Michigan Quicken Loans 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Paul Menard – Paul Menard is a solid dark horse / sleeper pick who shouldn’t be overlooked at Michigan. This year at high-speed intermediate tracks he’s run well. The most similar track to Michigan is Auto Club Speedway and he was exceptionally fast there. At that west coast track earlier this year he finished 4th, earned the 9th best driver rating and had a 10th place average running position. Kansas is a “mini-Michigan” and he was top five good there until he had problems during his final pit stop. At Michigan Menard’s been very strong recently. Currently he has three straight 4th place results here. Over these three races he has the 5th best driver rating and a 10.3 average running position. Last August he had a great performance. He started in 7th, earned the 6th best driver rating and finished 4th. Last June he ran a very solid race. He started 5th, finished 4th and earned the 7th best driver rating. In August 2013 Menard finished 4th, earned the 8th best driver rating and had a 12th place average running position. Menard had a good car in June 2013. He qualified in 4th and ran in the top ten until an early pit stop where he took four tires and nearly everyone else took two. That decision dropped him back to about 20th. From that point on he consistently ran between tenth and the mid-teens. When the checkered flag waved he finished 14th. Also in that race he had a 14th place average running position and earned the 13th best driver rating. In August 2012 he had a solid performance. He started in 10th, had a 10th place average running position and finished 9th. (Yahoo B Driver)

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Jamie McMurray – Jamie McMurray’s track record at Michigan leaves a lot to be desired. He ran fairly well at this venue last year but it should be noted his most recent top ten was in 2008. Last August he was on pace to finish in the top ten but he dropped back several positions in the closing laps. In the race he started 9th, had an 8th place average running position, earned the 7th best driver rating and finished 14th. Last June he performed well. He started 11th, had an 11th place average running position and finished 12th. That marked his best Michigan finish since 2009. In the race he performed better than his result but his pit strategy burned him a little at the end. His Yahoo Race Chart should give you a better idea about his level of performance. In August 2013 McMurray started in 33rd but didn’t stay back for long. He used pit strategy early and went on to lead 21 laps. That was only a temporary gain because shortly after that he had to make a green flag pit stop. He was able to rebound from that and legitimately drove up into the top ten by the lap #140 mark. On lap #167 his day went south. He was running in 7th at the time but he had a blown tire that caused heavy damage. In both 2012 races McMurray finished 14th. In the last five races at high-speed intermediate tracks McMurray has scored the 9th most points and has a 14.0 average finish. (Yahoo B Driver)

Further Recommended Reading – Michigan Top Tier Elite Picks, Michigan Mid Pack Predictions, Who will win at Michigan?, Fantasy NASCAR Scouting Report – Michigan

Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson has two Michigan races under his belt and neither race has been incident free. Last August he faced adversity twice and as a result he finished dead last. In the race he started in 13th and at the time of the competition caution on lap 20 he raced his way up to 8th. During that pit sequence he had contact with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and it damaged his cars toe. Later in the race the remnants of that problem appeared to surface again when on lap 97 he got into the wall hard. After that he was done for the day. In June 2014 he had a much better race even though it wasn’t incident free. In that event on lap 7 he spun on the back straightaway and Martin Truex Jr. ran into the back of him. That was actually to his benefit because it provided him with an aerodynamic advantage when his team cut away parts of his bumper. Fortunately that issue was very early so it allowed him time to rebound. Around lap 90 he was already up to 10th and from that point on he ran among the front runners. In the second half of the race I would estimate his average running position would be around 8th. From lap 105 to about lap 145 he consistently ran in the top five. When the checkered flag waved he finished 8th. This season at high-speed intermediate tracks Larson hasn’t showed much muscle except for an 8th place finish at Las Vegas. The attribute I like about him is the momentum he’s building with his back to back top tens. (Yahoo B Driver)

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