The first trip to the midwest happens this weekend as the Cup series heads to Kansas for the first time this year. The intermediate track is now the fourth 1.5-mile track of the season and this is perhaps the best 1.5-mile track on the schedule in general.

The shallow, wide, slightly worn, racing surface allows for multiple grooves of racing, passing, and a chance of not just the drivers up front to dominate the race in terms of DFS scoring. As you’ll see below, there are a variety of ways to build lineups for these races and especially this week with how the starting lineup is configured. Last year here, nobody led more than 85 laps in a race with the laps led spread out between several drivers and keep in mind there was no practice and they used the qualifying formula they are now as well. Prior to that, it wasn’t uncommon to see one driver lead more than 100 laps in six of the eight races prior. Several of those laps led leaders started in the top-five spots, though in the October 2019 race, the laps led leader started 23rd after 15 or so cars had qualifying times disallowed and they were moved to the back of the pack to start. This is a fair comparison to this week as several big name drivers are starting in the back half of the field with Talladega wreaking havoc last week.

For more strategy tidbits, check out the Track Breakdown, Podcast, and even my radio hit on the Alarm After Hours show from Tuesday of this week.

Average Points Scored By Starting Spot

The charts below show the average points scored by starting spot in the last five races here regardless of the drivers in those starting spots. It’s meant to be a strategic tool and not a hard-and-fast rule to set lineups by.

Stacks

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