Michigan Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ty Gibbs
Michigan Fantasy Spin – At Michigan, I’m going to view Ty Gibbs as a low double-digit to mid-teens driver who has a good chance to finish in the top ten. Gibbs finished in the top ten last year in his MIS debut, so I have no doubt he’s capable of doing it again. I view Kansas as a good barometer, and Gibbs was a top ten contender there this spring until he crashed (6th best Total Speed Ranking).
Michigan Track History – Last year at MIS in just his third career Cup start, Ty Gibbs got his first top ten and finished 10th. Additionally, Gibbs had a 14th place average running position, ranked as the 7th Fastest Driver Late In A Run and then ranked 10th for Green Flag Speed and Total Speed Rankings.

Alex Bowman
Michigan Fantasy Spin – At Michigan, look for Alex Bowman to be a low double-digit driver who’ll compete for a top ten. This year at high-speed intermediate tracks, the #48’s been solid and over his three combined races (missed Kansas), Bowman has the 6th best Total Speed Ranking and a 7.7 average finish. I will note, I do wish Bowman were running better right now.
Michigan Track History – Over the last six Michigan races, Alex Bowman has three top tens and then three results of 16th or worse. Last year, the #48 was solid. In the race, Bowman started 30th, finished 8th in Stage #2 and then finished 9th when the checkered flag waved. Additionally, Bowman had the 13th best Green Flag Speed and a 14th place average running position. In 2021, Bowman finished 16th, had a 12.9 average running position and had the 11th best Total Speed Ranking. Bowman just kind of fell back late. With 10 to go he was in 7th, and then with 6 to go he was in 11th.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Michigan Fantasy Spin – Michigan hasn’t been a good track for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. but I think he might have a solid showing in him. This year at high-speed intermediate tracks, Stenhouse has a 13.8 average finish and in 3 of the 4 races he’s finished in the top 12. Over the combined events his Track Type Total Speed Ranking ranks 17th. At Kansas which I view to have the most correlation, Stenhouse finished 12th.
Michigan Track History – Michigan hasn’t been kind to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and in 8 of the last 9 races he’s finished 18th or worse. Last year, Stenhouse was caught up in the early “Competition Caution Restart Big One” which led to his 33rd. In 2021, Stenhouse had his only good recent race and finished 12th. That said, Stenhouse had the 18th best Total Speed Ranking and had a 20th place average running position. I’ll note, late mayhem certainly helped and with 10 laps to go he was running in 17th. In 2020 during the doubles, Stenhouse finished 19th in race #2 and in race #1 he looked low double-digits good and was running in 12th at the start of overtime, but something bad happened to him which wasn’t televised led to him free falling to finish 32nd.

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