Michigan Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks
Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. should be on your short list of favorites at Michigan. This year at high-speed intermediate tracks he’s been the class of the field. Over the eight combined races at high-speed intermediate tracks Truex Jr. has the best driver rating, average finish (4.0), average running position (3.6), has led the most laps (823), run the most fastest laps and is the only driver who’s finished in the top ten every race. At Michigan Truex Jr. has been a strong performer. In 3 of the last 5 races he’s finished in the top 6. In the two he finished outside of that range he had a misleading result. This spring Truex Jr. had a strong showing. He won Stage #1 and Stage #2. When the checkered flag waved he finished 6th, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position, led 62 laps and ran the most fastest laps (50). Last August at Michigan he had a great car but finished a misleading 20th after having some major problems on pit road that damaged his car. 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 finished 3rd both races. (Yahoo A Driver)
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Kyle Busch – Michigan has been a brutal track for Kyle Busch. In 5 of the last 8 races he’s finished 31st or worse. In 6 of those races he finished 19th or worse. He runs well here, but it’s one of those tracks were bad things happen to him frequently. This spring he had a great car that I would argue was the best. If there wasn’t late cautions I think he would’ve his way to victory lane. When the checkered flag waved he finished 7th, had a 3rd place average running position, earned the 3rd best driver rating and led 40 laps. Last August Kyle Busch didn’t have an incident free race but walked away with a 19th place result. On lap 26 while he was running around the low-teens he spun which dropped him a lap down. With few cautions that was a big obstacle and he wasn’t able to overcome it. In spring 2016 he finished 40th because his engine couldn’t go the distance. Performance wise I thought he had top ten potential before his engine blew up on lap 53. In August 2015 he finished 11th. In recent races at high-speed intermediate tracks Busch has been very strong. Over the last four races on this track type he has a 4.8 average finish, a 3.5 average running position and has led 274 laps. (Yahoo A Driver)
Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson will be a favorite to win at Michigan. He’s won the last two races at Michigan and the last three races at 2.0 mile ovals. On Sunday I expect him to be very tough to beat and compete for the win again. This spring at Michigan he had a good car that was top five good but I would stop short of saying it was the best. He needed a late caution to pass Kyle Busch to take the lead. In addition to finishing 1st Larson earned the best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position and led 96 laps. 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. (Yahoo B Driver)
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Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions >The Low Tier
