PicoBlog

Dover was an intresting treat of aero-blocking, skill, and pure speed. The next track we head to is a one and a half mile intermediate track in Kansas City with seventeen to twenty degrees of banking in the corners and five to ten degrees on the straights named Kansas Motor Speedway. Kansas should provided more passing as there are multiple grooves and a wider track than Dover. Kansas on Sunday should be pretty sunny and provide a hotter, slicker track than in practice/qualifying.

Uses

The five or less rule is still in effect. For any driver under five , I would consider saving especially with Byron, Joey, and Blaney. The drivers that, possibly, you could use at five or less would be Martin Truex, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott. Out of these four, I would consider only two to three.

Picks

Consider the practice data especially which drivers are good on the long runs. For past data I would use more of Vegas than Texas, and using a bit of the 2023 intermediate data is useful. Finally, using current momentum and current overall speed is another thing to consider.

Most of the top drivers will be highlighted in the matchup section. These past few weeks I am trying to highlight drivers that could save your top driver uses, depending on your usage amount.

Kyle Busch

One of the top sleepers from last week is now a pretty strong garage/ starter this week. Kyle showed some top seven speed last week, and managed forty-two points with a fourth place finish and nine stage points. Kyle in practice looked pretty decent on the long run with top seven speed on the run averages of more than ten. Then Kyle backed up his speed from practice to qualify fifth. Kyle is a guy I am not worried about in uses and a good way to save top drivers.

Ross Chastain

A guy who disappointed last week hopefully can bounce back this week. Chastain times were a bit concerning on the long run, but he has showed speed at Texas and Vegas this year in the race. Chastain finished fourth at Las Vegas, and would have finished second at Texas if not for an accident on the last lap. If there is anywhere Chastain can run decent it is on intermediates. Chastain in his group qualified third but ended up second in round two. Chastain is another guy I am not worried about uses and should be another top starter and garage used to save other top drivers.

Ty Gibbs

The other top sleeper showed better pace this week than last week. Gibbs had top six speed on the long run averages and backed it up with a Sixth place starting position. Gibbs has shown speed on true intermediates( Vegas and Texas) with a thirteenth and a fifth. Gibbs is in a Joe Gibbs racing car and should be a good replacement for the top drivers uses.

Sleepers

There are two drivers that stood out in practice that could play spoiler in the top ten. Those two are Noah Gragson and Bubba Wallace. Gragson has shown speed on intermediates and is the only Ford I really trust this weekend. Gragson qualified third and should stay within the top twelve. Wallace is a former winner and has shown tremendous speed at Kansas. He backed it up in practice ,but could not qualify well. Wallace twenty-second starting position is the furthest back I would use anyone. McDowell and Briscoe start up front and should stay within the top fifteen, twenty. Outside of the top ten, I look to Berry and Stenhouse Jr. to be top sleepers to possibly be competitive.

Saver Lineup

With only two of the five drivers (Martin Truex, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott )

Denny Hamlin vs Kyle Larson

The classic matchup between the two has spilled over to Kansas from Dover. While Larson looked amazing in practice and has qualified fourth, I am taking Denny since the four races we have run, Denny has beaten Larson three out of the four times. Hamlin is coming off of a win and should continue to be a top three car this weekend. Hamlin has also been the best driver in terms of speed and finishing position, while Larson kind of been hit or miss in the top ten. However, I will probably split my lineups with both Larson and Hamlin in this matchup and both should be must rosters in your lineups.

Bubba Wallace vs Chase Elliott

Bubba showed some tremendous speed in practice but could not quite back it in qualifying. Chase also showed some decent speed and managed to back it up with a decent qualifying. Bubba would be the opposite pick here, and a good way to get diffrent than the rest of your opponents. My only worry is that while Bubba has shown speed to come from the back of the field, it is the can he part? We haven’t seen much of Bubba coming from back of the field in 2024 ,and I do worry he could get wrecked or not even come from the back. Chase feels a bit safer, but Bubba is the higher risk, higher reward play.

Tyler Reddick vs Christopher bell

This year on intermediates and the past two races at Kansas, Reddick has beaten Bell in the head to hear matchups. I think Reddick can continue this streak and looked a bit faster in practice than Bell. While Bell can also have a good day, I think Reddick will finish ahead of him by one or two positions. Both are must rosters in your lineup as well ,especially with Tyler Reddick.

Martin Truex Jr. vs William Byron

Byron scraped the wall in qualifying and did not get a good lap. While Byron did look a bit faster in practice, Truex has been strong at Kansas and should be a must roster while Byron has a bit of mixed history here with three out of four of the next gen races here with incidents. While Truex has only crashed once out of the four races. Truex is the safer pick and a strong lineup starter for Kansas.

ncG1vNJzZmiqkZiytLTEnqusnJaoe7TBwayrmpubY7CwuY6pZpqcppq7tXnHnpilrJhigXF8jKeYrJuRp3qnrc2tmKyxXaG2t7E%3D