Kansas is a much needed stop on the schedule

     It’s the first weekend of May and NASCAR is rolling into Kansas Speedway fresh off of multiple races that have left more to be desired. We have been running at short tracks, superspeedways, and even a road course in the last two months and those tracks haven’t produced the greatest racing compared to older generations of cars, where in comparison we are now heading to a race track that has arguably put on the race of the year ever since running this generation of car. There’s been drama about the racing package and the negotiations with teams on a new charter deal so it’s good to get to a race track that has shown spectacular racing over the past few years. 

A view of cars flying by the start finish line 
(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)


     I often joke and call Kansas a superspeedway because of the way that it races and because of the insane crashes had over the years but this is because I believe this is the best 1.5 mile track on the circuit.  The apron at the start finish line allows drivers to fan out on restarts 3 even 4 wide like at Michigan, while having high banked turns like at Charlotte, and the ability to run multiple lines like Las Vegas.  All of these are reasons why I think the Next Gen car excels at this beast of a speedway as well and I’m sure we should expect more excitement this weekend.

       The attrition level is there as well as this track has high speed crashes and it’s one of the tracks so far for the next gen that has seen a lot of guys losing the car on their own. Dirty air is a thing like it has always been but it’s very manageable at this track and makes for a lot of interesting battles.

        The main racing story coming into this weekend has been Gibbs vs Hendrick as the two teams have won every race to this point with the exception of Talladega which was won by 23Xl racing driver Tyler Reddick, and Daniel Suarez at Atlanta. The two teams have been on a tear this year dominating majority of the races or occupying much of the top 5 and top 10 throughout the race. This isn’t just an attrition stat where guys luck up off of late race restarts, these teams are in a league of their own right now. This is also the similar song to how the Kansas Next Gen races have been.

     23Xl racing has basically owned Kansas ever since the Next Gen debut as they have won every single race except for the spring race last year which was won by Denny Hamlin. The common factor in these races? A lot of the Gibbs and 23Xl Toyotas are up front and things often turn into a battle with nun other than Kyle Larson. I don’t expect anything much different as Kyle Larson has been fighting for every inch out there against almost the whole fleet of Toyotas the past few races here, and the past few weeks in general.

Kyle Larson dueling with Kurt Busch in the first of many battles of Larson vs TRD at Kansas
(Chris Graythen/ Getty Images)

      Hopefully if the weather cooperates we will be able to see a great race this weekend. My picks will be Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson. My sleeper picks are Bubba Wallace looking for a bounce back week at a track he’s won at and had a race winning car until a tire issue in the fall. I also will take Martin Truex as he has shown speed all year and shown speed at this track, I wouldn’t be surprised if he breaks through on Sunday. I hope you enjoy the read and if you haven’t already follow, @lettheenginesroar or @letstalknascar.


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