Michigan FireKeepers Casino 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Erik Jones
Michigan Fantasy Outlook – Michigan is Erik Jones’s home track and he might have some surprise upside in the Firekeepers Casino 400. Jones has run well here in the Next Gen, and he’s shown potential at high-speed intermediates this year, finishing in the top 13 50% of the time. At Michigan, Jones has been solid and in 50% of his career starts he’s finished in the top 13. Heading into the weekend, I think Jones has a great chance to compete for a top ten.
Michigan Track History – In the Next Gen at Michigan, Erik Jones has an 11.3 average finish, the 12th best Driver Rating and a 13.6 average running position. Also in terms of the results column, he’s finished in the top ten in 2 of the 3 races and he’s had a result in the top 16 every race. Last summer en route to a 16th, Jones had a 19.5 average running position and ranked 23rd in terms of Total Speed Rankings. In 2023, Jones had a solid showing. In the race, Jones started 25th, had a 13th place average running position and then finished 10th overall. In terms of speed stats, Jones ranked 8th for Speed Late In A Run and had the 12th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2022, Jones finished 3rd in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2, had an 8.4 average running position and then finished 8th when the checkered flag waved. In terms of speed stats, Jones ranked 8th for Green Flag Speed and then 9th for Total Speed Rankings and Speed Late In A Run.

Bubba Wallace
Michigan Fantasy Outlook – Bubba Wallace has had a lot of trouble at high-speed intermediates in 2025 but at Michigan, look for him to get back on track and be a top ten contender. Wallace had a rocket last year and there’s no doubt the #23 team is capable of fielding a contender at this high-speed 2.0-mile oval. This year at high-speed intermediates, Wallace has shown potential but he also has a series worst 32.3 average finish.
Michigan Track History – In the Next Gen at Michigan, Wallace ranks 7th in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings and has a 15.3 average finish which underrates him. Last year, Wallace looked to be one of the best but finished an asterisk mark 26th. In the race, Wallace led 5 laps, finished 4th in Stage #1, was running in 3rd on lap 105 but then not much longer after that there was a late caution in the Stage which cycled Wallace back to the teens, and he was then collected in the lap 116 Larson multi-car wreck. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Wallace ranked 17th but take note over the first two segments prior to his problem, Wallace ranked 1st and 4th for speed. In 2023, Wallace looked great for much of the race but finished 18th. In the race, Wallace finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2, led 21 laps, was tied for the 4th best average running position (9.8) but then finished a disappointing 18th. I would chalk up that result to Wallace just not being at his best at the end. In the race, Wallace had the 8th best Total Speed Ranking but take note his speed over the segments were 3rd, 5th, 8th and then 22nd. In 2022, Wallace had a rocket and finished runner-up. In the race, Wallace started on the pole, led 22 laps, had a 7.9 average running position and then ranked 3rd for Total Speed Rankings, Green Flag Speed and Speed Late In A Run.

Alex Bowman
Michigan Fantasy Outlook – Look for Alex Bowman to be a top ten contender at Michigan. The #48 has been fast at high-speed intermediates, and Bowman’s run pretty well at Michigan. This year at high-speed intermediates, Bowman has the 9th best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and over his two incident free races he’s had results of 5th (Kansas) and 7th (Las Vegas). Of the intermediates visited, I view Kansas to have the most correlation so that’s encouraging but he’s proven to be hard to trust this year.
Michigan Track History – In the Next Gen at Michigan, Alex Bowman is 3 for 3 at being top ten good but in the results column you’ll see that he’s finished 27th or worse over the last two. Last year, Bowman was poised to finish around 7th but during overtime #1 while running int that position, he slammed into the wall hard which led to his 27th. In the race, Bowman had a 13.9 average running position and the 13th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2023, Bowman finished 33rd but you can get out an asterisk mark for that result. In the race, Bowman finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 5th in Stage #2, led 19 laps but then at the start of the last Stage, Bowman crashed while running in the mid-teens (pit strategy shuffled him back). In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Bowman ranked 13th. In 2022, Bowman started 30th, finished 8th in Stage #2 and then finished 9th overall. Additionally, Bowman had the 13th best Green Flag Speed and a 14th place average running position.

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