Michigan Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks
Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson will be tough to beat at Michigan. He’s become a 2.0 mile master and has won the last two races at tracks of this length. At Michigan Larson is the most recent winner and it’s proven to be a good track for him. Last August at MIS Larson had a great car and raced his way to victory lane. Additionally in the race he earned the best driver rating, had a 6th place average running position and led a race high 41 laps. I will note if there wasn’t a late caution he likely wouldn’t have won. In spring 2016 Larson had a very strong showing and was a consistent front runner. He finished 3rd, earned the 3rd best driver rating and had a 4th place average running position. In August 2015 when a high-downforce package was used he started deep in the field (34th) but finished 13th. In spring 2015 he was trying to win the race on fuel mileage with approaching rain but it didn’t work out for him. If it would’ve arrived sooner he would’ve won, instead he was forced to pit and finished 17th. (Yahoo B Driver)
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Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. will be a favorite to win at Michigan. This year at intermediate tracks he’s arguably been the strongest competitor in the series. The two intermediate tracks visited this year that I view as having the highest level of correlation are Kansas and Auto Club. At Kansas he dominated en route to victory lane (led 104 laps) and at Auto Club he finished 4th (led 73 laps). Last August at Michigan he had a great car but finished a misleading 20th. On lap 66 while leading during pit stops Truex Jr.’s team had a long timely mistake on pit road. The jack was dropped early, it was caught under his car, and he took off too soon. It caused a little aero dynamic damage to his car which hurt his level of competitiveness. In spring 2016 he had a great car but finished a misleading 12th. Performance wise he likely had one of the best cars but his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 46 while he was running in 2nd racing side by side with Bowyer he spun. That got air under his hood and it buckled up, damaging his car. I’ll also note late in the race he lost quite a few positions. With 5 laps to go he lost 5 positions. In 2015 he had a great season at MIS and finished 3rd both races. (Yahoo A Driver)
Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick is an elite performer at Michigan who’ll be one of the drivers to beat. At Michigan he’s a past champion who’s finished in the top five in 7 of the last 8 races. In the one race he didn’t finish in the top five he arguably had the best car, but you’ll read about that below. Last year at Michigan he finished 5th both races. Last August he was a consistent front runner. In addition to finishing 5th he earned the 3rd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position and led 33 laps. In spring 2016 when the “Lowest Down Force” debuted he didn’t have a great car but finished 5th when the checkered flag waved. In August 2015 when the “Highest Down Force Package” was used he finished 2nd and earned the 2nd best driver rating. In spring 2015 he had a great car but finished 29th. Performance wise I thought he had the best car but he lost the race on pit road when he had valve stem issues that led to a flat tire. Prior to that problem he was the leader and had a 4.6 second lead. From that race it should be noted he earned the 2nd best driver rating, led 63 laps and ran the most fastest laps. In the four Michigan races prior to that he finished runner-up. (Yahoo A Driver)
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Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > The Low Tier