With the way qualifying played out this weekend along with the price structure that FOX Fantasy Auto decided on for Kansas, there are a whole bunch of lineup options that you can go with for the Hollywood Casino 400. This track was repaved during the 2012 season, and because of that there are quite a few racing lines that the drivers can choose from when we stop here. Obviously it’s better to start up front for any NASCAR race, but there’s a few drivers that should make their way through the field on Sunday and score some place differential points.
FOX Fantasy Auto Picks for the Kansas 2 Hollywood Casino 400
Brad Keselowski ($12,500) – We really wanted to have Kevin Harvick on our roster this weekend but his $13,500 salary just made it almost impossible. So we’re going with the next-highest option: Brad Keselowski. We debated for quite a long time between him and Kyle Busch, but in the end we decided on Kez due to his 8th-place starting spot and potential for place differential points (Kyle Busch starts 2nd). With that being said, you can still grab a guy like Martin Truex, Jr. with this spot, or pole-sitter Matt Kenseth, or even Kasey Kahne, who starts 20th and should get plenty of place differential points on Sunday. Anyway, Keselowski hasn’t shown the most speed in practice this weekend, but, really, when does he? Still, this #2 team continues to rattle off single-digit finishes, and that should happen once again this weekend. Brad is on a three-race streak of top 10 finishes here at Kansas and should make it four in a row on Sunday. He may not be the best Fantasy NASCAR option this weekend, but he’s a safe one–and sometimes it’s better to roll with those guys.
Jimmie Johnson ($11,100) – The #48 team was actually quite surprised that they qualified so far back for Sunday’s race, and that tells us that either that have a really good car for the actual race or that they think the car is faster than it actually is. And considering the fact that the #48 Chevrolet has been the fastest car on the intermediate tracks lately–and coming off of a nice win at Charlotte last weekend–we highly doubt that it’s the latter. Johnson is a three-time winner at Kansas Speedway and has finished inside the top 10 in sixteen of his twenty career starts here (80%). Even if he can only get up to 10th place on Sunday, we’re still looking at 42 fantasy points in FOX Fantasy Auto, so we consider Jimmie Johnson a must-own in this game for Kansas 2. The #48 Chevrolet was just 23rd-fastest in Happy Hour with the 15th-best ten-lap average, but Chad Knaus is one of the best at getting his car better before the green flag.
Kyle Larson ($10,000) – At this moderate price point that Kyle Larson is at for Kansas 2, he’s another one of those drivers that could be considered a must-own in FOX Fantasy Auto on Sunday. There is one thing that could deter a lot of people from picking him, though, and that’s his average finish of 18.6 over his five career starts here. Larson really only has one good finish to his credit here, although that was a 2nd-place effort back in 2014. With that being said, there’s a whole bunch of upside for Kyle Larson this weekend. First off, he qualified 24th, which is back where he started last week at Charlotte and he still finished 5th. Also, Larson had the 4th-best ten-lap average in Practice #2 and ranked 6th on that chart in Happy Hour. This #42 Chevrolet has been a consistent top 10 threat for the last two months and that should be the case once again this weekend–as long as Larson and this #42 team don’t run into any issues (not guaranteed).
Chase Elliott ($9,500) – Chase Elliott and this #24 team are knocking on the door of a victory right now, and it’s only a matter of time before it happens. Chase showed once again at Charlotte last weekend that he can get to the front and lead some laps, and if he wouldn’t have gotten caught up in that wreck with Martin Truex, Jr. and Austin Dillon, he probably would have finished in the top 5 (at least). Alas, that didn’t happen. Still, since the Chase has started, Elliott has led 179 of his 342 total laps this season, and has established himself as one of the better Fantasy NASCAR picks on the intermediate race tracks (when he can finish the race). The #24 Chevrolet will roll off the grid from 13th when the Hollywood Casino 400 goes green on Sunday–so there’s some room for place differential points–and should be top 10 finish good (at least). Chase showed top 5 speed in both practice sessions on Saturday and ranked 4th on the ten-lap average chart in Happy Hour.
Ryan Blaney ($6,800) – Initially our low-dollar driver for Kansas 2 was going to be Alex Bowman, but, to be honest, we’re tired of getting burned by that kid. So we’re going to jump up a little bit in the salaries and grab Ryan Blaney this weekend. He qualified 17th for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, which isn’t too bad when you consider the fact that he has finished 5th and 7th in the last two races at this track. With that being said, this #21 team is in a major hit-or-miss funk right now; Blaney has finished 13th or better in four of the last seven Sprint Cup races overall, but he also has three results of 31st or worse over that span as well. However, when you put a low-dollar driver on your FOX Fantasy Auto team, you know the risks associated with it. We’re hoping for the best and are going to roll with Ryan Blaney this weekend, and we’ll be satisfied with a 15th-place finish and 30 fantasy points or so.
