Larson
Yahoo Driver Group C
- Ryan Blaney
- Danica Patrick
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY
- Matt Kenseth
- Kevin Harvick
- Jeff Gordon
- Carl Edwards
- Joey Logano
Dark Horse: Aric Almirola
Stay Away From: Kyle Busch