Super Start Batteries 400 preview and picks

NASCAR fans will be treated to another mid-week night race this Thursday, July 23 as the Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway for the Super Start Batteries 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

The Sunflower State’s 1.5-mile oval has seen five different winners over NASCAR’s last six visits there, with Kevin Harvick owning one of those victories while tallying the most laps led in that span (306). Not surprisingly, the No. 4 Ford driver has once again been installed as the race favorite at +425. But a once-formful season has been turned upside-down over the last two races, as Cole Custer and Austin Dillon have come from out of nowhere to win at Kentucky and Texas, respectively.

Let’s go hunting for a winning longshot of our own for Thursday’s Super Start Batteries 400.

Chase Elliott (+600)

Chase Elliott is one of three drivers listed at +600, the others being Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch. But he is the only driver of the trio who has a win on a 1.5-mile speedway this season (Charlotte).

Kansas has been kind to Elliott of late, as he won there in October of 2018 and finished in the top five in both races at the Kansas City speedway in 2019. He’s led 93 laps over his last three visits to this oval.

Martin Truex Jr. (+700)

Martin Truex Jr. has been very strong at Kansas Speedway since 2017 and looks like a solid bet this Thursday.

Truex owns two wins and an average finishing position of 5.67 over the last six Cup Series events at Kansas Speedway. He is third among active drivers in laps led on this oval, trailing only Matt Kenseth (774) and Harvick (855). Truex is also the leading active NASCAR driver in wins on 1.5-mile tracks (10) since 2017, with the best average finish of any Cup Series driver (7.1).

Tyler Reddick (+2500)

Tyler Reddick has given a good account of himself in his rookie season, particularly at 1.5-mile tracks, so he looks like a live longshot at Kansas.

Reddick is fourth among active drivers at intermediate tracks in average finishing position at 10.1, albeit from a small sample size of 10 races. That includes a ninth-place finish on this oval from last season, when he drove the No. 31 car.

Reddick failed to win the Xfinity Series race at this oval in three chances, but he finished second twice. 

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