Heart of America 200
Location: Kansas City, Kan.
Course: Kansas Speedway
Format: 1.5-mile tri-oval
Laps: 134
NASCAR Trucks Heart of America Race Preview
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to action this week at Kansas Speedway after a short break. Kyle Busch dominated the last race at Texas, leading 112 of 167 laps to capture his second series win of the season. His victory meant six playoff spots remained open to be claimed via points. Grant Enfinger currently occupies the 10th and final playoff position with a small five-point advantage over Daniel Dye in 11th. Enfinger heads to Kansas Speedway as the defending spring winner anxious to solidify that playoff spot with a trip to Victory Lane again this weekend. With just a 10-point spread between ninth and 12th in the championship, there is still everything to play for with nine regular-season races remaining and it remains anyone's game, though. Christian Eckes, who leads the series with two victories so far this season, is the most recent Kansas victor having captured the checkered flag in last year's playoff race.
Key Stats at Kansas Speedway
- Number of races: 27
- Winners from pole: 4
- Winners from top-5 starters: 17
- Winners from top-10 starters: 25
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 0
- Fastest race: 139.875 mph
Previous 10 Kansas Winners
2023 fall - Christian Eckes
2023 spring - Grant Enfinger
2022 fall - John Hunter Nemechek
2022 spring - Zane Smith
2021 - Kyle Busch
2020 III - Brett Moffitt
2020 II - Matt Crafton
2020 I - Austin Hill
2019 - Ross Chastain
2018 - Noah Gragson
Kansas Speedway is a traditional 1.5-mile oval where speed, handling, and track position tend to rule the day. Throughout the weekend, from qualifying through the race, team seek opportunities to gain track position. Teams that qualify up front start off with the advantage in hand, while those who start in traffic will have to use caution periods to make up ground. Restarts are the best opportunities for those drivers to make passes. Races at Kansas often produce late cautions, which means the entire night could come down to one final restart. However, 1.5-mile ovals also tend to produce long green flag runs, too. Those long green periods are the danger spots for those starting deeper in the field. With few chances to make adjustments or take a gamble on strategy, vehicles further down the order run the risk of slipping off of the lead lap. No driver has started worse than 12th and won at this track in its 27-race history in the series. Qualifying will be an important indicator for fantasy players to monitor this week as they select their lineups.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Trucks Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Heart of America 200 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Corey Heim - $11,000
Christian Eckes - $10,700
Nick Sanchez - $10,300
Zane Smith - $10,000
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Ty Majeski - $9,700
Rajah Caruth - $9,500
Taylor Gray - $9,200
Tyler Ankrum - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Brett Moffitt - $8,700
Grant Enfinger - $8,500
Ben Rhodes - $8,300
Matt Crafton - $8,000
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Connor Mosack - $7,500
Chase Purdy - $7,200
Ty Dillon - $6,700
Daniel Dye - $6,200
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Heart of America 200
Christian Eckes - $10,700
Rajah Caruth - $9,500
Grant Enfinger - $8,500
Ben Rhodes - $8,300
Ty Dillon - $6,700
Daniel Dye - $6,200
Christian Eckes leads the field to Kansas atop the standings with two victories but just a small two-point gap to Corey Heim in second. Eckes is the most recent series victor at Kansas, too. He won the fall playoff race last season, which was one of four top-fives and six top-10s from his eight series starts at the track. Eckes also started from pole in this race last season. Second in line for this roster is Rajah Caruth. His victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the best indicators of what he should be capable of at Kansas. Caruth led 38 laps in that victory. His best Kansas finish was a 12th-place finish last fall, but his performance at Las Vegas suggests he should improve upon that this week. Reinforcing those top choices, Grant Enfinger also brings a 2023 Kansas win to the lineup. That was Enfinger's first win at the track from 11 series tries, and he led 65 laps on his way to the checkered flag. It was also one of three consecutive top-five finishes for him at the track before finishing 17th in the fall return. Enfinger sits 10th in the standings looking to solidify a playoff spot with another Kansas top-five this week.
Ben Rhodes is still searching for his first win of 2024. He enters the Kansas race weekend 12th in in the standings, six points outside of the playoff positions. Rhodes has not yet won at Kansas, but his record at the track is a decent one. In 12 series starts at Kansas, he has two top-five and five top-10 finishes. He consistently qualifies inside the top 10 at this track, too. Ty Dillon's return to the series has not been the most fruitful yet. His Rackley WAR squad is searching for improvement and Dillon rests 20th in points at the moment. Their best finish so far was an 11th-place run on the road course in Austin. Dillon has been consistently qualifying inside the top 20, and that should start paying dividends if he and the team can convert those starts into finishes. Dillon does have two series top-10s at this track from 2012 and 2013, though. Finally, Daniel Dye has continued to impress in NASCAR this season. He is just outside the playoff positions in this series and grabbed his second top-10 of the year last time out at Texas and qualified inside the top-10 at Las Vegas, too.
