KANSAS 1 - Preview

We remain on the 1.5 mile tracks this week as the series heads to Kansas. Kansas is known for its wide progressive banking with opportunities to pass, so starting position and pit position shouldn't be too much of an issue. We also get to see practice on Friday before locking down, so we will provide the Loop Data and a preview coming into this weekends event.

Also note I will be out of town on business this weekend and away from the computer, so I will not be able to provide a practice/qualifying update leading into the race. I encourage you to visit to Forum at www.FantasyNascarPreview.com for all the latest expert opinions.

First, let's look at the Loop Data from just Kansas from 2010-2008, the last 3 races here:

AVERAGE FINISHING POSITION:
A-List:
Biffle - 2nd
Gordon - 4th
Johnson - 4th
Edwards - 6th

B-List:
Allmendinger - 12th
Martin - 13th
Burton- 16th
Newman - 16th

Bowyer - 16th
Montoya- 18th
Keselowski - 18th
McMurray - 20th

C-List:
Ragan - 20th
Menard - 22nd
Smith - 29th
Labonte - 36th


% of LAPS INSIDE the TOP 15:
A-List:
Gordon - 98%
Biffle - 91%
Johnson - 90%
Kenseth - 74%

B-List:
Martin - 70%
Kahne - 61%
Truex Jr. - 58%
McMurray - 54%

Burton- 52%
Keselowski - 42%
Montoya - 41%
Reutimann - 39%

C-List:
Menard - 37%
Ragan - 36%
Labonte - 0.7%
Smith - 0.2%


OVERALL DRIVER RATING:
A-List:
Biffle - 126
Johnson - 121
Gordon - 114
Kenseth - 102

B-List:
Martin - 89
Kahne - 84
Earnhardt Jr - 83
Truex Jr - 83

Burton - 81
Newman - 79
Allmendinger - 78
McMurray - 78

C-List:
Menard - 66
Ragan - 66
Smith - 43
Labonte - 36


We will factor the loop data here into consideration with some of the other 1.5 mile tracks so far, most notably Las Vegas with the most similar characteristics to Kansas. We will also take into consideration California, Texas, and Charlotte results/momentum.


A-LIST:
Even though he was disappointing in the closing stages of the race, you can't dump Carl Edwards off your early lineup. Edwards won at Vegas and has been the most consistent driver on the intermediates so far this year. We have been burning through a lot of Edwards starts this year, I'm down to 5 myself, and if a shaky performance in Charlotte caries over to practice at Kansas I will dump Edwards.

In the 99s place will more than likely be his team mates, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth. Biffle gets the slight edge over Kenseth due to Biffle's win here last year. Biffle was also strong at Las Vegas before fueling issues dropped him back in the finishing order, if Edwards doesn't look like a race winner, Biffle should be getting the start. The 17 should also be in contention, his numbers are just slightly lower than Biffle's but still impressive.

The Hendrick cars of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon will also get looks in the practice sessions. Gordon much like Kenseth should be good for a Top 5, but I'm not sure if he's a race winner. Johnson has been up and down on the intermediates and it would not surprise me to see the 48 "test" here at Kansas for the chase.

Sleeper option this week would be Tony Stewart, who ran well here last year before late issues dropped him back. He was a race-win contender at Vegas and had a great car in California before pit strategy shuffled him back. He's a high risk/reward option this week.


B-LIST:
Kansas is home to Clint Bowyer and he has mentioned all year how he wanted to improve on his 1.5 mile program so he could do well at Kansas. Even with Charlotte being one of Clint's "worst" tracks, he managed to stay in contention most of the evening. RCR was struggling at Vegas but since then Clint has been killing it on the intermediates and there is no reason the 33 shouldn't make your B-List Roster this week.

How about 3 names you just can't avoid on the B-List. First being Dale Earnhardt Jr. who just may have the best intermediate program of the entire B-List so far this year. The 88 has been a solid Top 10 car all year at the intermediate tracks and even with poor qualifying performances, Junior has been able to run up through the field. He will be hard to bounce from by B-List Roster this week.

The other 2 names you have to respect are Marcos Ambrose and A.J. Allmendinger. This is one of Dinger's better tracks and he's coming off an excellent performance at Charlotte. Ambrose has shown incredible numbers this year on the intermediates. Ambrose has shown a little more consistent performance on the intermediates so far, so A.J. will have to put up some numbers to get on the roster, but he's penciled in for my 4th B-List spot right now.

Just outside looking in is Ryan Newman who had a great 5th place run at Vegas earlier this year and his numbers at Kansas aren't bad. The momentum isn't on Newman's side but this is a good week for Newman to re-energize the 39 program. Kasey Kahne's impressive performance on the intermediates as of late also will get him some consideration, although Kahne's performance at Kansas has been up and down and he was only a Top 15 car at Vegas earlier this year. If you want to go deep sleeper, Brian Vickers is a high risk/reward option, boasting a Top 10 at Vegas and California earlier this year but also showing signs of inconsistency at Texas and Charlotte.


C-LIST:
C-List is pretty simple once again, you can't have anyone else but Paul Menard and David Ragan on your team. They are the only 2 cars that are in contention at the intermediate tracks and both should be good for another Top 15 type run. Bobby Labonte has consistently run and finished around 25th this year on the intermediates, and Regan Smith has been either slightly above or below Labonte, but has lucked his way into a couple of good finishes. I can't recommend either one over the the 27/6.

Don't panic if you are using up Menard/Ragan starts, there are plenty of places still left to use Regan and Labonte. Regan isn't a bad option on shorter flat tracks like Richmond/Loudon and Labonte looks strong on the short tracks like Martinsville, Bristol, and shows signs of promise for the larger flat tracks like Pocono and Indy. Don't forget you can still squeeze a few starts out of Trevor Bayne potentially later in the year as well.


Tentative team before post-practice lockdown:

Carl Edwards (5 Starts Remaining)
Greg Biffle (9 Starts Remaining)

Clint Bowyer (7 Starts Remaining)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (6 Starts Remaining)
Marcos Ambrose (9 Starts Remaining)
A.J. Allmendinger (8 Starts Remaining)

Paul Menard (7 Starts Remaining)
David Ragan (5 Starts Remaining)