The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season continues today with the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway. Read on below to see our prediction for who will win the race, as well as our top 10, dark horse, and driver to fade predictions.
Winner: Tyler Reddick- Reddick has been inching closer to his first Cup Series win all season long, with a pair of runner-up finishes and 4 top 5’s in 12 races, including a strong 2nd place showing last week at Darlington. Reddick has 2 top 10 finishes in 5 previous Kansas starts and showed top 5 speed in both Practice and Qualifying yesterday. Lastly, Reddick likes to run high and tight against the wall, which is a huge advantage when running on a mile and a half track like Kansas. It’s only a matter of time until Reddick finally finds Victory Lane and today will be day, as I predict that Tyler Reddick will take home the checkered flag at Kansas!
Top 10: Ross Chastain- Chastain has had a 2022 to remember so far, with 2 wins and 7 top 5’s through the first 12 races. Chastain has put together some of his best runs on higher-banked intermediate tracks this season, finishing 3rd at Las Vegas, 2nd at Atlanta, and 3rd at Dover. Chastain had a fast car in Practice yesterday and even though he will be coming from outside the top 10 today, he will quickly make his way to the front. A top 10 is a lock for Chastain today.
Dark Horse: Kurt Busch- Busch has had an up and down season, with 2 top 5’s, 4 top 10’s, and 4 finishes of 30th or worse. Busch has not won at Kansas Speedway, but has solid stats at the track, with 5 top 5’s, 13 top 10’s, and 24 top 20’s in 32 career starts. Busch finished 4th here last fall and finished 13th at Las Vegas and 3rd at Atlanta this year. Busch has had a rough stretch lately, but I predict that he will turn things around with a solid top 12 run today.
Driver to Fade: Austin Cindric- Winner of the season-opening Daytona 500, Cindric has had very little success since his big victory, with just 1 other top 10 finish coming at COTA. Cindric qualifies well, with 6 starts inside the top 12, but seemingly struggles as the race goes on. Cindric finished 22nd in his lone Cup start at Kansas in May 2021 and hasn’t had much success on mile and a half tracks this season. I predict the same situation to play out today, as Cindric will finish outside the top 20.