Michigan Quicken Loans 400 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Matt Kenseth – Matt Kenseth will be one of the favorites to win the Michigan Quicken Loans 400. He’ll be positioned as many people’s top pick by virtue of how strong the #20 has been on this track type this season. On high-speed intermediates this season he has 2 wins, a 7.2 average finish, a 6.0 average running position, and the best driver rating in the series. Auto Club Speedway is the most similar track to Michigan and earlier this season he finished 7th there despite having a cut tire at one point in the race. Michigan has long been a good track for Kenseth. He’s won here twice and has finished in the top five nearly half the time (44% ). Last August at MIS Kenseth finished 17th. On lap #148 he was running in 10th but had a flat right rear tire. In the spring race on the new surface he started in 6th, led 17 laps and finished 3rd. In the four races prior to August he had three top tens and a 5th place average finish. (Yahoo! A Driver)

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Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson had the August race won at Michigan but with 6 laps to go his motor started having issues and with 5 laps to go he blew up. In the race he started in the rear of the field because of an engine change and he methodically worked his way up through the pack. In just the first fifteen laps of the race he worked his way up into the top twenty five. On lap #55 he cracked the top 11. In the race he probably passed more cars than anyone and paced the field for 23 laps. In the June race last season he started in the rear of the field and finished 5th. In August 2011 he finished 2nd. Although Johnson has never won here I can point to three races he should’ve won. Last August was one of them and in the other two he ran out of gas very late in the race. This season on high-speed intermediate tracks Johnson has been good but right now the #48 is slightly behind some of the Toyota’s. Chad Knaus told that to Jimmie Johnson over the radio at Charlotte. Auto Club Speedway has been one of Jimmie Johnson’s best tracks but earlier this season he was stunningly bad. He finished 12th but in the event he had about a 20th place car. (Yahoo! A Driver)

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Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin will be a serious contender in the Michigan Quicken Loans 400. He’s a two-time MIS winner who’s only finished outside the top fourteen in three races . In the August race JGR as an organization was off their game and Hamlin finished 11th. In the June race he was involved in an accident and finished 34th. His accident took away the opportunity of him vying for his third straight June win at Michigan. At Auto Club Speedway this season Hamiln was very impressive. He came from the back of the pack in the closing laps and if Logano didn’t get into him he probably would’ve won with the momentum on the top side of the track. Also don’t forget he won the pole in that race. In his other races on intermediates he’s looked pretty good this season. His 7.7 average running position on them ranks second to only Matt Kenseth. (Yahoo! A Driver)

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Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runner Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions