Ice Picks – Kansas Speedway – Hollywood Casino 400

Oct 3, 2014; Kansas City, KS, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick sits in his car before qualifying for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Ice Picks — Kansas Speedway is for the first race of the Contender round, the Hollywood Casino 400.

Kevin Harvick has yet another pole for this Sunday’s race and is an odds on favorite to take the checkers. Harvick won this race last year during the Chase after starting from the pole and led a race high 138 laps as he dominated the field. Kevin ran strong in the first Kansas race this year and finished second before he led 119 laps. Harvick  was second fastest during the first practice session and knows how to get around Kansas and should dominate again.

Jeff Gordon had a great restart back in May and led the last nine laps to take the checkers. He finished third last year in this race, so it’s no fluke he knows how to get around. Jeff ranks fourth among all active drivers at Kansas and leads the pack this year with the best average finish on intermediate tracks at 8.4. Jeff was the fastest during the first practice session Friday.

Brad Keselowski has the third best average finish on intermediate tracks at 9.8. He led 52 laps last year in the Kansas Chase race and finished 17th when the car went away from him. He finished 13th in the first Kansas race this year and led 13 laps. Keselowski posted the 17th fastest lap during first practice but made up for it in qualifying posting P6. I have to play the percentages here with Brad, as Team Penske’s strength is the intermediate tracks.

Joey Logano posted P4 and had the 12th fastest time during first practice. Logano’s stats for this year are slightly above Harvick’s for intermediate tracks. Logano’s two wins, 10 top fives and 13 top 10s on intermediate tracks can’t be ignored. This team got a big boost of confidence winning at New Hampshire.

Only four of 17 Kansas races have been won from the pole, with Harvick the last to do so last year in October. Five wins have come from P-1 and P-2 since the inaugural race. Ten races have been won by the top 10 starters, with two starters winning from outside the 20.

Toyota and Chevrolet have won two races each during the past five years. Ford has one win.

All 12 drivers who advanced to the Contender round will start with the same points — 3000.

Goodyear is using the same tire code from May — D 4586 on the right side and D 4604 on the left side. It’s the same tire code used for both Michigan races this year.

The wins will be at a premium for the Contender round and I see all the big teams going all out for the first two races at Kansas and Charlotte before this Chase round ends at Talledega.

Here are my Ice Picks for Kansas Speedway:

A List

Kevin Harvick

Jeff Gordon

Matt Kenseth

B List

Brad Keselowski

Joey Logano

Jamie McMurray

Denny Hamlin

C List

Kyle Larson

Start time for Sunday’s race is 1:00 local/2 p.m. Eastern time. Download the Fansided app to get all the scores of your favorite teams during the race. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Don’t forget to check out my Power Rankings every Wednesday. Thanks for stopping in, Good Luck!