NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs · DFS Picks

Hollywood Casino 400 DFS Picks: Kansas DraftKings and FanDuel

A fast 1.5-mile intermediate where the chalk is spread thin. Here is how to attack Kansas on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Track: Kansas Speedway (1.5 mi)Race: 267 laps, 400 milesGreen: Sun, Sep 27, 3:00 PM ET, USAPole: Joey Logano

The Chase reaches its fourth race at Kansas Speedway, a fast 1.5-mile intermediate that produces some of the best racing on the circuit. Multiple grooves, high speeds, and long green-flag runs make it a track where both laps led and place-differential pay off, and where the fastest cars can come from anywhere in the field. This week the ownership is spread across a handful of plays rather than piled onto one, which changes how you attack it.

The structure: the dominators start up front, a deep place-differential cluster starts at the back, and the chalk is split three ways. That balance is the opportunity: with no single must-play, leveraging the underowned front-runners against the popular deep climbers is how you separate.

The dominators

Over 267 laps on a mile-and-a-half, laps led and fastest laps carry real weight, and three cars project to control the front.

TOP DOMINATOR

Kyle LarsonDK $11,000 · FD $14,000 · P2

33.2 laps led proj44.7 proj39% owned

The top play on the board. Larson starts second with a field-second 33.2 projected laps led and the highest projection on the slate, and he is a multi-time Kansas winner with the speed to control an intermediate. At 39 percent he is chalky, but the laps-led ceiling anchors the whole board.

CHEAP LAPS

Joey LoganoDK $8,700 · FD $9,000 · P1

35 laps led proj$8,70036% owned

The pole-sitter with the field-high 35 projected laps led, priced down at $8,700 for a dominator. The catch is a steep negative place-differential from the front and a modest overall projection, so he is a pure laps-led play. Boom-or-bust, but the salary savings unlock the rest of the lineup.

LEVERAGE DOMINATOR

Christopher BellDK $10,200 · FD $13,000 · P3

19.7 laps led proj37.3 proj19% owned

The leverage dominator. Bell starts third with a field-third 19.7 projected laps led, yet only 19 percent owned. Elite front-running speed at a fraction of the chalk, a strong tournament pivot if he can run up front early.

BALANCED

Denny HamlinDK $10,500 · FD $13,500 · P6

19.2 laps led proj42.1 proj33% owned

A balanced dominator from sixth with 19.2 projected laps led at 33 percent owned. A Kansas front-runner with the speed to lead laps and a high projection, the best all-around option in the mid-tier.

The deep place-differential plays

Several fast cars start deep this week, and at Kansas the passing points from the back are real. This is also where the chalk concentrates.

TOP PD

Ryan BlaneyDK $9,800 · FD $12,000 · P25

+10.9 place diff43.7 proj50% owned

The top place-differential play with elite upside. Blaney starts 25th with a +10.9 projection and a 43.7-point ceiling on an intermediate where he excels. Chalk at 50 percent, but the deep-start speed profile is one of the most reliable ways to score at Kansas.

DEEP PD

Chase BriscoeDK $9,600 · FD $11,500 · P23

+9.2 place diff42.5 proj48% owned

Another deep-starting Chase driver with the speed to carve forward. Briscoe starts 23rd with a +9.2 place-differential and a 42.5 ceiling. Chalky at 48 percent, but the profile matches Blaney’s and the upside is real.

CHALK TRAP

Alex BowmanDK $7,300 · FD $7,500 · P33

+13.7 place diff5.34x62% owned

The chalk of the slate at 62 percent owned. Bowman starts 33rd with a board-high +13.7 place-differential and the best value on the board. The points projection is elite, but with nearly two-thirds of the field on him there is no leverage. Fine in cash, a leverage sink in tournaments.

Where the leverage is

LOWEST-OWNED FRONT

Bubba WallaceDK $9,200 · FD $10,000 · P7

9.5 laps led proj41 percent car6% owned

The lowest-owned front-runner on the board at just 6 percent. Wallace starts seventh with 9.5 projected laps led and the speed to run up front all day. A pure leverage dart with laps-led upside that almost nobody in the field will have.

OVERLOOKED WINNER

William ByronDK $8,500 · FD $9,500 · P8

multi-time KS winner30 proj11% owned

A multi-time Kansas winner going overlooked at 11 percent. Byron starts eighth with laps-led upside and the track record to run up front. A strong tournament pivot off the deep-PD chalk.

CHEAP LEVERAGE

Ty GibbsDK $9,400 · FD $11,000 · P5

12.3 laps led proj31.6 proj9% owned

A deep leverage play from fifth with 12.3 projected laps led at just 9 percent owned. Front-running speed badly underowned, a genuine tournament separator if he holds track position early.

How to build it

Cash game core

Larson + Hamlin + Blaney + Briscoe + Bowman + a value climber

Two front-running dominators for the laps-led floor, plus the highest-floor deep-PD climbers. This banks the speed up front and stacks projectable finishes underneath. Chalk-heavy by design, exactly what cash rewards.

Tournament build

Larson + Bell + Blaney + Byron + Wallace + Jones

Keep Larson and Blaney as your chalk anchors, then leverage everywhere else: Bell at 19 percent, Byron at 11, Wallace at 6. Fade the Bowman chalk for the cheaper Jones. Same structural upside as the field, far lower ownership.

Contrarian angle

Underweight Alex Bowman, overweight the low-owned front-runners

The field is piled onto Bowman at 62 percent and the deep-PD cluster near 50. If that chalk underdelivers, the leverage sits with the underowned front-runners: Bell, Byron, Wallace and Gibbs all have the speed to lead laps from up front. That is how you separate at Kansas.

The bottom line

Kansas is a balanced board, and that is the opportunity. With no single must-play and the ownership split three ways, the edge is in the pivots: Larson and Hamlin anchor the laps led, Blaney leads the deep place-differential, and the real separation comes from the underowned front-runners Bell, Byron and Wallace. Fade some of the Bowman chalk and you have a lineup with the same ceiling as the field at a fraction of the ownership. Then remember it is a 1.5-mile track where a late caution can shuffle the whole running order, so leave room for the chaos.

Want the full driver board?

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All numbers are FTA projections built from the DraftKings and FanDuel salary files, pulled 9/27/26. Starting positions reflect Saturday qualifying at Kansas Speedway, where Joey Logano won the pole. Projections are estimates, not guarantees. Always confirm the final lineup and any late driver or crew changes before locking. Fantasy Team Advisors, RotoBraden.