Race Weekend Central

Number Crunching: 2015 SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas

We made it through the chaos last week and we are back to some normalcy this week. Over all our fantasy team made it out of Talladega relatively intact. We got burnt on the David Ragan pick but other than that, all is well that ends well. The race ended well for Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t it? Those Hendrick guys had the big steam under the hood, we just picked the wrong Hendrick team with Jeff Gordon.

Enough about last week, lets talk about Kansas and the changes that are going on this week. This week, Ragan moves from the No. 18 car over to Michael Waltrip Racing in the No. 55. I think that this will be a good move for our fantasy teams as I think Ragan won’t qualify as well in the No. 55 and we have held on to Ragan since Daytona. Erik Jones is in the No. 18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing and could be a good one-race pick up. I don’t think Erik will be in the car after the All-Star break. Here at Kansas our fantasy driver selection strategy is back to picking the lap leader/fastest lap guys. So who made the team this week? As always the prices listed are the prices that you would have if you have been following along with my picks.

No. 4 Kevin Harvick $28.00
It would be crazy not to put Kevin Harvick on your team at mile-and-a-half racetracks. Kevin looked good in both practices and during qualifying. Over the last four races here, Harvick has led 318 laps. That is 100 laps more than any other driver. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kevin up there fighting for the lead most of the race.

No. 22 Joey Logano $28.00
Harvick has led 318 laps over the last four races and that next driver that is 100 short, well that’s Joey Logano. Logano put it on the pole for this weeks race and won the last time the Sprint Cup cars rolled into Kansas. I really feel that Logano is a factor week in and week out this year, he is just a tick off those Stewart-Haas guys. I think that this week could be one of those dominating weeks for him as long as he can keep Carl Edwards behind him also.

No. 41 Kurt Busch $22.50
Kurt Busch has been a great buy and hold value for us this year. Busch has been fast this week, and qualified eighth. I wouldn’t doubt if Kurt gets up there and dices it up for the lead at some point in the race. The two SHR cars of Harvick and Busch have shown very similar speed this year and I expect this race to be the same.

No. 55 David Ragan $9.00
I like this move for Ragan as far as out fantasy team goes. I expect Ragan to qualify worse in the MWR car and run just as well during the race, that should make some nice place differential points for out team. I still like Ragan a buy and hold driver even though he has burned us a couple times this year.

No. 18 Erik Jones $7.50
Erik is a bit of a risky pick this week but I think that he will finish well. Every driver that I have heard refer to Jones has referred to him as the “real deal” and if its good enough for the other drivers, its good enough for me. I like the speed that Jones had in all the practices and in qualifying trim. This young man is going to be something special.

Race Winner: Joey Logano
Joey looks good this week, I think he will outrun those bowtie guys.

Manufacturer: Ford
Its all the eggs in the Penske basket when you go with Ford.

As always, if you have any questions about your lineup feel free to leave a comment in the comments section and I will be checking and responding to any questions. Also check in after last practice as I may modify the lineup a little. Thanks for reading!

About the author

Nathan became a fantasy fanatic after following NASCAR for 30 years. Nothing makes him happier than hearing that he helped people win their fantasy league. He grew up on the dirt tracks of western Pennsylvania, watching the likes of Lou, Dale, and Dave Blaney. Now a South Carolina transplant, you can find him in the infield of Darlington race weekends or crunching the numbers for your fantasy teams on Saturday.

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