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NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Price Chopper 400 from Kansas Speedway

by Eric McClung, Special To NASCAR news, fantasy racing advice and statistics On Pit Row

Follow @ericmcclung on Twitter for NASCAR, IndyCar, golf and various other fantasy sports picks.

September 30, 2009 10:10 am UTC 1 Comment

Kansas Speedway may only host one race per season but its sister track, Chicagoland Speedway, held its race in mid-July and offers useful information for deciding a fantasy lineup for the Price Chopper 400.

Kansas features slightly less banking but the action reaches the same speeds. Both are 1.5 mile, D-shaped ovals and fall into the cookie-cutter mold. The most recent cookie-cutter race was held at Michigan International Speedway in August but MIS is a two-mile track with much faster racing. Qualifying is important but not definitive, like most other cookie-cutters the top cars tend to get to the front of the pack in a hurry- even those that start in the middle. The results of this race should be telling for what to expect in next week’s Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in California. Fontana is the same D-shape with similar banking in the corners but is a longer race track with higher speeds.

Be sure to check out my 2009 Average Finish at Chase Tracks Table which lists the results and average finish at eight of the 10 Chase tracks that held events earlier this season.

Here’s an explanation of the highlighted text in the rankings. Download a printer-friendly version here.

• Y! A/B/C – The top options in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game by driver list.
• Strong qualifier – History of winning poles or qualifying inside the top-five.
• Good qualifier – History of qualifying inside the top-10.
• Value play – Good recent history at this week’s track. Drivers to consider as low-rent salary cap options or alternative options in allocation formats.
• Risky play - Good overall history at this week’s track but poor recent finishes.

1. Mark Martin… Won in ’05, third in ’06 at Kansas- average finish of 15.0 in ‘07-‘08. Dominated at Chicagoland in July victory, leading 195 of 271 laps. Y!-A1
2. Jimmie Johnson… Strong qualifier. Has won three poles at Kansas, including the last two- average start of 4.9, best among all drivers. Won last year’s race from the pole. Chicagoland in July: started third, finished eighth, average running position of second. Y!-A2
3. Jeff Gordon… Won the first two Kansas races in ’01 and ’02, finished fourth last year and fifth in ’07. Runner-up at Chicagoland in July. Y!-A3
4. Denny Hamlin… No top-10 finishes in four career Cup starts at Kansas but finished a career-best 11th last year, plus won the Nationwide race. Started fourth, finished fifth At Chicagoland in July. Y!-B1
5. Tony Stewart… Won in ’06 but finished 39th (accident) in ’07, 40th last year. Average finish of 6.5 from ’01-’06. Finished fourth at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B2
6. Kurt Busch… Has started where he’s finished in the last two Kansas races: ’08- 31st/30th, ’07- 12th/11th. Started 22nd, finished 17th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B3
7. Juan Pablo Montoya… Average finish of 24.0 in two career Kansas races. Started 42nd, finished 20th last year. Finished 10th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B4
8. Brian Vickers… Finishes where he starts at Kansas: average start 13.8, average finish 13.3 in four career starts. At Chicagoland in July: won the pole, finished seventh, average running position of fourth. Y!-B5
9. Ryan Newman… Runner-up in ’01 and ’02 races at Kansas, won in ’03 but has not finished better than 16th since- average finish of 27.0 in those five races. Finished sixth at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B6
10. Clint Bowyer… Average finish of 7.7 in three career starts at Kansas, his hometown track- three straight top-fives in Nationwide races. Started fifth, finished ninth at Chicagoland in July. Y!-A4
11. Kasey Kahne… Erratic performance at Kansas. Started eighth, finished 21st last year. Started 29th, finished ninth in ’07. Finished third at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B7
12. Kyle Busch… Started 27th, finished 28th in last year’s race at Kansas, average finish of 26.8 in five career starts. Started sixth, finished 33rd (engine) at Chicagoland in July.
13. Greg Biffle… Won in ’07 at Kansas, finished third last year. Laps led in four of the last five Kansas races. Started 35th, finished 31st at Chicagoland in July.
14. Carl Edwards… Runner-up in last year’s race at Kansas, DNF (accident) in ’07. Average finish of 4.5 in ’05 and ’06 races. Started 25th, finished 14th at Chicagoland in July.
15. Matt Kenseth… Started third, finished fifth in last year’s race at Kansas. Average finish of 29.0 in ’06 and ’07 races. Finished 23rd at Chicagoland in July.
16. Kevin Harvick… Strong value play. Has finished sixth in two consecutive races at Kansas. Finished 19th at Chicagoland in July.
17. Marcos Ambrose… Strong value play. Started 20th, finished 36th in last year’s race, first career start at Kansas- finished 11th in the Nationwide race. Finished 11th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-C1
18. David Reutimann… Strong value play. Started 40th, finished 19th in last year’s race at Kansas- average finish of 15.3 in three Nationwide races. Finished 12th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B8
19. Casey Mears… Strong value play. Started 10th, finished 14th in last year’s race at Kansas. Average finish of 4.7 from ’05-’07. Finished 28th at Chicagoland in July.
20. AJ Allmendinger… Strong value play. Started 14th, finished ninth in last year’s race, first career start at Kansas. Finished 13th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-C2
21. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Average finish of 11.0 over the last three races at Kansas. Finished 15th at Chicagoland in July.
22. Joey Logano… Started 28th, finished 39th in last year’s race, first career start at Kansas- finished ninth in the Nationwide race. Finished 18th at Chicagoland in July.
23. Jeff Burton… Average finish of 18.0 in eight career starts at Kansas. Started 23rd, finished 37th at Chicagoland in July.
24. Bobby Labonte… Weak value play. Average finish at Kansas jumps to 19.2 when excusing three DNFs due to accident. Finished 21st at Chicagoland in July. Y!-C3
25. David Ragan… Weak value play. Average start 15.0, average finish 12.0 in two career starts at Kansas- finished third in last year’s Nationwide race. Finished 25th at Chicagoland in July.
26. Elliott Sadler… Weak value play. Last two Kansas races: average start 9.5, average finish 9.0. Finished 27th at Chicagoland in July.
27. Sam Hornish Jr…. Started 23rd, finished 33rd in last year’s race, first career start at Kansas- average finish of 6.9 in seven IndyCar Series starts. Started 16th, finished 38th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-C4
28. Jamie McMurray… Finishes where he starts at Kansas: ’08- 16th/17th, ’07- 20th/24th, ’06- 41st/42nd (accident). Finished 22nd at Chicagoland in July.
29. Martin Truex Jr…. Three career starts at Kansas, starting position improving but not finishes, ’08- fifth/43rd (transmission), ’07- ninth/38th, ’06- 23rd, 11th. Finished 16th at Chicagoland in July.
30. Brad Keselowski… Long shot value play. No career Cup starts at Kansas, finished sixth in last year’s Nationwide race.
31. Bill Elliott… Long shot value play. Started seventh, finished 25 at Kansas last year. Started eighth, finished 29th at Chicagoland in July.
32. Paul Menard… Finished 27th in ’07 and ’08 races at Kansas.
33. Michael Waltrip… Finished 35th at Kansas last year, 20th at Chicagoland in July.
34. Reed Sorenson… Finished 26th at Kansas last year, 24th at Chicagoland in July.
35. David Stremme… Finished 17th in ’07, most recent Cup start at Kansas. Finished 26th at Chicagoland in July.
36. Robby Gordon… Finished 37th at Kansas last year, 35th at Chicagoland in July.
37. Scott Speed… No career Cup starts at Kansas. Started second, won the ARCA Re/Max Series race last year. Started second, finished 36th at Chicagoland in July.
38. Erik Darnell… No career Cup starts at Kansas. Started last, led 20 laps, finished runner-up in ’07 ARCA Re/Max Series race.
39. John Andretti… Finished 33rd in ’07, most recent Cup start at Kansas. Finished 30th at Chicagoland in July.
40. Max Papis… No career Cup starts at Kansas.
41. Joe Nemechek… Finished 38th at Kansas last year, start and park at Chicagoland in July. Won from the pole in ’04.
42. Michael McDowell… No career Cup starts at Kansas. Finished 11th in ’07 ARCA Re/Max Series race.
43. Dave Blaney… Finished 31st at Kansas last year, start and park at Chicagoland in July.
44. Mike Bliss… Has not started at Kansas since ’05, start and park at Chicagoland in July.

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