Welcome back race fans. This week the Monster Energy Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway for the KC Masterpiece 400 and second night race of the season. It is also the fourth mile and a half track on the schedule and like Las Vegas and Texas, the second race at the track will be a part of the 10-race playoff run putting even more emphasis on the race and gathering information.

With just 267 laps, we can go back to a bit more of a balanced attack between dominator points and place differential. Looking at the last six races here at Kansas there has been one driver to lead 100 or more laps in five straight races and multiple drivers to lead 50 or more laps in four straight and five of the last six races. Last season with the new stage racing setup, there were 10 or more drivers to pick up double-digit place differential in both races here and with the qualifying, on Friday this trend could definitely continue. With all that info, let's jump in and take a look at some of the top plays.

Daily Fantasy NASCAR: DraftKings and FanDuel DFS Lineup Picks - KC Masterpiece 400

Kevin Harvick(DK-$11,700 FD-$13,500)

Even with a season-high salary, it will be hard to ignore Harvick in any format this week. He led the only practice session of the weekend and was sixth in 10-lap averages and followed that up by winning the pole for the race Saturday night. On top of that, he has been red-hot this season with four wins and leads all drivers with 741 laps led, 482 of which have come on mile and a half tracks. Lock him in as the top dominator and top play of the week.

Clint Bowyer(DK-$9,000 FD-$10,200)

Harvick's teammate, Clint Bowyer, has not only been fast all season(3rd in overall DK points per race with 51.4) but provides us with elite place differential value this week. He was one of six cars to not make it through inspection resulting in a 33rd starting position for Saturday night. Looking at practice, he has a Top 5 car if he can make it through the field as he was fifth in practice with the fourth-fastest 10-lap average. A lock in all formats this week.

Matt Kenseth(DK-$7,100 FD-$9,600)

If Kenseth's low $7K price tag on DraftKings doesn't make him super chalk this week, his starting position sure will. Like Bowyer, he is one of the six drivers who failed to make it through qualifying which puts him back in the 35th starting position giving him tons of place differential value despite the lack of speed(28th in practice). He was simply getting adjusted to being back in the car and no doubt he and crew chief Matt Puccia will make the right changes giving him a top 20 car which is more than enough to hit value at his price.

Matt DiBenedetto(DK-$5,200 FD-$5,800)

Sticking with the drivers who failed to make a qualifying lap, we have punt play Matt DiBenedetto who is starting 37th this week. He was 26th in the only practice session this week and has finished 30th or better here at Kansas in five of his six career races with three Top 25's as well. His mid $5K price tag on both sites makes him a great play in all formats.

NASCAR DFS Cheat Sheet

Don't have the time to search multiple sites looking for NASCAR stats and data?

Check out my DFS NASCAR cheatsheet which includes Track History(2-Year Trend & Career), Track Type History(2-Year Trend), Current Form, Practice/Qualifying Data, and a weighted system to get an overall rank for each driver each race. Check out it now while it's still in BETA mode and FREE to everyone. Also, be sure to check out the Race by Race Trends Sheet.

DFS & Fantasy NASCAR Chat Room

If you have any questions leading up to the race hit me up in the chat below!

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