Fantasy NASCAR practice recap: STP 400

by Brian Polking on April 21, 2012 @ 11:00:37 PDT

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It has been an uncharacteristically slow start to the season for Kyle Busch, and on paper, a trip to a Kansas track where he has just one top-10 finish and no top-five finishes doesn't seem like a light at the end of the tunnel. However, Busch got his weekend off to a strong start, topping the charts in the opening practice and giving hope to fantasy owners that he can finally get his season headed in the right direction.

Carl Edwards isn't exactly having a bad year, but as a preseason title favorite, he isn't quite living up to expectations. He can change that this weekend with a win, and after posting the second-fastest lap in the first practice at Kansas, he could be on his way to a statement victory. Edwards has five straight top-10 finishes at the track, including three straight finishes of sixth or better.

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. both cracked the top five in the session, along with Landon Cassill. Junior finished a career-best second at Kansas last June, and Kahne did the same in the fall event. After the strong showing from HMS at last weekend's 1.5-mile track in Texas, Junior and Kahne could be headed for top-10 finishes once again at Kansas. Meanwhile, Cassill could make a decent sleeper option. He finished a career-best 17th at Kansas last fall.

Busch also led the way in terms of 10-lap average speeds in the first session, and although only nine drivers ran at least 10 consecutive laps, fantasy owners should pay close attention to the top three. Busch was joined by Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, and both drivers have been stout at Kansas. Stewart and Gordon are both two-time winners at the track, and while Stewart has made the 1.5-mile tracks his personal playground of late, Gordon has five top-five finishes in his last six starts at Kansas.

In Happy Hour, Jimmie Johnson picked up where his teammates left off, posting the fastest lap. Johnson is the defending winner of the fall event at Kansas and has two wins at the track overall. He also had six straight top-10 finishes at Kansas and has finished second at both 1.5-mile tracks this season. Fantasy owners should expect another elite performance this weekend.

Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr. ranked second and third on the charts in the final session. Both drivers finished in the top six last weekend at Texas, and both have been strong all year. Martin is a former winner at Kansas and has a much better record than Truex, and as a result, he is a safer fantasy play. That being said, Truex is having such a strong start to the year that he can't be ruled out.

Point leader Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five, and Biffle is definitely the driver owners want to target out of the two. He leads all drivers with an 8.3 average finish at Kansas and has finished 12th or better in 10 straight starts at the track. Biffle also has six finishes of third or better at the track, including two wins. Coming off a win last weekend at Texas, he is basically a must play this weekend.

In terms of 10-lap average speeds, a lot of familiar names appeared atop the charts. Kahne led the way, and Martin, Edwards and Johnson also cracked the top five. Matt Kenseth also cracked the top five, and he is a driver fantasy owners should pay attention to. He has finished seventh or better in three straight starts at Kansas and has been a strong option at 1.5-mile tracks throughout his career.

One big name that owners might want to avoid is Clint Bowyer. The Kansas native didn't crack the top 10 in any of the practice sessions Friday, and he has just one top-10 finish in his last five starts at the track. Bowyer is a Kansas native, and he always seems to put a little too much pressure on himself at his home track. It has definitely had a negative impact on the normally consistent Bowyer, and owners should probably steer clear of him this weekend.

Happy Hour Speeds (sorted by Best Lap)

Rk	Car	Driver	Make	Sponsor	Best Lap	Best Time	Laps
1	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Little Joes Autos	30.865	174.955	55
2	55	Mark Martin	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	30.978	174.317	46
3	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	31.070	173.801	46
4	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	3M Novec 1230	31.158	173.310	36
5	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	FedEx Ground	31.234	172.889	40
6	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	Miller Lite	31.241	172.850	46
7	12	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	SKF	31.268	172.701	21
8	22	A.J. Allmendinger	Dodge	AAA	31.281	172.629	45
9	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Ford EcoBoost	31.340	172.304	37
10	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Rheem	31.349	172.254	43
11	15	Clint Bowyer	Toyota	5-hour Energy	31.381	172.079	28
12	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Aflac	31.398	171.985	35
13	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Office Depot/Mobil 1	31.409	171.925	43
14	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	McDonald's	31.472	171.581	54
15	10	David Reutimann	Chevrolet	Accell Construction	31.476	171.559	28
16	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	Zecol/Menards	31.496	171.450	48
17	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	JPO Absorbents	31.534	171.244	47
18	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard	31.539	171.217	30
19	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	Dewalt	31.553	171.141	31
20	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	STP	31.593	170.924	34
21	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	Reese Towpower/Highland	31.608	170.843	12
22	98	Michael McDowell	Ford	Curb Records	31.627	170.740	5
23	51	Kurt Busch	Chevrolet	Phoenix Construction Services	31.629	170.729	54
24	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	Farmers Insurance	31.630	170.724	35
25	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	Haas Automation	31.655	170.589	78
26	30	David Stremme	Toyota	Inception Motorsports	31.666	170.530	8
27	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Chevrolet	Target	31.684	170.433	34
28	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	The Home Depot	31.756	170.047	58
29	13	Casey Mears	Ford	GEICO	31.780	169.918	23
30	26	Josh Wise	Ford	Morristown Driver's Service	31.817	169.721	10
31	34	David Ragan	Ford	Barrett-Jackson	31.831	169.646	30
32	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	M&M's	31.846	169.566	77
33	19	Mike Bliss	Toyota	Humphrey Smith Racing	31.857	169.507	8
34	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	Furniture Row/Farm American	31.860	169.492	60
35	49	J.J. Yeley	Toyota	Lowe's "Chevrolet Mountain Green"	31.863	169.476	4
36	83	Landon Cassill	Toyota	BK Strawberry Banana Smoothie/Dr Pepper	31.944	169.046	52
37	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	31.950	169.014	54
38	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	AMFMEnergy.com/Pellet & Wood Stoves	31.972	168.898	10
39	93	Travis Kvapil	Toyota	BK Tropical Mango Smoothie/Dr Pepper	32.032	168.581	44
40	23	Scott Riggs	Chevrolet	North Texas Pipe	32.050	168.487	14
41	74	Tony Raines	Chevrolet	Turn One Racing	32.082	168.319	9
42	79	Tim Andrews	Ford	BBI Waste Industries/Bestway Disposal	32.087	168.292	16
43	32	Reed Sorenson	Ford	FAS Lane Racing	32.104	168.203	21
44	38	David Gilliland	Ford	Front Row Motorsports	32.179	167.811	34
45	33	Jeff Green	Chevrolet	Drive to End Hunger	32.260	167.390	11
46	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	Tommy Baldwin Racing	32.369	166.826	34

10-Lap Average Speeds (must run 10 consecutive laps)

Rk	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	5	Kasey Kahne	1	10	168.565
2	55	Mark Martin	32	41	168.272
3	99	Carl Edwards	1	10	168.240
4	17	Matt Kenseth	1	10	168.165
5	48	Jimmie Johnson	39	48	167.916
6	56	Martin Truex Jr.	21	30	167.644
7	29	Kevin Harvick	32	41	167.643
8	18	Kyle Busch	58	67	167.585
9	27	Paul Menard	1	10	167.573
10	20	Joey Logano	37	46	167.377
11	24	Jeff Gordon	1	10	167.362
12	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	9	18	167.260
13	39	Ryan Newman	68	77	167.182
14	2	Brad Keselowski	5	14	167.121
15	22	A.J. Allmendinger	29	38	167.042
16	31	Jeff Burton	39	48	166.872
17	1	Jamie McMurray	29	38	166.819
18	78	Regan Smith	26	35	166.591
19	83	Landon Cassill	42	51	166.477
20	15	Clint Bowyer	15	24	166.290
21	38	David Gilliland	1	10	166.011
22	43	Aric Almirola	17	26	165.960
23	51	Kurt Busch	45	54	165.814
24	93	Travis Kvapil	30	39	165.294

First Practice Speeds (sorted by Best Lap)

Rk	Car	Driver	Make	Sponsor	Best Lap	Best Time	Laps
1	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	M&M's	173.728	31.083	29
2	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Aflac	172.900	31.232	38
3	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	Farmers Insurance	172.546	31.296	26
4	83	Landon Cassill	Toyota	BK Strawberry Banana Smoothie/Dr Pepper	172.469	31.310	8
5	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard	172.276	31.345	42
6	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	Haas Automation	172.271	31.346	29
7	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Office Depot/Mobil 1	172.249	31.350	41
8	22	A.J. Allmendinger	Dodge	AAA	172.062	31.384	39
9	93	Travis Kvapil	Toyota	BK Tropical Mango Smoothie/Dr Pepper	171.646	31.460	8
10	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	Drive to End Hunger	171.439	31.498	14
11	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	Zecol/Menards	171.309	31.522	36
12	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	McDonald's	171.135	31.554	40
13	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Ford EcoBoost	171.016	31.576	34
14	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Chevrolet	Target	170.978	31.583	35
15	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Rheem	170.724	31.630	35
16	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	Dewalt	170.605	31.652	29
17	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	AMFMEnergy.com/Pellet & Wood Stoves	170.406	31.689	7
18	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	Furniture Row/Farm American	170.401	31.690	33
19	55	Mark Martin	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	170.299	31.709	25
20	38	David Gilliland	Ford	Front Row Motorsports	170.223	31.723	21
21	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	Miller Lite	170.068	31.752	35
22	23	Scott Riggs	Chevrolet	North Texas Pipe	169.982	31.768	8
23	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	Tommy Baldwin Racing	169.918	31.780	7
24	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	STP	169.875	31.788	28
25	15	Clint Bowyer	Toyota	5-hour Energy	169.843	31.794	35
26	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	169.763	31.809	44
27	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	169.715	31.818	43
28	51	Kurt Busch	Chevrolet	Phoenix Construction Services	169.667	31.827	16
29	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's "Chevrolet Mountain Green"	169.625	31.835	33
30	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	3M Novec 1230	169.359	31.885	37
31	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	Reese Towpower/Highland	169.221	31.911	24
32	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	FedEx Ground	169.194	31.916	39
33	30	David Stremme	Toyota	Inception Motorsports	169.141	31.926	5
34	13	Casey Mears	Ford	GEICO	168.977	31.957	34
35	26	Josh Wise	Ford	Morristown Driver's Service	168.951	31.962	8
36	19	Mike Bliss	Toyota	Humphrey Smith Racing	168.882	31.975	7
37	49	J.J. Yeley	Toyota	JPO Absorbents	168.845	31.982	7
38	37	Tony Raines	Chevrolet	Turn One Racing
39	12	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	SKF	168.745	32.001	7
40	10	David Reutimann	Chevrolet	Accell Construction	168.471	32.053	14
41	34	David Ragan	Ford	Barrett-Jackson	167.858	32.170	34
42	79	Tim Andrews	Ford	BBI Waste Industries/Bestway Disposal	167.749	32.191	20
43	32	Reed Sorenson	Ford	FAS Lane Racing	167.603	32.219	11
44	33	Jeff Green	Chevrolet	Little Joes Autos	167.593	32.221	33
45	98	Michael McDowell	Ford	Curb Records	167.348	32.268	7
46	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	The Home Depot	-	-	-

10-Lap Average Speeds (must run 10 consecutive laps)

Rk	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	18	Kyle Busch	1	10	169.301
2	14	Tony Stewart	1	10	169.156
3	24	Jeff Gordon	5	14	167.381
4	1	Jamie McMurray	18	27	166.579
5	22	A.J. Allmendinger	26	35	166.330
6	15	Clint Bowyer	16	25	166.296
7	98	Michael McDowell	15	24	165.146
8	2	Brad Keselowski	22	31	164.943
9	31	Jeff Burton	19	28	164.134

About Brian Polking

Racing has been part of Brian's life ever since he can remember, and he spent his childhood at dirt tracks throughout Ohio and Kentucky watching his father race. NASCAR naturally became his favorite sport, and he has been following the Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series for most of his life. Brian majored in journalism and economics at Ohio State University and becoming a sports writer has always been his dream. Although he has covered everything from minor league baseball to the NCAA tournament, his passion has always been NASCAR. Brian has served as a NASCAR writer for a variety of sites, eventually becoming head editor of the NASCAR section for Fanball.com. His knowledge of NASCAR comes from his life-long love of racing, and he tries to add a personal touch to every article he writes. Brian is always up for talking NASCAR with anyone that wants to. Brian joined KFFL's team in 2011.

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