Jimmie Johnson finally returned to Victory Lane in last week’s win in Charlotte. JJ is no stranger to winning in Kansas, either, and he’ll look to add to his record number of victories this weekend. Let’s take a look at all the top drivers to watch out for in the 2016 Hollywood Casino 400.
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Harvick’s underwhelming Chase continued as he suffered an engine problem last week in Charlotte and finished way down in 38th. Harvick has now finished 37th or worse in back-to-back races, the first time that’s happened since early in the 2014 season. The No. 88 has some ground to make up in order to make his way past the Round of 12.
Oddsmakers have installed Harvick as one of the two co-favorites in Kansas, where he has just one win in 21 career races at the track. However, he has been well in contention in recent seasons, and has grabbed three top-5 finishes in his last five starts. Harvick also has four wins on intermediate tracks since February 2014, and the highest driver rating among active drivers on said tracks.
Truex finally cooled off from his recent hot streak as he could only finish 13th last week in Charlotte. That was his lowest finish in his last six races. The No. 78 is always dangerous on 1.5-mile tracks, though, and has won the last three races on tracks of that size.
Truex has yet to record a win in Kansas in 16 starts, but he’s getting close. He really should’ve won the Go Bowling 400, which was held in Kansas Speedway last May. He started in pole and had the most laps led, but could only finish down in 14th.
Johnson and Busch both have a legitimate shot of overtaking the two co-favorites and winning this race. The two are intimately familiar with Victory Lane in Kansas. Johnson, who snapped his recent winless run last weekend in Charlotte, has three wins at the track, tied for the most all-time. Meanwhile, Busch won in Kansas last May, and has finished in the top 5 in three of his last four races at the track.
Logano failed to successfully defend his Bank of America title last week as he crashed out and finished way down in 36th in Charlotte. He’s got another chance to defend another one of his titles this weekend in Kansas, though. Logano has simply dominated the Hollywood Casino 400, winning the race in each of the past two Chases.
He’ll be eager to make up all the ground he lost in the Chase standings, and at +1,500, offers some tremendous value to get the win.
Take a good hard look at Kasey Kahne as a possible long shot winner in Kansas. The 36-year-old still has yet to win in Kansas, but he’s consistently done pretty well at the track. His average finish in 18 career races is 13.56, the fourth-highest in his career.
Kahne has also upped his game over the past few months. He’s finished in the top 10 five times in his last seven races, including a top-3 finish in Charlotte, which is his second-best track career-wise.
Writer’s Prediction
Busch (+550) breaks through with his first Chase win in Kansas.
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