Editor’s Note: Keep tabs on this page for lineup advice following qualifying, including changes you should consider.
The next three weekends could prove pivotal in the 2026 Chase presented by Mobil 1, with the NASCAR Cup Series heading to a trio of intermediate tracks, where Toyota has excelled. Team Penske has led Ford’s charge, but the Blue Oval still trails its Chevrolet and Toyota counterparts at 1.5-mile venues. First up is a trip to America’s heartland, Kansas Speedway, where Chevrolet has won four of the last five visits even as Toyota has dominated the laps-led column at 1.5-mile venues this season.
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Returning to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can come play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced in 2024 where strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2026 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.
RELATED: NASCAR Fantasy Live hub | Play 36 for 36
MUST START
Driver: Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Selections remaining: 3
Comment: Overtime restarts have cost Hamlin the last two races at Kansas, where he has had far and away the best car. Hamlin has paced the field for 290 of 547 laps (53%) across those two starts. His four victories at the 1.5-mile venue are the most all time and he has eight top-five finishes in the last 10 attempts.
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Driver: Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 3
Comment: For the first time all season, a non-Toyota driver leads the championship standings. The defending series champion is among the best ever at Kansas, leading 839 laps at the track since pairing with Hendrick in 2021 and winning three times (11 starts). Larson is heating up at the right time and is the only driver with three straight top fives to start this year’s Chase. Just three have started with four top fives: Martin Truex Jr. (2017), Joey Logano (2014) and Juan Pablo Montoya (2009).
Driver: Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: If Briscoe is to mount a comeback from 87 points behind Larson, it likely starts with a strong showing at Kansas. He has finished inside the top five in all three of his starts here with JGR and won the most recent race at a 1.5-mile venue, taking the checkered flag nearly three months ago at Chicagoland Speedway.
Kyle Larson wins at Kansas in 2025.
DRIVERS TO AVOID
Driver: Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: Eleven races ago, Logano was 20th in the championship standings, with little hope of making a championship push. Three wins later, he’s third in points, a mere 16 markers behind Larson. Minimizing the damage over the next three weeks is crucial for the three-time champion, who hasn’t scored a single stage point at a 1.5-mile track in 2026.
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Driver: Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: With 19 top-15 finishes in 2026, Cindric ranks fifth in the series. Kansas has been his kryptonite, however, with Cindric finishing 30th or worse in five of the last seven races here.
Joey Logano wins at Bristol.
SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK
Driver: Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Wallace is quietly having a solid Chase, earning three straight top 15s for the first time since March. And despite his Kansas triumph in 2022, he flies under the radar here, nearly winning again last fall before his team owner, Hamlin, nudged him on the white flag.
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Driver: William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Even amid a rough 2026 campaign, Byron has remained consistent at 1.5-mile venues. He has top 10s in all five this season, leading a season-high 94 laps at Chicagoland and winning both stages. His 9.3 average finish at 1.5-mile tracks in the Next Gen car ranks as the best in the field.
Bubba Wallace at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
FEATURED MATCHUPS
Denny Hamlin vs. Chase Elliott
Pick: Hamlin
Comment: Elliott slipped through Toyota’s late-race bumper cars to win at Kansas last season. His 9.8 average finish is the best among drivers with at least six starts, but it feels like a no-brainer week to use Hamlin, who has seven straight finishes of fourth or better at 1.5-mile tracks.
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Kyle Larson vs. Tyler Reddick
Pick: Larson
Comment: Reddick has found Victory Lane in two of the last six Kansas races, passing Larson on the final lap in April to score the win. These two teams are heading in completely different directions, however, so give Larson the advantage.
Joey Logano vs. Christopher Bell
Pick: Bell
Comment: Kansas will be a good barometer for what the next three weekends hold. Logano has finished 14th or worse in four of the last five trips to the “Sunflower State,” while Bell is a borderline must-start this weekend. He has ranked eighth or better in eight of the last 10 races here.
Ryan Blaney vs. Carson Hocevar
Pick: Blaney
Comment: While Hocevar got a couple of punches in at Bristol, Blaney should counter at Kansas. Hocevar has shown plenty of speed at 1.5-mile tracks, leading laps in nine of the last 11 races, but he’s finished 22nd or worse in 10 of the last 12. Blaney, meanwhile, has led Ford at these tracks in 2026, posting three straight top-10 finishes.
MY LINEUP
Starting five: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace.
Garage: William Byron.
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36 FOR 36
Pick: Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
Comment: When Wallace won at Kansas in 2022, it came as a surprise. However, 23XI has been the top organization at the 1.5-mile track in recent years, winning four of the nine Next Gen races. Wallace has four top fives in his last eight Kansas starts and has top 10s in four of the five races this year at 1.5-mile venues.
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