Could Ryan Blaney Contend For A Top-10 At Kansas?
2 months agoRyan Blaney qualified seventh for this Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, which will be the best starting position for the defending Cup champion since 2022. In 19 races in Kansas, Blaney has seven top-10 finishes, with his last one being scored during the September 2022 event at the site. Blaney also finished 12th or better in four of the five races with the Next-Gen car since 2022 at Kansas but only scored one top-10 finish in that span. In 29 races finished this season, Blaney has two wins and 13 top-10 finishes, including two of the last three Cup events. At 1.5-mile Intermediate tracks, Blaney has only one top-10 finish at the track type this season (third at Las Vegas), a top-15 finish (Kansas), and two finishes worse than 30th at the track type. In practice, Blaney ranked 20th in overall lap averages but displayed top-10 speeds in the 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 consecutive lap average categories. Blaney's high starting position carries risk due to low upside and is a tournament play at best, but his practice speeds do show that he can likely maintain a top-10 finish at Kansas.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com