DraftKings NASCAR: Hollywood Casino 400

DraftKings NASCAR: Hollywood Casino 400

This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.

Hollywood Casino 400

Location: Kansas City, Kan.

Course: Kansas Speedway

Format: 1.5-mile tri-oval

Laps: 267

Race Preview

Ryan Blaney secured advancement to the next round of playoff eliminations with a narrow victory over Ryan Newman in one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history last week. The race at Talladega Superspeedway saw every playoff driver encounter trouble of some sort, and it quickly became a matter of survival. Blaney, scoring his first win of the season, made the breakthrough and will have a chance to advance to the final four contenders as a result. Only he and Kyle Larson have guaranteed their spots in the penultimate round of eliminations. The remaining six spots will be hotly contested, especially near the cutoff line. Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Clint Bowyer and William Byron all sit below the cut line heading into this weekend's race at Kansas Speedway. The gap to Joey Logano in eighth position is 16 points from Bowman in ninth. While nothing is decided, it seems likely that at least Elliott, Bowyer and Byron are facing a must-win situation this week. Elliott is the defending winner of this week's race, while Brad Keselowski won the most recent race at the circuit earlier this season.

Key Stats at Kansas Speedway

Number of previous races: 27

Winners from pole: 6

Winners from top-five starters: 13

Winners from top-10 starters: 16

Winners from 21st or lower starters: 2

Fastest Race: 152.057 mph

Previous 10 Kansas Winners

2019 spring – Brad Keselowski

2018 fall – Chase Elliott

2018 spring – Kevin Harvick

2017 fall – Martin Truex Jr.

2017 spring – Martin Truex Jr.

2016 fall – Kevin Harvick

2016 spring – Kyle Busch

2015 fall – Joey Logano

2015 spring – Jimmie Johnson

2014 fall – Joey Logano

While Elliott and Keselowski are the most recent winners at the track, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick are tied for the most wins at the venue with three each. Additionally, in the last four races only one driver led at least 100 laps, yet none of the four were able to convert that advantage into the win. Logano, Harvick, Larson and Kyle Busch each suffered that fate. The last driver to lead more than 100 laps and win was Martin Truex Jr. in the spring race of 2017. Keselowski's win earlier this season was decided in overtime by less than a second over Bowman. Now Bowman stands on the outside of the final eight playoff positions looking in. Fresh tires are a big deal at the circuit that places a premium on grip, and Keselowski had them. Fantasy owners will want to pay close attention to drivers with the fastest 10-lap averages in practice this week. Managing tires and saving equipment for late restarts could prove pivotal in deciding who transfers to the final championship elimination round before the season finale in Miami.

DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)

DraftKings Tier 1 Values

Kyle Busch - $11,400

Kevin Harvick - $11,000

Martin Truex Jr. - $10,800

Denny Hamlin - $10,500

DraftKings Tier 2 Values

Joey Logano - $9,800

Brad Keselowski - $9,600

Kyle Larson - $9,400

Ryan Blaney - $9,200

DraftKings Tier 3 Values

Clint Bowyer - $8,800

Alex Bowman - $8,600

Erik Jones - $8,400

William Byron - $8,200

DraftKings Long-Shot Values

Matt DiBenedetto - $7,600

Ryan Newman - $7,300

Chris Buescher - $6,700

Ryan Preece - $6,400

MY PICKS THIS WEEK

Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)

Kevin Harvick - $11,000

Kyle Larson - $9,400

Alex Bowman - $8,600

Aric Almirola - $7,800

Chris Buescher - $6,700

Ryan Preece - $6,400

Harvick has won twice at Kansas in the last six races and led more than 100 laps at the track earlier this season. After leading a minimum of 10 laps in every race at the circuit in that time, he should be a good bet to achieve another top finish or win this week but will have to do so from the back. Larson also has been on a good streak of finishes at Kansas. He led 101 laps there last spring and has four top-10 finishes in the last five. This will be a definitive race in Alex Bowman's season. He finished second at the track this spring and has been making his own luck as the playoffs have progressed. He'll have to do that again this week, and his odds of being successful are good, with three of his last four visits to the circuit being top-10s. Aric Almirola picked up his first top-five since Phoenix last week at Talladega and will work to continue that momentum this week. He has not finished outside of the top 12 at Kansas in the last four races. Chris Buescher will be looking forward to joining Roush Fenway Racing in 2020 but still has his sights set on top finishes until then. He led 10 laps and finished 10th at Kansas this spring for his second top-10 at the circuit. Capping off the lower-risk lineup this week is Ryan Preece, who drove to a 25th-place finish at Kansas in the spring.

Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)

Martin Truex Jr. - $10,800

Joey Logano - $9,800

Erik Jones - $8,400

Austin Dillon - $7,200

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - $7,000

Daniel Hemric - $6,600

Leading off the higher-risk lineup selections is Truex, who swept victories at Kansas in 2017. His four top-five finishes in the last five races there make him an easy early selection. His starting spot is also more favorable than teammate Kyle Busch's, which could help give him the edge. Logano is a two-time Kansas winner who also has three top-10 finishes from the last six Kansas races. He was in contention for the win last week at Talladega so he'll want to get the job done this week. Fantasy owners not impressed with his starting position could choose teammate Keselowski instead. Joneshas also been an excellent performer at this track. His last three races here have all produced finishes of seventh or better. Austin Dillon has been quietly consistent at Kansas, too. The Richard Childress Racing driver has only missed the top 20 three times in his 12 career starts at the circuit. His average finish of 16.9 from that time is a good average for this position in most fantasy lineups. It was announced that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would be swapping seats with Buescher this week. He has never snagged a top-10 Kansas finish but he has led 22 laps and picked up two 11th-place finishes in the last three races. Daniel Hemric finishes the lineup by virtue of his 18th-place finish there earlier this season alongside his first series pole.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. C.J. Radune plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DraftKings: cjradune, RaceDayScore: cjradune.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C.J. Radune
Radune covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and soccer for RotoWire. He was named the Racing Writer of the Year by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association in 2012 and 2015.
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