Michigan Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson is a good performer at Michigan. He’s a past champion and performance wise he’s been good enough to win about 5 races here, but it’s one of those tracks where trouble is often brewing. With Johnson showing an uptick in performance at high-speed intermediate tracks I think he’s a quality prospect. I view Kansas as a “mini-Michigan” and he finished 6th there. Last summer at Michigan, Johnson ran well but finished an asterisk mark 28th. With 6 laps to go while he was running in 13th he made an unexpected pit stop that doomed him to his poor result. From the race I’ll note his average running position was 15th. In spring 2018 he was in a slump and didn’t run well. He finished 20th, earned the 20th best driver rating and had a 22nd place average running position. He didn’t have problems, he was just that bad. In summer 2017, he wasn’t very good either. He started in the rear of the field in a backup car and he just never seemed to run well. When the checkered flag waved he finished 19th, had a 19th place average running position and earned the 22nd best driver rating. In spring 2017 he had a good race. He started in the rear of the field but crossed the finish line in 10th. On Sunday, I’m going to view him as a low-double digits driver who has a good chance to finish in the top ten.

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Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson has thrived at Michigan and on Sunday I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a factor. At Michigan, he’s run extremely well and has won 3 of the last 5 races. Last year at Michigan he was a dud in both races, but don’t let that scare you away. Last summer, Larson started in 17th and finished 17th. I’ll note his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 37 while he was running around the mid-teens he made an unexpected pit stop which dropped him a lap down. That created a long afternoon for him and he just couldn’t bounce back. Last spring, Larson crashed and finished 28th. I will note he didn’t run bad. He finished 2nd in Stage #1 and then on lap 85 while he was running in 8th he spun into the grass which dropped him a lap down dooming him to his poor result. In August 2017, Larson didn’t have the best car but that didn’t keep him out of victory lane. In that race he took advantage of a Green-White-Checker restart and shot to the lead. If that late caution didn’t come out he was poised to finish around 7th. From the race it should be noted he had a 9th place average running position, finished 9th in Stage #1 and 8th in Stage #2. In spring 2017 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 first, Larson earned the best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position and led 96 laps. In 2016, Larson had results of 1st and 3rd.

William Byron – William Byron has upside at Michigan. His team has had a recent uptick in performance at high-speed intermediate tracks and on Sunday I would look for him to be a low-double digits to mid-teens driver. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him compete for a top ten. Last summer at MIS, Byron had a tough race and finished 36th. On lap 16 while he was running just outside the top ten he spun after contact with Truex Jr. and it dropped him two laps down. He never bounced back from that. Last spring he had a quality performance and finished 13th. Additionally, he earned the 8th best driver rating, had a 9th place average running position, finished 8th in Stage #1 and 9th in Stage #2. Prior to the last caution coming out which ended the race he was running in 12th.

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