kansas

Was happy to hit another good week at Talladega.  I'm not a big fan of the plate tracks in general, but we had success at 3 of the 4 races on the plate tracks this season.  Back to a 1.5 mile track at Kansas this weekend.  We'll be back to searching for the Dominators with laps led and fastest laps points playing a key role.  Here are the guys I'm focused on:

• Kevin Harvick -- Won from pole with 79 laps led in the Spring.  He's finished in the Top 3 in 4 of the last 5 races here and has a low finish of 8th in the last 5 races here.  As safe a pick as you can find here.
• Martin Truex -- In the last 3 races here, he's finished 1st, 1st and 2nd.  He's also been a Dominator in 3 of the last 5 races here leading 172, 104 and 91 laps, respectively.  At $10,800 on DK, he comes at a significant discount off Harvick and Kyle Busch while possibly being the best choice among the three.  Likely a lock in my lineup.
• Ryan Blaney -- Has Top 5 finishes in 3 of the last 5 here.  Started 2nd and led 54 laps in the Spring, but later wrecked and finished 37th.  At $8,700 DK, he's looking under priced.
• Joey Logano -- Very under priced at $8,500 DK.  Has had some bad Kansas finishes, but also finished 3rd here in the Spring and in Fall 2016.
• Aric Almirola -- Under priced at $8,100 DK.  Has back-to-back 9th place finishes here.
• Paul Menard -- Started 11th and finished 6th here in the Spring.  A possible value play at $7,200 DK.
• Austin Dillon -- Another possible value play at $6,800 DK.  He has 5 straight finishes inside the Top 17 at this track.
• David Ragan and Michael McDowell -- Both of these guys have finished in the Top 20 in each of the last 3 races here.  McDowell has finished 13th, 18th and 20th while Ragan has finished 17th, 17th and 13th.  At $5,700 DK and $5,600 DK, respectively, they offer strong salary saving options.  Front Row Motorsports has been really solid at this track.
• Kyle Busch -- Has finished 10th in the last 2 races here.  He led 112 laps in the Fall race last year before finishing 10th.  Has been solid here recently, but would need to show real well in practice to justify the salary.
• Kyle Larson -- Odd to me that he is priced over Truex on DK.  He did lead 101 laps here in the Spring.  In that race, he started 22nd and finished 4th.  But that is by far his best Kansas race ever.  In 3 of the last 5 races here, he has finished 30th or worse.  Likely a tournament only option since his performance here has been way too hit or miss for a cash game choice.

Look for our late, late Saturday night update with our final notes and driver targets for Sunday's race!