Michigan Heluva Good 400 Fantasy NASCAR Preview and Picks

A= Really, Really Good Pick

Matt Kenseth – Kenseth is great a managing races and he’ll be the driver to beat in the Heluva Good 400. People might be wary on his recent 14th, 14th and 20th place Michigan finishes but I say don’t worry about those. Roush was uncompetitive in that stretch but now their back on top of the intermediate track throne. Kenseth has two MIS wins and fourteen top tens. (Yahoo A Driver)

Carl Edwards – Edwards is a two-time Michigan winner and only once in thirteen races has he finished lower than 12th. This is a Roush track and this Las Vegas winner will be tough to beat. (Yahoo A Driver)

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A- = Really Good Pick

Kevin Harvick – Last year Harvick won the second race at Michigan and he’ll be tough to beat once again. At Auto Club Speedway Harvick made a last lap pass on Jimmie Johnson for the win. (Yahoo A Driver)

Jimmie Johnson – Johnson has no wins at Michigan and stats wise his finishes are deceptive. Johnson would’ve swept Michigan in 2009 but fuel mileage kept him out of victory lane twice. Since 2007 Johnson has led in every race but one and he’s led an impressive 428 laps. Also don’t forget how good he was at California. (Yahoo A Driver)

Jeff Gordon – In the last four Michigan races Gordon’s finished 28th, 4th, 2nd and 2nd. Since the Coca Cola 600 this team has been very competitive week to week. (Yahoo A Driver)

Kurt Busch – Busch is a former Michigan winner and the 22 team has been exceptionally strong in back to back weeks. Kurt Busch will be a threat for the pole (won pole last June) and in the last two spring races he’s finished third and eighth. (Yahoo A Driver)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Michigan is the site of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s last win back in 2008. I’ve been to two Michigan races in the last two years and the two I went to he finished 7th and 3rd. In the two I didn’t go to he finished 19th and 14th. Also in the two Michigan races I went to I seen Brian Vickers and Denny Hamlin win. If you’ve read my content for any length of time then you would know what I think about those two. Strange things happen when I go to races. I’m not going to this race so use this little insider tip to your advantage. (Yahoo B Driver)

Tony Stewart – Last season Stewart finished 6th and 5th at Michigan. He’s been impressive on intermediate tracks this season so he’ll be someone to watch in  Heluva Good 400. Stewart won at Michigan in 2000. (Yahoo A Driver)

Denny Hamlin – Hamlin’s the defending Heluva Good 400 champion and in the summer race he finished second. Earlier this year at Auto Club Speedway Hamlin was very good but his engine blew up. Kansas is a similar track to Michigan and two weeks ago he finished third. (Yahoo A Driver)

B+ = Good Pick

Greg Biffle – Biffle’s a two-time Michigan winner (2004 & 2005). Last year at this 2.0 mile track he finished 4th and 9th. At the notable intermediate tracks NASCAR has visited this year he finished 11th at Auto Club, 4th at Texas,  and 10th at Kansas. At Las Vegas he had fueling issues and at Charlotte he didn’t have enough gas to make it to the end. (Yahoo A Driver)

Kasey Kahne – Kahne’s had some really good runs at Michigan over his career. He has one win and three second place finishes. Last spring he finished second. A Red Bull car won at Michigan in 2009 so he has a chance. (Yahoo B Driver)

Clint Bowyer – Bowyer has three top fifteen finishes in the last four Michigan races. I know that doesn’t sound that great but remember who had the car to beat last year at Auto Club Speedway. Check out his Yahoo! race chart from that race. At Auto Club Speedway this year he finished 7th. Auto Club Speedway is Michigan’s sister track. (Yahoo B Driver)

Brian Vickers – SLEEPER ALERT, Vickers won a fuel mileage race at Michigan in 2009 and he has five straight top tens at Michigan. He’s also won the last three poles. Earlier this season Vickers finished 8th at Auto Club Speedway. (Yahoo B Driver)

Kyle Busch – Busch usually looks lost at Michigan International Speedway. This track simply has not been good to him. His average finish in twelve races is 17.7. It’s not skewed by DNF’s and accidents. He did look pretty good at Auto Club Speedway this year so he might be tough to beat. (Yahoo A Driver)

B = A Tier Below The Good Picks

David Ragan – Ragan is a notch (ok maybe two) behind his Roush Fenway racing teammates. Beyond 2008 his success is extremely limited at Michigan. Ragan’s shown some potential in the last three high speed intermediate tracks NASCAR has visited (Texas 7th, Charlotte 8th, Kansas 13th). (Yahoo C Driver)

Brad Keselowski – The Kansas winner has looked a lot more competitive on the track since Darlington. This is his home track and we should expect his best Michigan finish ever! Won’t be hard considering his best finish is 24th. (Yahoo B Driver)

David Reutimann – Reutimann only has one top ten at Michigan in eight races. This Sunday I would pencil him in for a mid to high teens finish. (Yahoo B Driver)

B- = You Can Pencil Them In For Around 20th

Juan Pablo Montoya – Montoya’s finished in the top twenty the last four Michigan races including finishes of 7th and 6th. Beyond Pocono things have been really rough on this team since Talladega. (Yahoo B Driver)

Marcos Ambrose – Ambrose finished 15th twice last year. His other three finishes are 35th, 31st, and 43rd.  He has had success on intermediate tracks this year so you can’t completely overlook him. (Las Vegas 4th, Texas 6th, Charlotte 6th). (Yahoo B Driver)

AJ Allmendinger – The Dinger finished 11th last June but all of his other finishes are 17th or worse. That’s scary stuff to a fantasy racer. Luckily his car is essentially a full blown Roush car. At intermediate tracks this year he’s been about a mid to high teens driver. (Yahoo B Driver)

Martin Truex Jr. – Truex Jr. has three top fifteen finishes at MIS. One was last year when he finished 8th and the other two were in 2007 when he finished second twice. All seven of his other Michigan finishes were 16th or worse. (Yahoo B Driver)

C+ = Proceed With Caution

Joey Logano – Logano has three straight top tens at MIS. Beyond his Charlotte third place finish things have been pretty bad for him on high speed intermediate tracks in 2011. (Yahoo B Driver)

Paul Menard – Hate to say it but his 25.1 avg finish accurately reflects what he’s done at MIS throughout his years. That number doesn’t look skewed to me. One thing you have to remember is that he’ll be in an RCR car this time and last fall his teammate went to victory lane. (Yahoo C Driver)

Mark Martin – Martin has four wins at Michigan and his most recent was in 2009. What I don’t like about Martin is all of his other Michigan Chevy finishes. Since he started racing a Chevy for Ginn in 2007 his average finish is 22.25 and that number includes a win. This season on intermediate tracks he’s simply about a 20th place driver.

C = I’m Not Picking Them

Jeff Burton – Burton finished 8th last spring but to find his next top ten you have to go all the way back to 2002. He’s finished close to the top ten plenty of times between that span but facts are facts. He hasn’t gotten the job done there. (Yahoo B Driver)

Ryan Newman – If Newman’s career ended in 2004 he would be a legend at Michigan. Before 2004 he had two wins and two fifth place finishes. Since then he hasn’t even finished in the top ten. (Yahoo B Driver)

Jamie McMurray – This team needs to go back to the drawing board. Nothing is going right for them this season. He’s only finished in the top fifteen twice this year and both of those were at skill tracks (Martinsville and Darlington). Michigan is far from a skill track. (Yahoo B Driver)

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