NASCAR CHASE Fantasy Picks for Kansas 10/16/16

The NASCAR Chase continues today in Kansas as the descendants of moonshiners set their sights on making the next Chase grid featuring the Top 8 drivers. Jimmie Johnson, driving the #48, won last week's race at Charlotte, thereby cementing his position in the 8 seat bracket that starts at Martinsville Raceway in a few weeks.

Heading into this race, the #78 Furniture Row racing team of Martin Truex Jr. appears primed to make this their season, which is saying quite a lot considering they are not owned by one of the megalithic monsters currently circling the garage area with 3 and 4 car teams. While they intend to add a second car next year, Martin Truex Jr. looks like the team to beat coming down the stretch.

The #4 car driven by Kevin Harvick can never be discounted, especially this season. Harvick has kept the #4 Jimmy Johns team positioned at or near the top of the leader board for most of the season. Although Harvick will be starting outside the Top 10 in qualifying order, he has been quick at practice all weekend and his pit crew is one of the best at making in race adjustments to get the car comfortable for Kevin.

Kyle Busch and the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing team have also hovered at or near the top of the leader board all season. Kyle has racked up 4 wins so far this season. This team has been quick all weekend as well, and Kyle qualified 2nd for this race. A brief look at Kyle's stats this year reveal just how passionate he is about winning another Sprint Cup Championship...to go with his 4 wins, Kyle has also racked up 5 DNF's (Did Not Finish). This makes Kyle a gamble to have in your lineup, but with the Championship on the line, look for the #18 to focus on getting to the front and staying there, rather than wrecking out along the way.

These are the Top 3 drivers to have in your fantasy lineup this weekend; they also happen to be the Top 3 on the leader board heading into this race. To round out my DraftKings lineups for this race I selected Trevor Bayne, Landon Cassill, and Michael McDowell, as these were the drivers with the best average fantasy points finish for the salary cap money remaining after the purchase of the initial 3 drivers.

Matt Kenseth has the pole for this race, and the #20 car is a worthy addition to anyone submitting a fantasy lineup. Joey Logano deserves consideration as he has won the last 2 races at this location and has qualified 6th for this afternoon's race.