On Sunday, NASCAR will be returning to Michigan for the FireKeepers Casino 400! Michigan is a gigantic 2.0-mile oval, where the surface is smooth, tire wear is minimal, and horsepower is king. In my opinion, Michigan is the purest test to see what teams can find speed. Michigan is the only 2.0-mile oval on the schedule, but I would recommend you look back at who’s been fast overall at high-speed intermediate tracks this season (High Speed Intermediate Track 2025 Total Speed Rankings).

On Saturday, NASCAR practice was held. Teams had 25 minutes, and keep in mind teams have different agenda’s. Make sure you check out our Michigan Practice Notes, Michigan Group Speed Rankings, Michigan 10,15,20 and 25 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet and Michigan Practice Speeds/ 10 Lap Averages. 

Here’s the Michigan Starting Lineup/ Qualifying Results.

Michigan Full Field Fantasy Rankings

1) Denny Hamlin
Start 3rd / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Michigan Outlook – 2-time Michigan winner, Denny Hamlin will be tough to beat in the FireKeepers Casino 400. Hamlin’s long been a standout performer at Michigan, and you have to love the speed he’s shown at the last two high-speed intermediates visited (Kansas and Michigan). At Michigan going back to 2019 #2, Hamlin has a series best 4.3 average finish and he’s a perfect 7 for 7 at finishing in the top ten. In the Next Gen over the last three, Hamlin has the best average finish (5.0) and the 2nd best Next Gen Speed Ranking. Last year, Hamlin finished 9th but you can get out an asterisk mark for that result. The #11 looked to be a rocket but while running in 2nd on lap 38, Hamlin spun into the grass and that put him behind for the rest of the afternoon. In 2023, Hamlin finished 3rd despite his race not being incident free. In the race, Hamlin started 13th, finished 8th in Stage #1 but then in Stage #2 around lap 105 while running in 5th, Hamlin had trouble getting going again after a pit stop and that dropped him to the back. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin was the fastest driver late in a run and his Total Speed Ranking ranked 2nd. In 2022, Hamlin arguably had the best car, but finished 3rd. In the race, Hamlin finished 2nd in Stage #1, won Stage #2, had a race best 5.3 average running position, led 38 laps, was running in 2nd on lap 158 but then during the Bell/Chastain caution he was penalized for too many men over the wall which dropped him back to the high-teens. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin ranked #1 for Total Speed Rankings, Green Flag Speed and Speed Late In A Run. In Group 2, Hamlin had the 4th best 10-lap average.
DraftKings $10,700/ FanDuel $13,500

Further Recommended Reading = Michigan Finish Projections, DraftKings Michigan Scoring Projections, FanDuel Michigan Scoring Projections, Michigan Quick Rankings, Michigan Next Gen Average Finishes, Michigan Next Gen Speed Rankings

2) Kyle Larson
Start 5th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Michigan Outlook – Kyle Larson is a super-elite performer at Michigan and in the Firekeepers Casino 400, look for Larson to have a rocket and be a factor. Larson ranks among the premiere performers at Michigan, and he’s been the driver to beat at high-speed intermediates. This year at high-speed intermediate tracks, Larson’s been the class of the field. Larson had a rough evening at Charlotte but over the other three races where he was fully focused (Kansas, Las Vegas and Texas), Larson had the best Total Speed Ranking and the best Driver Rating every race. I view Kansas to have the most correlation, and Larson clobbered the field there, racing his way to victory lane and leading 221 laps. At Michigan, Larson’s a 3-time winner and over the last five races, he’s 4 for 5 at finishing between 3rd to 7th. Last year, Larson was subjectively the best but he crashed and finished 34th. In the race, Larson led the most laps (41), was the leader on lap 112 but then during a caution just after that he got shuffled back into traffic due to pit strategy and then wrecked. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Larson ranked 2nd. In 2023, Larson finished 5th, despite an eventful last Stage which had him driving up from 30th to his good finish to close out. In 2022, Larson didn’t have an incident free race either and finished 7th. In the two races prior to that, Larson had back-to-back 3rd place finishes. In practice, the #5 wasn’t quite to Larson’s liking but look for overnight changes to make the #5 better.
DraftKings $11,000/ FanDuel $14,000

3) William Byron
Start 4th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Michigan Outlook – At Michigan, look for William Byron to have a fast #24 and be a factor. Byron’s performed at an elite level at high-speed intermediates, and he’s run great at Michigan, having finished runner-up in 2 of the last 4 races. This year at high-speed intermediate tracks, Byron has the best Track Type Total Speed Ranking, the best Driver Rating and the 4th best average finish (10.8). At Charlotte the most recent race that has correlation, Byron finished 2nd and led 283 laps. At Michigan, Byron has the 3rd best Next Gen Speed Ranking and going back to 2019 #2 minus 2023, Byron has a 7.3 average finish. Last year, Byron was stout and ran well throughout. In the race, Byron finished 3rd in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2, led 20 laps, had an 8.4 average running position and then finished 2nd overall. In terms of speed stats, Byron ranked #1 for Speed Late In A Run, #1 for Green Flag Speed and had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2023, Byron had a short afternoon and finished 35th. On lap 45 while running in 9th, Byron got into the wall hard. In 2022, Byron had a solid showing. In the race, Byron finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 9th in Stage #2, had an 11.9 average running position, the 12th best Total Speed Ranking and then finished 12th when the checkered flag waved. In 2021, Byron finished 2nd.
DraftKings $10,000/ FanDuel $12,000