Ice Picks – Kansas
Forget about last week’s carnage left behind at Talledega and welcome a Saturday Night Special from the heartland, Kansas Speedway.
This race is a very important race to us fantasy players, as all the major teams struggled last weekend, sending our fantasy teams down the toilet.
Last year’s spring winner was Matt Kenseth, who has the second best average finish at 4.9 at Kansas, and when he’s on a mile and half speedway, he’s a sure bet to get you good points under the lights.
Kevin Harvick won the Chase race last October and by the way his equipment has been holding up, he could very well figure into the checkers with the third-best average finish at 7.1.
This is Carl Edwards’ home track and having the fourth-best average finish at Kansas at 8.7. with a top five and top ten last year, he should get good points.
No one beats Jimmie Johnson in average finishes with 4.5 the past five years at Kansas. Jimmie needs a win at one of his best tracks Saturday to secure a Chase spot, as the hourglass starts getting full in the land of Dorothy.
There have been 11 different drivers who have won at Kansas Speedway, led by Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson with two each.
Chevrolet leads all manufacturers in wins with eigh, followed by ford with four wins and Denny Hamlin gave Toyota its only Kansas victory.
Four of the 16 Kansas races have been won from the pole with one win coming from the second starting spot, but most wins come from the top-10 at 62%.
Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-five finishes at Kansas Speedway with nine, followed by Greg Biffle with seven. But only Biffle has conquered Kansas lately. This brings me to who’s been a bride’s maid the most at Kansas, and that would be Martin Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman — tied for the series most runner-up finishes at Kansas Speedway with two each.
A great filler driver this weekend and making his first Sprint Cup start is Ryan Blaney. If he makes the field he should be a bargain buy to load up on the veterans.
Weather looks to be a factor with thunder storms forecasted for Saturday night and the possibility of a Mothers Day morning race is highly possible. Goodyear is using the same tire used in the October race last year. In my opinion, if the race goes to Sunday morning, we could see tire problems like at California Speedway late in a tire run.
Here are my Ice Picks for Kansas:
A List
Jimmie Johnson- is solid here for good points day.
Matt Kenseth- deadly on mile and a half tracks.
Jeff Gordon- he has the most top 5s at Kansas.
B List
Brad Keselowski- has won here before and with Penski power to propel hin to a good finish.
Greg Biffle- one of the all time leaders in top tens at Kansas.
Carl Edwards- home track boy gets a top ten.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr- almost won the spring race last year so I give him the nod.
C List
Austin Dillon- benefits from last years setup by Harvick.
Groups are based on last year’s final points standings. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Good Luck!
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