On Sunday, NASCAR will be racing at Kansas for the Advent Health 400! Kansas is a relatively smooth but aging high-speed 1.5-mile track that has progressive banking. It offers drivers multiple grooves, and they can race from the top of the track to the bottom.
In addition to studying Kansas track history and practice, I would also recommend looking back to the other races held at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks. Here’s a look at High-Speed 1.5-Mile Track Total Speed Rankings since 2023 and 2024 High-Speed 1.5-mile Track Total Speed Rankings.
On Saturday, practice was held for Kansas. Teams only had 20 minutes, and keep in mind teams have different agenda’s (some want to focus on long runs, some just want to feel out their car, some might focus on qualifying so they can start near the front etc.). Make sure you check out our Kansas Practice Notes and Kansas 10,15,20,25 and 30 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet.
Here’s Kansas Qualifying Results/Starting Lineup.
Check out our Kansas Quick Rankings if you’re in a rush!
Kansas Full Field Rankings
1) Denny Hamlin
Start 14th/ Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Kansas Outlook – Denny Hamlin is a super-elite performer at Kansas who’ll be tough to beat. Hamlin’s the defending spring winner and if a late caution didn’t come out last fall where he had a 2.2 second lead, Hamlin would’ve had a season sweep. Since 2023 at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks, Hamlin has the 2nd best Track Type Total Speed Ranking with his average finish minus Charlotte 2023 and Texas 2024 being 6.2. This year at high-speed 1.5’s, Hamlin has the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking, having finished 8th at Las Vegas and being the likely winner at Texas before late chaos broke out (finished 30th). In practice, Hamlin was a stopwatch standout and had the best 25-lap average.
Kansas Track Record Breakdown – At Kansas, Denny Hamlin is a three-time winner and in the Next Gen, Hamlin has 1-win, the best average finish (2.3), the best Driver Rating and the best Next Gen Speed Ranking. Last fall, Hamlin was the class of the field, but a late caution cost him certain victory. In the race, Hamlin started 14th, finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, led 63 laps and had a 2.22 second lead just before the late caution came out with about 8 to go. That late caution had him restarting in 6th, and only advancing up to 2nd at the end. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin ranked #1 for Total Speed Rankings, Green Flag Speed and Speed Late In A Run. Last spring, Hamlin raced his way to victory lane after sending Larson into the wall on the last lap. In the race, Hamlin earned the best driver rating, had a race best 3.6 average running position and led 34 laps. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin ranked #1 across the board in terms of Total Speed Rankings, Green Flag Speed and Speed Late In A Run. In 2022, Hamlin had a stellar year and came home with results of 2nd (fall) and 4th (spring).
DraftKings $11,300/ FanDuel $13,500
Further Recommended Reading – Kansas Finish Projections, DraftKings Kansas Projections, FanDuel Kansas Projections
2) Kyle Larson
Start 4th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – High
Kansas Outlook – Kyle Larson is a super-elite performer at Kansas and on Sunday, the road to victory lane likely goes thru him. Larson all but won last spring, he was stellar last fall and in 2024, Larson could easily be 2 for 2 at reaching victory lane between the two high-speed 1.5’s visited. At Las Vegas which I consider to be the sister track, Larson smoked the field and put on a display of domination en route to victory lane. Since 2023 at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks, Larson has the best Total Speed Ranking and minus misleading results at Charlotte 2023 and Texas (2023 and 2024), Larson has 2-wins and a 2.0 average finish! In practice, Larson had the best 15-lap average.
Kansas Track Record Breakdown – At Kansas,…
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