2 years agoChase Elliott enjoys the Charlotte Motor Speedway maybe too much. The results have been incredible. Consider a second, first, and second and went 4 for 4 in top five finishes. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver has an average finish of 2.3 over the last three years. Despite being so close to the front, the No. 9 car has led just 9.4% of the laps in that span. That may appear to be surprising. However, consider how dominant Kyle Larson was at Charlotte last year (led 327 of 400 laps). That did throw off some of the numbers. Elliott could very well win and lead more laps this time around.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoSo, Daniel Suarez qualified 12th for Sunday's race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The TrackHouse Racing driver carried some good speed in the later sectors at the quad-oval. There is some late speed with the Chevy that may go unnoticed on Sunday. Does that beat the Toyota's? That is questionable. However, Suarez could potentially surprise. He did finish 15th last year and that was at two laps down. It will be intriguing to see what the No. 99 car can do on a good run late. There is a chance for a top-ten run.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoRyan Blaney will begin 11th for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte. The No. 12 Team Penske car did clock a 29.617 which bodes well along with some practice intervals. Again, with limited practice and runs, sometimes data can be misleading. Blaney has had some adventurous results at Charlotte recently too. He has two top-fives but has only led 0.4% of the laps. Blaney has run well though but not well enough to lead or stay up front. Literally, there is some room for place differential.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoMichael McDowell will start from the outside of Row 5 on Sunday for the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway. McDowell made it to the last round of qualifying but finished last out of the ten finalists. When factoring some other fast laps, McDowell was closer to 15th. The Front Row Motorsports driver has only finished on the lead lap twice in his last ten races at Charlotte. Place differential is expected to be negative to the point where the question is how negative. That represents an ominous sign from a DFS perspective for Sunday.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoAlex Bowman got into the final round of qualifying on Saturday but could not mount much of a run. Still, he did wind up ninth which should give him a good springboard for Sunday. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver has a couple of wins on intermediate tracks the past three years and will have some eyes on him. The No. 48 car was fast in earlier testing at Charlotte. Over the course of 400 laps, one figures Bowman may lead a few here. Right now, Bowman represents the third best Hendrick option on Sunday.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoAustin Cindric wowed during qualifying and he will start in fourth place on Sunday. Cindric was only 0.190 seconds behind pole sitter Christopher Bell. Sunday will only be Cindric's second career cup start at Kansas Speedway, so it's impressive that he could qualify so high. Cindric needed that as he has struggled after his Daytona 500 win. His last top ten came when he finished eighth place at Road of America, so he will love to prove that his win at Daytona was not a fluke and that he can make a deep run into the postseason. Cindric should be a contender to win in it come Sunday.
--Maison Maerz
2 years agoAustin Dillion had a mediocre day at qualifying on Saturday, and as a result Dillion will be starting from 21st place at Kansas Speedway. Dillion is currently holding on to the last playoff spot, so a good finish for him will be critical. However, Dillion's crew chief, Justin Alexander, will miss the race due to NASCAR's COVID protocols. In the Kansas races from last season, Dillion had two tenth place finishes, so he's had some success at this track. Dillion will be searching for his first win since July 7th, 2020, at Texas Motor Speedway. He should be a nice value play at Kansas.
--Maison Maerz
2 years agoErik Jones will be starting from the middle of the pack on Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Jones has qualified in 22nd for the race and will look to make the playoffs. Jones sits five points back of the last spot in the playoffs so a good finish will come a long way for him and Petty GMS Motorsports. Jones will be looking to put his recent struggle behind him, as he finished no higher than 20th in his last three starts at Kansas. If Jones wants to stay in the playoff race, he will need to do better than a 2oth place finish. Jones should be a risky sleeper pick race time.
--Maison Maerz
2 years agoBrad Keselowski and RFK Racing have not been off to an excellent start for the 2022 season. Keselowski's switch to RFK has not been the smoothest as he qualified toward the back of the pack at position 30th. This season has not been kind to Keselowski as he sits at 31st in the points standings and only has one top-ten finish this season coming in the Daytona 500. However, Kansas has been nice to Keselowski for his career, as he has two wins, seven top fives, and thirteen top tens in twenty-four starts. Keselowski will be hoping for history to repeat itself as he looks for a spark to save his season.
--Maison Maerz
2 years agoJoey Logano has not had the best time at Kansas Speedway. During qualifying, Logano suffered from a flat left rear tire and crashed into the wall. Logano will start from the 34th position for the Sunday race. It also doesn't help that he will be without one crew member as the team failed pre-qualifying inspection multiple times. Logano will be looking to build off momentum after his controversial win at Darlington. It will also be interesting to see if William Byron will do anything to Logano after Logano took him out last week for the win. It is safe to say Logano will be a risky pick when the drivers start their engines
--Maison Maerz
2 years agoKevin Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing car has been remarkable at Kansas. He has the best driver rating of 114.6 and has not finished lower than 13th. There is automatic place differential. The No. 4 Ford has finished in the top-ten in five of the past six races on the 1.52-mile track. Furthermore, Harvick has four top-five results too. His average finish of 5.5 is second to only Chase Elliott over the past three years. Harvick will be a popular choice for top-ten props and DFS aspirations as well on Sunday.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoDenny Hamlin had a bit of an off effort at Kansas on Saturday. Was he saving something? No one is truthfully sure. He will start Sunday in the 18th position. Hamlin has had a true mixed bag of results on the Kansas track. He has won twice and missed out on a win three more times. His speed intervals have been in the top six four races in a row. Those final quarters have been other-worldly aside from DNF's. Again, the risk is there but there is reward too. Hamlin will now have place differential potential more than expected as well.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoChase Elliott will start 14th in Kansas on Sunday. That is worst among all four Hendrick Motorsport Racing drivers. That was a mild surprise given his results on the Kansas track historically. Elliott has done everything but won in his last six starts. That includes four top-fives, five top-tens, and at least two or three near misses. His 5.2 average finish is the best among all active drivers. Elliott and his No. 9 car have led 8.6% of the laps as well. His driver rating of 110.1 is third among active drivers. That makes Elliott another contender in the mix on Sunday.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoWilliam Byron starts the AdventHealth 400 on Sunday from the 13th position on Sunday. His average finish the last three years is not the worst among the four Hendrick Racing cars. That's correct. Furthermore, he is consistent with five top-ten results in his last six starts. This translates to an average finish of 9.7. The No. 24 car only has one top-five in this time span somehow. Byron has been so close. There have been a few times where he was nearly in the lead before misfortune happened. Byron has a chance on Sunday to contend and perhaps win.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoChase Briscoe raced his Ford to outside Row 6 for Sunday's race at Kansas. Briscoe has had some interesting adventures on the 1.52-mile track. His No. 14 car does not have the greatest track record at the top level but did win last year in the Xfinity Series. That is something to at least keep in mind. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver has had a couple of close calls this year including the one at Bristol Dirt where he nearly won but spun out trying to pass Tyler Reddick for the win. If Briscoe sees more cautions, he has a better chance on Sunday to contend.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
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