AdventHealth 400 Preview: Racing in the Heartland

In the wake of the 400-mile battle at Texas this past week, NASCAR stays in the heartland and goes intermediate oval racing again. We visit Kansas Speedway for the spring event, which debuted in April of 2012. The AdventHealth 400 will take our competitors back to an intermediate for the second week in a row. The 1.5-mile oval of Kansas Speedway won't likely give us a sequel of what played out at Texas, but the teams that performed well at the Fort Worth oval in the Wurth 400 should be in for another strong race weekend. The teams that dominated at Texas Motor Speedway are sure to be licking their chops for this visit to America's heartland. 

While Kansas only offers 15-degree corner banking compared to 20 and 24-degree corner banking at Texas, the similarities are enough to warrant reconsideration of almost the same driver group that we had at the Fort Worth speedway. Both tracks are the "D" shaped configuration (Texas a quad oval, Kansas a true tri oval) so the handling characteristics will be much the same. Even the racing surfaces of the two tracks are similar. Both are older and worn which create tire wear and some racing/pit strategy. One thing is for certain, the remarkable parity we've seen so far this season should continue at Kansas Speedway. We've had six different race winners through the first 10 events and we've by no means witnessed the end of first-time race winners in 2024. Kansas could offer a few more surprises as well.

Since we're making our first stop of the season at Kansas Speedway, we need to take a brief look back at history at this intermediate oval. These numbers will be even more important than usual, since it's been since last September since we last competed at this oval. As you'll see in the table below, some of the hottest drivers in the series right now are making a very timely start at Kansas this weekend. Here are the loop stats for the last 34 races at Kansas Speedway.

Our most recent Kansas winner, Ross Chastain, will be challenged to defend his turf this Sunday afternoon at the Kansas Speedway oval. The Trackhouse Racing veteran came on strong late and was an upset victor in the Hollywood Casino 400 last September to claim his first-career victory at the oval. Chastain used good pit strategy, clever driving and a strong car to defeat William Byron, Martin Truex Jr. and some other contenders in the closing laps to take the win. Byron and Denny Hamlin weren't much of a factor in last weekend's Texas race, so it will be interesting to see if they can rebound to contention this Sunday afternoon at Kansas Speedway. 

The Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports camps will pose the biggest threat to Chastain's Kansas crown this weekend. Kyle Larson, Byron, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell have all raced well on the intermediate ovals we've competed on to this point and all are performing well entering Kansas weekend. Larson and Hamlin have past Kansas victories to their credit and shouldn't be underestimated in the AdventHealth 400. Aside from these two super-teams, some Ford drivers should pop onto our fantasy racing radar screens at Kansas. Joey Logano is a three-time Kansas winner. Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher have both been competitive for the Ford camp of late and will be in the mix as well at Kansas. These will certainly be names to watch closely at Kansas Speedway. We'll highlight the fantasy racing drivers you need this Sunday afternoon to dominate this 400-mile battle at the Kansas oval.

The Contenders – Drivers in the hunt for the win

Kyle Larson – Larson is looking to build on the momentum of fourth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway this past Sunday and Kansas Speedway is a good place to stay on a roll. The driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet has led over 700 laps at Kansas Speedway, and he cracks the Top 5 here at a strong 40-percent rate. Larson has improved those numbers in recent visits as he's collected two victories and two runner-up finishes at Kansas Speedway with most of that success coming since the 2021 season. This event one year ago saw the Hendrick Motorsports star lead 64 laps and collect his second-career Kansas win. The Kansas oval gives him an excellent opportunity to get back into the win column this season.

Denny Hamlin – Coming off the disappointing engine failure at Texas, Hamlin is looking to rebound in a big way coming to Kansas Speedway this weekend. The Joe Gibbs Racing star is a four-time Kansas Speedway winner and he's led close to 520 laps for his career at this facility. Hamlin rides a seven-race Kansas Top-10 streak into this weekend, which includes one win and two runner-up finishes during that span at the Kansas oval. The No. 11 Toyota team have been very consistent on the intermediate ovals dating back to the end of last season. The momentum that Hamlin and his JGR team bring into the AdventHealth 400 is reckonable and it seems the rich will only continue to get richer after this 400-mile battle in the heartland.  

Christopher Bell – Bell is looking to get back into the win column on these 1.5-mile ovals. He won earlier this season at Atalanta and is coming off a steady ninth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway this past weekend. The Joe Gibbs Racing star has won the last three straight and four of the last six pole positions at Kansas Speedway. That's a pretty remarkable statistic and shows that the No. 20 Toyota team has this oval zeroed-in on a qualifying side. Although Bell has never won at Kansas Speedway, he rides a three-race Top-10 streak at the track into this weekend's action. He also boasts an incredible 70-percent Top-10 rate and 13.4 average finish at the facility. Bell's last Kansas start yielded 122 laps led and a strong seventh-place finish in last season's playoffs.

William Byron – Although Byron sat on the outside pole last weekend at Texas and led 22 laps, he would finish a somewhat disappointing 13th-place. The Hendrick Motorsports star will look to rebound in the AdventHealth 400. Byron has Top 10's in three of his last five starts at Kansas Speedway, but he's never won in a Cup car at the track. That could change when the checkered flag waves at Kansas Speedway Sunday afternoon. Byron led 24 laps and finished an impressive runner-up at Kansas Speedway last September in the Hollywood Casino 400. The notes from that race will come in very handy for the No. 24 Chevrolet team this weekend.  

Solid Plays – Near locks for a Top 10 with an outside shot to win

Ryan Blaney – With his third-place finish at Texas on Sunday, Blaney seems to have shaken off the disappointments of his recent outings and now is becoming a reliable fantasy asset again. The Kansas intermediate oval has held a good bit of success over the years for the No. 12 Ford team. With eight Top-10 finishes in 20 starts Blaney checks in at a reasonable 40-percent Top-10 rate and 15.4 average finish. His last start at the speedway last September netted a strong fourth-place finish in the Hollywood Casino 400. Given the current momentum of this driver and team and Blaney's sound history at Kansas Speedway, he should be a good bet for a Top 10 in the AdventHealth 400.

Ross Chastain – The Trackhouse Racing veteran has had good speed in these intermediate oval races in 2025. Chastain has collected three Top 10's in the four intermediate oval events to-date. He was also fast at Texas this past Sunday, driving from 31st-place on the starting grid to a very impressive runner-up finish in Fort Worth. Chastain has 12-career starts at this oval, but nothing special there until he joined Trackhouse Racing three seasons ago. The veteran driver has four Top-10 finishes in his last six starts at Kansas Speedway, including a big win in last September's Hollywood Casino 400. Chastain has been improving at this track dramatically the last few seasons. 

Joey Logano – Logano shook off some recent subpar performance on the cookie cutter tracks and rallied to a big win at Texas Motor Speedway this past weekend. It perhaps signals that Penske Racing is ready to get back to the business of Top 5's and wins on these mid-sized tracks. The Penske Racing star is second only to Denny Hamlin for active wins at Kansas Speedway with three. It's been a very good oval for Logano with a 29-percent Top-5 rate and over 500 laps led for his career. The driver of the No. 22 Ford is coming off the momentum of a big win at Fort Worth this past weekend, and we expect Logano to carry that into Sunday's AdventHealth 400.   

Alex Bowman – Bowman had a good streak going on the intermediate ovals this season until his tough-luck crash at Texas this past weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports veteran was likely pointed towards another Top 10 but he got caught up in someone else's mistake. Bowman owns 10 Top-10 finishes in 18-career starts at the Kansas oval for a very good 56-percent Top-10 rate. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet rides a five-race Kansas Top-10 streak into this weekend's action, which includes his seventh- and sixth-place finishes last year alone. This driver and team seem very likely poised to rebound this Sunday at Kansas Speedway.

Sleepers – Drivers with good history at Kansas & solid upside

Chase Elliott – Elliott has been a bit inconsistent at times this season but he's maintained a great standing in the overall points and he's grabbed six Top 10's thus far in 2025. If any intermediate oval can get the No. 9 Chevrolet team going its Kansas. He's a one-time winner at Kansas Speedway and two-time runner-up finisher, with a very strong 67-percent Top-10 rate. The Hendrick Motorsports star rides a four-race Kansas Top-10 streak into this Sunday's action. Elliott has a strong 10.1 career average finish at this oval spread across 18 starts. It makes him a no-brainer fantasy racing play for this 400-mile Kansas battle. 

Bubba Wallace – Wallace has been impressive at Kansas Speedway over the past few seasons. He has one win, two Top-5 and three Top-10 finishes in his last six starts at this 1.5-mile track. It's been a rocky stretch for the 23XI Racing driver of late, but the good news is that Wallace has been consistent on the 1.5-mile tracks dating back to the end of last season. He has two Top-10 finishes in his last four intermediate oval starts, including an impressive third-place at Homestead just a few weeks ago. After his disappointing crash at Texas this past Sunday, this driver and team should be primed for a bounce back effort in the AdventHealth 400.     

Daniel Suarez – With his 10th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway this past weekend, Suarez now has two Top-10 finishes in his four intermediate oval starts of this season. He's really getting his act together on the mid-sized tracks. Suarez doesn't have impressive Kansas Speedway stats (13-percent career Top-10 rate) but his last Top 10 at the facility came in 2022 and he finished a reasonable 13th-place here last September. Given how the driver of the No. 99 Chevrolet performed this past week at Fort Worth and how he's trending at Kansas, we believe this driver and team are a hot fantasy pick for Sunday's AdventHealth 400.   

Erik Jones – Jones snapped a 15-race Top-10 drought with his fantastic fifth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway this past Sunday. It was a remarkable performance for the Legacy Motor Club driver. Jones will look to repeat that success at Kansas Speedway this weekend. It's a track where he enjoyed a lot of success earlier in his Cup Series career and some sporadic success in more recent times. His six Top 10's at the oval are a modest 38-percent career Top-10 rate but do note that Jones scored an impressive third-place finish at Kansas Speedway in the fall of 2023. We believe the data, trends and history point towards Jones staying hot this Sunday at Kansas.     

AJ Allmendinger – The veteran Kaulig Racing driver had been on quite the little streak on mid-sized ovals this season until his misfortune of being the wrong place at the wrong time caught him last Sunday at Texas. Allmendinger would get caught up in a late-race crash in that one but was likely pointed towards another good intermediate oval finish. He had eighth- and seventh-place finishes in the two prior cookie cutter oval events at Las Vegas and Homestead. The No. 16 Chevrolet team has a good handle on these tracks right now. Allmendinger doesn't have a stellar career record at Kansas Speedway (20-percent Top-10 rate) but don't let that fool you. He's a deployable fantasy asset for the AdventHealth 400.    

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Stenhouse has always been a reasonably good performer on the intermediate ovals. It seems though that he and his team have found something this season. Stenhouse has two Top 10's in the four prior 1.5-mile oval starts and is coming off a strong sixth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway this past Sunday. We'll look to ride that momentum from the fantasy side of things. The veteran driver is not a career-long performer at Kansas Speedway, so don't get too caught up in those historical statistics. However, Stenhouse does have good efforts of eighth-, 12th- and 16th-place in three of his last six starts at the heartland oval. 

Slow Down - Drivers to avoid this week

Kyle Busch – The Richard Childress Racing star is coming off a subpar 20th-place finish at Texas so optimism is not in abundance coming to Kansas Speedway this weekend. He has just one Top-10 finish this season on the 1.5-mile tracks and a 20.3 average finish across the four events. Busch is a two-time winner at this facility, and the last was this event four years ago. With over 450 laps led at Kansas Speedway and a steady 47-percent Top-10 rate, Busch has been a good performer at this intermediate oval. However, the No. 8 Chevrolet team finished a disappointing 19th-place at Kansas last September and that's not a good look going into this 400-mile Kansas battle.    

Michael McDowell – McDowell has had good speed, qualified well, led laps and looked impressive on the intermediate ovals this season. However, the veteran driver has not been able to deliver the finishes he deserves. Last week at Texas was a great example. McDowell qualified fifth on the grid, led 19 laps but was rolled up in a late-race crash and did not finish. When we combine that with McDowell's career record at Kansas Speedway, it's not very encouraging. The Front Row Motorsports driver's 27 starts at this track have yielded just one Top-10 finish and an elevated average finish of 26.9, which is in line with his last finish at Kansas of 29th-place in his start here last September.

Brad Keselowski – The owner/driver of the RFK No. 6 Ford is mired in a slump early this season and the intermediate ovals have been part of the problem. Keselowski has no Top-10 finishes and a 26.0 average finish in the four mid-sized ovals raced to-date. The veteran driver is a two-time winner at Kansas Speedway and his 14 Top 10's checks in at a strong 47-percent rate. However, Keselowski has only cracked the Top 10 once in his last seven Kansas Speedway starts (16.7 average finish across the span). This driver and team's current slump is concerning, and it's been a while since he turned in a quality start at the Kansas oval.       

Austin Cindric – Cindric has had remarkable speed on the cookie cutter tracks this season. His 4.0 average start and 154 laps led are pretty impressive. However, the finishes have been hard to come by as his 19.5 average finish on these size tracks attests. The search for answers this weekend could be fruitless once again for Cindric and his Penske Racing team. Cindric has seven-career starts at Kansas Speedway and no Top 10's to this point. The 25.4 average finish at Kansas Speedway during this time tells the entire story. He's failed to crack the Top 30 at Kansas in just his last four starts alone. Cindric's current struggles are very concerning, and we consider him a high-risk fantasy selection for the AdventHealth 400.