Top Drivers
Denny Hamlin ($11,000), Starting 14th
Earlier this season at this track Hamlin raised all kinds of hell when he wrecked Kyle Larson on the last lap to win. Starting 14th Hamlin has some P.D. available to him provided there isn’t any payback coming his way. Overall that was Hamlin’s fourth win in 30 Cup races at Kansas and his fourth-straight top-five. Hamlin has 12 top-fives here and an average finish of 13th.
Kyle Larson ($10,500), Starting 2nd
Before getting worked over by Hamlin earlier in the season, Larson was on his way to his second Kansas win, a race in which he led 85 laps. Larson has been a stud at Kansas throughout his 17 Cup races as far as dominating goes. He’s led 60 or more laps five times and has done so in four of his last six races. Look for him to get to the point early.
Kyle Busch ($9,600), Starting 35th
After trouble in qualifying Busch finds himself as the chalk P.D. play in the higher range of salaries for today. Busch has three wins on the season and an average finish of 14th. The summer was not kind to him as he posted a p21 and p36 in June as well as a p37 and p36 in August. With that said, Kyle bounced back last week with a seventh-place finish at Darlington and has two career wins with 10 top-fives at Kansas. Even with some bad showings and bad luck with crashes here, including earlier this season, Busch still has an average finish of 16th.
Kevin Harvick ($9,500), Starting 20th
As Harvick’s career winds down he heads to a track that he’s had a ton of success at over the years. The veteran has three wins, 12 top-fives, and a whopping 19 top-10’s in his career at Kansas with an average finish of 10th. After a midling qualifying effort, look for Harvick to pick up some P.D. en route to a good finish. If Harvick can find himself towards the front he’s show that he has dominator potential here as he’s led 60 or more laps here on eight different occasions.
Alex Bowman ($7,800), Starting 23rd
Bowman has back to back top-10 finishes here with the most recent effort resulting in a fourth-place finish with 107 laps led. Bowman missed the race here earlier this season due to injury. The driver of the 48 car will start back at 23rd and have plenty of chances to get toward the front. seven top-10’s in 15 starts here suggests that Bowman will be in store for a productive day at a nice price point.
Ty Gibbs ($7,600), Starting 36th
Along with Busch, Gibbs is starting way back in the field here but could find his way toward the middle of the pack by the time all is said and done. Gibbs wrecked out here earlier this season but in two career XFINITY races here he has a win and a p3. His salary won’t break the bank either.
Aric Almirola ($6,700), Starting 25th
Almirola finished 13th here earlier in the season and for his career has 11 top-15’s and seven top-10’s. That’s about the range we can hope for A.A. to finish here today which will be solid considering his salary.
Others to Consider:
Tyler Reddick ($9,800), Starting 5th
Ryan Blaney ($8,500), Starting 17th
Chase Briscoe ($6,600), Starting 26th
Justin Haley ($5,800), Starting 30th
