Heading into the Pure Michigan 400 this weekend, it looks as though the A Group in Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing isn’t going to be as strong as we’re accustomed to. There are a bunch of B Group drivers that could have strong showings here on Sunday, and quite a few start save options available because of it. The biggest story in the early part of the week will be whether or not Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is racing, and we’ll update this post once anything is official on that end. As far as the race weekend, all eyes are going to be on those Chase bubble drivers and whether or not someone like Kyle Larson can get a win before the playoffs start.
EDIT: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will miss this week and next week’s Darlington race. Alex Bowman will be driving the #88 Chevrolet in the Pure Michigan 400.
Yahoo! A Group Picks and Ranking for Michigan 2
Kevin Harvick (5 starts remaining) – The #4 team finally broke though with their second win of the season last week at Bristol and they just might make it two in a row here at Michigan on Sunday. Kevin Harvick has only been to victory lane once here in the Irish Hills but that shouldn’t deter you from thinking he’s the best Fantasy NASCAR option heading into the Pure Michigan 400 race weekend. Looking at the last seven races overall here at Michigan, Harvick has posted five 2nd-place finish along with a 5th-place finish in the first race here this season back in June. He started 29th in that race, just to note, so that makes the top 5 finish quite impressive because track position is very important at this 2-mile race track. Harvick’s only “bad” race during over the last seven Michigan races was the June 2015 event, but if you remember back, that was the crazy rain-shortened race, and the #4 Chevrolet actually led the most laps that day.
Joey Logano (6 starts remaining) – We’re going with the two best options in the A Group this weekend, and #2 on that list is Joey Logano. He won from the pole here back in June and hasn’t finished worse than 9th here at Michigan since joining Penske Racing back in 2013. Do we really need to say anything else? This #22 team wasn’t stellar last week at Bristol but we’ll give them a pass, they’re still pretty much hitting on all cylinders. Over the last five Michigan races, Joey Logano has led the most laps (260) and also has the best average driver rating (120.5). He will definitely be a contender once again this weekend. Joey also came home 4th at Fontana earlier this year, which is another 2-mile race track.
One other driver that may make our Yahoo! team this weekend is Brad Keselowski. This is his home racetrack, and although he’s never won here, it’s bound to happen soon. Keselowski has finished 9th or better in each of the last five Michigan races and hasn’t ended up worse than 13th here since 2011. If you’re looking for an off-sequence pick, Denny Hamlin is a nice option. The #11 team has been great at qualifying and track position should be huge this weekend. Denny came home 5th in this race one year ago, ended up 3rd in this year’s Fontana race, and has a series-best 6.5 average finish over the last six Sprint Cup races overall. As far as the rest of the A Group, we wouldn’t recommend going against the “top dogs” this week. Kyle Busch should have speed but has terrible luck here at Michigan, with zero top 10s in the last six races here. Kurt Busch still isn’t running as well as we’d like, and the same goes for Jimmie Johnson, who also has just one finish better than 9th in the last eight Michigan races–although that was a win here back in 2014.
Pre-Lockdown A Group Rankings: (1) Kevin Harvick, (2) Joey Logano, (3) Brad Keselowski, (4) Denny Hamlin, (5) Matt Kenseth, (6) Kyle Busch, (7) Kurt Busch, (8) Jimmie Johnson
Yahoo! B Group Picks and Ranking for Michigan 2
Austin Dillon (4 starts remaining) – Here’s one mid-tier driver that is poised for a solid finish in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400. Austin Dillon posted a career-best finish here at Michigan in this race last season (4th), and while we don’t particularly see him being a legitimate top 5 threat this weekend, a top 10 isn’t out of the question at all. The #3 Chevrolet started and finished 8th here back in June, and as far as momentum goes, Austin now has four finishes of 13th or better in the last five Sprint Cup races overall after his 4th-place run at Bristol last week. One other thing to like about Dillon this weekend is his qualifying: in eight career starts here at Michigan, he has started inside the top 10 five times. A good qualifying effort on Friday should pay dividends here on Sunday.
Kyle Larson (4 starts remaining) – Honestly, the #42 Chevrolet has enough speed in it right now to get to victory lane, Kyle Larson just needs to catch a few breaks on race day one of these weeks. It’s getting down to crunch time and he’s currently on the outside looking in as far as the Chase goes. So, will Larson finally be able to break through and get his first Sprint Cup win, or will he get too aggressive and tear up some race cars while trying? Only time will tell. Kyle came home 3rd here at Michigan back in June and because of that he’s going to be a very popular Fantasy NASCAR pick this weekend. This has been a pretty decent track for him over his short Cup career, and don’t forget that he almost stole the win here in that rain-shortened race last season. Larson isn’t the safest option this weekend but he has tremendous upside and that’s definitely worth a roster spot, in our opinion.
Tony Stewart (5 starts remaining) – Michigan International Speedway has always been a nice racetrack for Tony Stewart and he’s poised to have another strong showing this weekend. The race here back in June was kind of the one that jump-started the #14 team’s season, as Smoke came home 7th after starting 3rd. As far as his overall career history here, Tony has made thirty-three starts here at MIS and has ended up inside the top 10 twenty-one times (63.6%) with twelve top 5s (36.4%). He does have one victory here, but that was way back in the 2000 season. As far as the B Group goes this weekend, after Edwards and Truex, Larson and Stewart are definitely the next two best options and both could very easily challenge for a top 5 finish in this year’s Pure Michigan 400.
Jamie McMurray (7 starts remaining) – Currently, Jamie Mac is looking for a Chase berth, but he’s going to need to keep rattling off the good finishes. With his 8th-place run at Bristol last week, McMurray now has four top 10s in the last six Sprint Cup races overall, and don’t be surprised if he comes home with another here at Michigan on Sunday. The #1 Chevrolet wound up finishing 9th here back in June, and in six of the last nine MIS races, McMurray has finished 14th or better. Another reason to like Jamie Mac this weekend is his 10th-place finish at Fontana earlier this year, which is a 2-mile racetrack like Michigan. With 7 starts left, we’ve obviously been hesitant about pulling the trigger with McMurray this season, but he should look like a solid option after practice and qualifying this weekend.
We’re going to give Carl Edwards and Martin Truex, Jr. a rest this week. We have just four starts left with each and would love to have them for as long as possible this season. And with the potential good finishes out of the rest of the B Group this week, we don’t have a problem by leaving those two off our roster completely. If you want to dig deep in the sleeper pool this week, go with Trevor Bayne. He’s quietly put together six top 15s in the last ten Sprint Cup races overall and he came home 15th here in the June Michigan race. Ryan Newman is another reliable option, as he has finished 11th or better in three of the last four races here in the Irish Hills. We’re down to 4 “Rocketman” starts, though, so we’ll pass this week. Paul Menard has finished 14th or better in seven of the last eight races here at Michigan, but that team seems to be struggling lately so we’re going to stay away. Menard has just one top 15 finishes in the last eleven Sprint Cup races overall. Finally, Kasey Kahne is capable of a good finish here at Michigan and hasn’t had a result worse than 16th here since the 2013 season.
Pre-Lockdown B Group Rankings: (1) Carl Edwards, (2) Martin Truex, Jr., (3) Kyle Larson, (4) Tony Stewart, (5) Austin Dillon, (6) Jamie McMurray, (7) Ryan Newman, (8) Kasey Kahne, (9) Paul Menard, (10) Trevor Bayne, (11) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., (12) A.J. Allmendinger, (13) Greg Biffle, (14) Danica Patrick, (15) Aric Almirola, (16) Casey Mears, (17) Clint Bowyer
Yahoo! C Group Picks and Ranking for Michigan 2
It’s not yet known whether or not Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is going to be in the #88 Chevrolet, but if he is not medically cleared to go then it will be Alex Bowman in that race car once again. So he would be the obvious start save option in the C Group this weekend. If you’re looking for another “start save” pick, you have to look at Chris Buescher. He’s coming off of that top 5 run at Bristol last weekend and finished 20th here at Michigan in the June race. With the way that team is running right now, it wouldn’t surprise use one bit to see him inside the top 20 once again. As far as our C Group picks this week, we’re going with the two best options: Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney. We have 4 and 7 starts remaining with those two (respectively). Chase finished 2nd here at Michigan back in June and Ryan came home 17th after starting 5th.
EDIT: Alex Bowman is racing this weekend, and we will have him on our roster along with Chase Elliott.
Pre-Lockdown C Group Rankings: (1) Chase Elliott, (2) Ryan Blaney, (3) Alex Bowman, (4) Chris Buescher, (5) Landon Cassill, (6) David Ragan, (7) Michael McDowell, (8) Regan Smith, (9) Michael Annett, the rest
