Kansas Speedway was repaved in 2012, and since then, qualifying has been pretty important. Typically the majority of drivers that qualify up front also finish there, so keep that in mind when deciding your Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing starters this weekend. Unfortunately, a few good teams had problems with inspection during qualifying, so they’ll have to start near the rear. Fortunately, you should have some good alternative options that qualified up front, especially if you listened to me with my Early Week Yahoo! Rankings.
My team points last week (Texas): 218
Overall team percentile: 85th
Total team points for the season: 2,762
Yahoo! A Group Pick and Final Rankings for Kansas
It’ll be interesting to see how Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 plays out. Usually it’s an A Group driver that leads the most laps but there are some quality B Group options that could easily take that crown this weekend. However, if an A Group driver is going to lead the most laps on Saturday, the one with the best chance is Martin Truex, Jr., who starts 3rd. The #78 Toyota was very fast off the truck this weekend and anytime that happens the rest of the garage area takes notice.
Joey Logano is next on the list of “most likely to lead the most laps,” as he starts on the outside pole and has led in all but one race this year. The #22 Ford should be good for the typical top 5 finish. Another A Group driver you need to consider this weekend is Kevin Harvick, who has finished 1st or 2nd in five of the last seven Kansas races. The #4 Ford qualified 8th for this weekend’s race but could easily take the checkered flag. One risky pick that could pay huge dividends this weekend is Kyle Busch, who is the defending winner of this race and currently on a four-race streak of top 5s at Kansas. He qualified 5th this weekend and had the fastest lap during Happy Hour on Friday.
My Starter: Martin Truex, Jr.
Final A Group Rankings: (1) Martin Truex, Jr., (2) Kevin Harvick, (3) Joey Logano, (4) Kyle Busch, (5) Jimmie Johnson, (6) Brad Keselowski, (7) Denny Hamlin, (8) Matt Kenseth, (9) Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Yahoo! B Group Picks and Final Rankings for Kansas
Will we see a repeat of Texas? It’s already starting to look like it. We once again had teams with inspection problems during qualifying, and now we’re heading into the race with Ryan Blaney on the front row. If you remember back to Texas, Blaney led the most laps that race and probably had the car to beat but ultimately finished 12th. He has another great car this weekend in Kansas and finished 5th in this race one year ago. If you have him on your Yahoo! roster, you have to start him,
As far as the other B Group ‘top’ drivers, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give them a little break. Kyle Larson will probably end up inside the top 3 before it’s all said and done, but it’s not guaranteed that he leads any laps. Chase Elliott looks to be top 10 good for Saturday night, but that’s about it. And Clint Bowyer starts way back in 29th, so unless he’s the only option you have with your B Group drives, you might as well give him a break, too.
Now, who should you start in the B Group? Kurt Busch qualified 6th for this weekend’s Go Bowling 400, and usually when he has a good qualifying effort, he follows it up with a good race finish. Kurt has three top 10 finishes in the last four Kansas races. Jamie McMurray should be good enough for a top 10 finish on Saturday night but the #1 Chevrolet hasn’t been quite as solid this weekend as it has been in other races this year. I have him ranked 12th heading into Saturday night.
The two Roush-Fenway drivers of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Trevor Bayne deserve some serious consideration this weekend. The former starts up in 4th on Saturday night and honestly looks to have top 10 speed. Also, starting up front like that considerably increases Stenhouse’s chances of leading at least one lap. Bayne, on the other hand, starts a little further back (16th) but he has wound up 13th or better in the majority of races this season. They’re definite start save options this weekend.
My Starters: Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch
Final B Group Rankings: (1) Kyle Larson, (2) Ryan Blaney, (3) Chase Elliott, (4) Jamie McMurray, (5) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., (6) Kurt Busch, (7) Trevor Bayne, (8) Clint Bowyer, (9) Aric Almirola, (10) Austin Dillon, (11) Ryan Newman, (12) Kasey Kahne, (13) Chris Buescher, (14) Paul Menard, (15) A.J. Allmendinger, (16) Danica Patrick
Yahoo! C Group Pick and Final Rankings for Kansas
Since the repave of Kansas Speedway, qualifying has been more important than ever at this track. If that continues to be the case this weekend, Daniel Suarez is the best C Group option. However, we all know you have to take more than that into consideration. Chances are, Suarez is going to settle into his normal top 20 finishing position, although he might be worth a shot if you rostered him. Meanwhile, Ty Dillon qualified 22nd for the Go Bowling 400 and should end up in his normal high-teens finishing spot, as he has done in many other races this year. Erik Jones was one of those drivers that didn’t get through inspection and, because of that, will start from back in 31st on Saturday night. It’d be best to keep him on your bench and save those precious Jones starts for another day.
My Starter: Ty Dillon
Final C Group Rankings: (1) Erik Jones, (2) Ty Dillon, (3) Daniel Suarez, (4) Matt DiBenedetto, (5) Michael McDowell, (6) Landon Cassill, (7) Cole Whitt, the rest
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Thanks!