CJ picked up the win via Martin Truex Jr’s Dover triumph and now heads to Kansas with another victory in our weekly picks.
RACE FUTURES: ADVENTHEALTH 400 RACE 12
5-1…W Byron and K Larson
7-1…T Reddick and M Truex Jr.
8-1…C Bell and D Hamlin
12-1…C Elliott
14-1…R Chastain
16-1…K Busch
18-1…R Blaney, K Harvick and B Wallace
22-1…J Logano
35-1…T Gibbs, B Keselowski and Suarez
65-1…J Berry and C Briscoe
100-1…A Almirola, C Buescher, A Cindric, A Dillon, E Jones, R Preece and R Stenhouse Jr.
150-1…AJ Allmendinger and J Haley
250-1…M McDowell
300-1…C Lajoie
500-1…H Burton, D Gilliland and N Gragson
NOTE: Each analyst has a weekly wagering limit of $100.
NOTE: The weekly wagering limits will increase $100 for each playoff round ending with a $500 wagering limit for the Championship Four race.
ADVENTHEALTH 400 PICKS: RACE 12
Greg DePalma
W Byron…5-1…$40 ($200)
C Bell…8-1…$15 ($120)
D Hamlin…8-1…$25 ($200)
R Blaney…18-1…$10 ($180)
B Wallace…18-1…$10 ($180)
CJ Radune
W Byron…5-1…$23 ($115)
K Larson…5-1…$23 ($115)
T Reddick…7-1…$16 ($112)
D Hamlin…8-1…$14 ($112)
R Chastain…14-1…$9 ($126)
K Busch…16-1…$8 ($128)
R Blaney…18-1…$7 ($126)
Eric Smith
W Byron…5-1…$22 ($110)
K Larson…5-1…$22 ($110)
T Reddick…7-1…$15 ($105)
M Truex Jr…7-1…$15 ($105)
C Bell…8-1…$15 ($120)
R Chastain…14-1…$8 ($112)
T Gibbs…35-1…$4 ($140)
WEEKLY RACE PICKS STANDINGS
CJ Radune
RECORD: 8 for 11
TOTAL: -25
Eric Smith
RECORD: 3 for 11
TOTAL: -719
Greg DePalma
RECORD: 2 for 11
TOTAL: -735
ARCHIVES
WURTH 400 PICKS: RACE 11
WURTH 400 WINNER: Martin Truex Jr.
Greg DePalma
K Harvick…11-1…$25 ($225)
R Chastain…14-1…$10 ($140)
A Bowman…16-1…$20 ($320)
K Busch…18-1…$15 ($270)
R Blaney…22-1…$10 ($220)
C Briscoe…35-1…$10 ($350)
D Suarez…45-1…$5 ($225)
R Stenhouse Jr…65-1…$5 ($325)
RECORD: 0 for 1
TOTAL: -100
CJ Radune
W Byron…5-1…$22 ($110)
K Larson…5-1…$22 ($110)
D Hamlin…9-1…$13 ($117)
K Harvick…11-1…$10 ($110)
M Truex Jr…13-1…$9 ($117) …WINNER!
R Chastain…14-1…$9 ($126)
A Bowman…16-1…$8 ($128)
K Busch…18-1…$7 ($126)
RECORD: 1 for 1
TOTAL: +26
Eric Smith
W Byron…5-1…$23 ($115)
K Larson…5-1…$23 ($115)
C Elliott…6-1…$19 ($114)
D Hamlin…9-1…$12 ($108)
R Chastain…14-1…$8 ($112)
A Bowman…16-1…$7 ($112)
T Gibbs…45-1…$3 ($135)
D Suarez…45-1…$3 ($135)
R Stenhouse Jr…65-1…$2 ($130)
RECORD: 0 for 1
TOTAL: -100
TRACK HISTORY/TRENDS
This will be the 35th Cup Series race at the Kansas Speedway. The NASCAR Cup Series 1st started coming to the Sunflower State in 2001.
Recently paved which makes this a very difficult track to pass on too. Outside lane is better, but there is a chance to take the lead from the inside. Mostly a restart/track position track. You can gamble on 2 tires or depending on how late you are in the race, 0 tires. Clean air is key here.
- 8 of the last 12 Kansas winners have come from the top six of the starting lineup including 4 of the last 5.
- 12 of the last 14 Kansas winners started in the top 6 Rows.
- Toyota has won 5 of the last 7 Kansas races including 7 of the last 12. They swept last year.
- Toyota’s went 1-3-4-5-6 in the spring race (171 of 267 laps led) and 1-2-3-5 in the Fall (94 of 267 laps led). They combined to lead 265 of 534 laps (49.6%) a year ago.
- We’ve seen 10 different winners in the last 11 Kansas races. Only repeat winner is Denny Hamlin.
- There’s been no OT finishes in each of the last 6 races including 12 of the last 14 in general.
- The eventual race winner scored stage points in every first stage under the stage era with the exception of last year’s spring race.
- The eventual race winner finished in the top 5 in 6 of the last 7 2nd stages and 9 of the 12 overall second stages.
- The odd thing is, just twice has the eventual race winner at Kansas actually won a second stage (2019 playoff race, May 2022).
- Since 2011, every Kansas winner has won a series championship with the exception of Hamlin and Bubba Wallace.
- In fact, only Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Joe Nemechek and Wallace have won at Kansas and not also won a Cup title. Kyle Larson joined that list but only for a few months in the Fall of 2021 before he became a champion.
Favorites
Chase Elliott
He’s had six top six finishes in his last nine Kansas starts including being fifth and second in 2021 and 29th and 11th last year.
Kyle Larson
He dominated in leading the most laps but not winning the 2021 spring race. He then would win the playoff race though in the Fall of 2021. He was runner-up and eighth respectively last year for his sixth top 8, four of which being in the Top-4 in his last eight Kansas tries. Larson led 63 laps and finished runner-up this spring in Vegas too.
William Byron
He has six Top-10 finishes in his last seven starts at Kansas including being ninth and sixth respectively last year. Byron also led 176 laps in a Vegas win this spring too.
Denny Hamlin
The only driver to have won multiple times here in the last 11 races and was fourth and second here last year.
Martin Truex Jr.
Since 2017, he’s had a Top-10 finish in all but one Kansas start including sweeping both race wins in 2017. He finished sixth and fifth last year and was seventh this past March in Vegas.
Kyle Busch
He won in May of 2021 and has six Top-5 finishes in his last nine Kansas starts including a third place run last May.
Sleepers
Alex Bowman
Bowman has seven top 11 results on the 1.5-mile track in his last 10 tries including being runner-up in the spring race in 2019, eighth and fourth respectively in 2020 and ninth and fourth last year. He won on a similar track in Las Vegas last spring and was third this past spring there too.
Ross Chastain
Seventh in both races last year lands him here. So does being 12th in Vegas.
Kevin Harvick
Harvick, has eight top two finishes at Kansas since 2013 including a second-place result in two of his last five starts there in general. He was only 15th in May last year but ninth in the Fall.
Christopher Bell
He scored his first Xfinity race win at this very track a few years ago as well as being 10th, eighth and third in the last three Kansas playoff races and fifth in the spring race last year. Bell was also fifth in Vegas too.
23XI Racing
The 45 car swept both races last year via Kurt Busch in the spring and Bubba Wallace in the Fall. Busch led 116 of 267 laps in last year’s May race while Wallace led 58 laps in his October win. Wallace was also fourth this past spring in Vegas too. Tyler Reddick with RCR last year was seventh and 35th but that 35th was a crash after leading 38 laps.
Austin Dillon
He was 10th in both races in 2021 to go along with being 11th in the 2020 playoff race and 13th and 14th last year.
Fades
Team Penske:
Austin Cindric was 11th and 12th respectively last year as a rookie. Ryan Blaney has had five of his last eight Kansas races have seen him finish 20th or worse and 12th and ninth last year. For Joey Logano, he’s finished 15th or worse in six of his last eight at Kansas. They were sixth (Cindric), 13th (Blaney) and 36th (Logano) in Vegas.
Daniel Suarez
33rd and 10th last year.
Chase Briscoe
He was 24th and 13th a year ago.
Aric Almirola
No top five finishes in 22 starts puts him on this list.