Michigan Fantasy Racing Preview

Driver Averages | Laps Led Leaders | Driver Ratings | Past Winners

Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Who’s HOT at Michigan

• Kyle Larson has won the last three races and posted a 1.5 average finish in his last four starts.
• Chase Elliott has finished in the top 10 in each of his four starts, including three runner-up finishes.
• Joey Logano has finished in the top 10 in nine of the last 10 races, including two wins.
• Kevin Harvick has posted seven top fives in the last 10 races, including five runner-up finishes.
• Brad Keselowski, who led 105 laps from the pole last August, has finished ninth or better in six of the last eight races.
• Martin Truex Jr. posted a 4.0 average finish and combined to lead 119 laps in the two races last year.

Keep an Eye On at Michigan

• Kyle Busch, who won the last race on the previous track surface in 2011, combined to lead 54 laps and finished in the top 10 in both races at Michigan last season. He also led 62 laps and finished third at the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in March.
• Erik Jones (8.8), Jamie McMurray (9.2) and Denny Hamlin (10.0) each have an average finish of 10.0 or better in the four races at 2-mile speedways (Michigan and Auto Club) dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
• Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon (three top 10s in last five starts at MIS), Keselowski and Truex Jr. participated in the tire test at Michigan in April.
• Kurt Busch, a three-time Michigan winner, ranks second in average finish (8.4) in the last five races of the season.
• Matt Kenseth, who is coming off his best finish (13th) in his return to Roush Fenway Racing last weekend at Pocono, is a three-time winner at Michigan. His teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has finished in the top 15 in the last five races of the season.
• Ryan Blaney finished eighth at Auto Club in March for his third top 10 in his last five starts at 2-mile speedways.
• Jimmie Johnson is coming off two straight top 10s and three in the last four races this season.
• Clint Bowyer scored top 10s in both stages in this event last year, but finished 26th after contact with the wall with 12 laps to go.

Notes: The pole position has produced the most winners (21) at Michigan – Past Pole Winners…Kyle Larson was the last to win from the pole in this event in 2017…Chevrolet has won six of the last eight races at Michigan…Jack Roush leads all car owners with 13 Michigan wins…Teams will be running new tire codes this weekend, which came out of test at Michigan in April…Looking at right-side tire temperatures, Goodyear believes they have come away with a great compound that will wear more and run cooler…The left-side tire features an updated construction that brings it into line with what is run at other speedways and a new compound to introduce more wear…Teams in both the Monster Energy Cup and Xfinity Series will run the same tire set-up…Drivers that are competing in both races include: Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Paul Menard and Kevin Harvick…Truex Jr, who swept both stages last year in this event and leads all drivers with 37 stage points at MIS, has posted stage points in the last six Stage 1 or 2s this season dating back to Kansas…Kyle Busch is currently riding a streak of 14 stages where he’s earned a point, dating back to Stage 2 at Bristol in April.

*Best Average Finish at Michigan

* – The best average finish is based off a driver entered in the race who has competed in EVERY race during that time span.

Laps Led Leaders at Michigan

Click Here to view all laps led leaders at Michigan over the past 10 races.

Michigan Loop Data Stat Leaders (2005-2017, 26 Races)

Top 10 Stage 1 &2 Points Earned at Michigan
Two Races

2017 June Michigan Stage Finishes

Rookie Report
Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Bubba Wallace has made one Monster Energy Cup Series start at Michigan, finishing 19th last season while subbing for the injured Aric Almirola. Wallace also won the Camping World Truck Series race in 2017 and has one top 10 in two Xfinity Series starts, ninth in 2016. William Byron, who leads the rookie standings by 20 points, will be making his first Cup start at Michigan. Byron has one start each in the Truck and Xfinity at the 2-mile track with top fives in both.

MRN.com Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Martin Truex Jr.
Pete Pistone: Kyle Larson
Tyler Burnett: Kevin Harvick

Driver Notes – Ordered by Average Finish (Top 15) in the Last Five Races at Michigan

Chase Elliott has finished eighth or better in his four starts at Michigan, including three runner-up finishes. Elliott, who finished 16th at Auto Club Speedway earlier this season in his first 2-mile track start with the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, has a 9.0 average finish in the last four races at 2-mile tracks. Elliott has posted a 9.6 average finish in the last five races of the 2018 season, which ranks fourth among all drivers in that span.

Kyle Larson has won the last three races at Michigan. He’s combined to lead 139 laps in that span and his win in this event last year came from the pole. Larson has posted a series-leading 1.2 average finish in the four races at 2-mile speedways (Auto Club and Michigan) dating back to the start of the 2017 season. He finished second at ACS, which is one of his three runner-up finishes in 2018.

Kevin Harvick has finished in the top five in seven of the last 10 races at Michigan, including five runner-up finishes. He finished 14th and 13th, respectively, last season in his first track starts driving a Ford. Harvick had a fast car earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway, but made contact with the wall early when he moved down to side-draft Kyle Larson’s Chevrolet.

Erik Jones posted an 8.0 average finish in his first two Cup starts at Michigan in 2017. He led five laps and finished third in the August race. Jones has the fourth-best average finish (8.8) in the four races at 2-mile speedways dating back to the start of the 2017 season.

Martin Truex Jr. combined to lead 119 laps and posted a 4.0 average finish in the two races at Michigan last season. Truex is the most recent winner at a 2-mile speedway when he led 125 laps from the pole at Auto Club Speedway in March. Truex, who participated in the Goodyear tire test at Michigan in April, scored the most stage points in the two races at MIS in 2017.

Jamie McMurray is one of three drivers that have finished in the top 10 in the last four races at Michigan. He finished 17th at Auto Club Speedway in March to raise his average finish to 9.2 in the last four races at 2-mile speedways.

Joey Logano scored his last of two wins at Michigan in this event in 2016. Logano, who finished third in this event last year, failed to lead a lap in 2017 at MIS. He combined to lead 356 laps in his previous eight starts. Logano finished fifth at Auto Club Speedway in March for his third top five in the last four races at 2-mile speedways (ACS and MIS). Logano’s only finish (28th) outside the top 10 in the last 10 races at Michigan came last August when he had to pit late in the race for a flat tire.

Brad Keselowski won the pole and led a race-high 105 laps last August at Michigan but faded in the end, finishing 17th. He finished 16th in this event last year, snapping a streak of consecutive top 10s in his previous six starts. Keselowski, who participated in the Goodyear tire test at Michigan, finished fourth at the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in March for one of his for top fives in 2018.

Ryan Newman finished fourth last August for his first top five, and sixth top 15, in eight Michigan starts with Richard Childress Racing. Newman won two times at MIS early in his career when he drove for Team Penske.

Austin Dillon finished seventh last August for his third top 10 in his last five starts at Michigan. He participated in the April Goodyear tire test at MIS. Along with his Daytona 500 win, Dillon’s only other top 10 in 2018 came at the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in March.

Matt Kenseth scored his last of three wins at Michigan in the 2015 August race. Two of those wins came with Roush Fenway Racing in 2002 and 2006. Kenseth and RFR continue to show improvement in finding some more speed in the No. 6 Ford since his return to racing last month. He finished 13th last weekend at Pocono, his best finish in three points-paying starts in 2018.

Kurt Busch has posted an 11.0 average finish dating back to his win in this event in 2015, which was shortened by rain. Busch has finished 13th or better in his four starts in the June race with Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch also has two wins at MIS in 2003 with Roush Fenway Racing and 2007 with Team Penske.

Denny Hamlin finished fourth in this event last year for his fourth top 10 in the last seven Michigan races. His last of two wins at MIS came before the track was repaved following the 2011 August race. Hamlin has the eighth-best average finish (10.0) at 2-mile tracks since the start of the 2017 season. He finished sixth at Auto Club Speedway in March.

Ryan Blaney posted an 18.2 average finish in his six starts with Wood Brothers Racing at Michigan. He will make his first Cup start at MIS this weekend with Team Penske. He finished eighth at the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in March.

Kyle Busch finished in the top 10 in both races at Michigan last year. He led 40 laps and finished seventh in this event. Busch’s only Michigan Cup win came in the 2011 August race – the last event before MIS was repaved. Busch, who ranked third in stage points earned at MIS in 2017, does have the third-best average finish (7.0) in the last four races at 2-mile speedways.