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We are at Michigan this weekend! This 2-mile racetrack was reapave in 2011. Personally I wished Nascar would stop repaving racetracks altogether as I prefer worn out surfaces to newer surfaces. Oh well that just me being old-school like. From fantasy point of view, the key to success will be having luck on your side. Typically this track favorites fuel mileage. Honestly I am not a fan of it, but that how it plays out sometimes. So be prepared for that if it happens. It kinda reminds me of a road course and that exactly how some teams attack this race.
A:
1.Kevin Harvick - Harvick starts from 2nd and undoubtedly have the car to beat this weekend as he does almost every single track we go to. He posted solid pair of practices on Saturday to back up his heavy favorite status. I was very high on him on all week long though. Wouldn't was though? He have wheeled off 4 straight finishes of 2nd at Michigan. It helps that he finished 2nd earlier this season at Auto Club. Honestly I don't see how anyone could bet against him in Sunday's race. The stats says Harvick will win , but he will probably find a way to finish 2nd. Still he is by far the best fantasy option available to us.
My Overall Ranking - 1st
2. Dale Jr - Overall I thought Dale was pretty good on Saturday. He posted some great laps in both sessions, but nothing like he did at Pocono practices. Kinda feel like people have let him slip under the radar after all the Pocono hype last week. I wouldn't sleep on him at all. He easily had an top 10 car in practice and probably will finish somewhere in the top 5 when the checkers wave. It also helps that he finished 5th and 7th last season here. People seem to forget Dale Jr once use to own this place and personally I think he may be getting back to his old ways. Which means he could be a very useful fantasy option this weekend if you employ him correctly.
My Overall Ranking - 2nd
3. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson qualified inside the top 10, but he wasn't anything special in practice though. However wasn't too bad either. His Michigan track record isn't anything to laugh at considering he won here last season. Realistically he probably have an top 10 car heading into Sunday race, but his upside usually give him a shot at an top 5 finish. Remember last week? He had a top 10 car all day long, but finished 3rd. Another similar day could be in store for him at Michigan. One major aspect I like about Johnson is that he have won 3 times in 2015 on high-speed intermediate racetracks.
My Overall Ranking - 3rd
4. Matt Kenseth - Behind Harvick it is really a guessing game. In
practice, nobody really stood out from the rest in this grouping tier.
However Kenseth bring a lot to the table that I really like. His
Michigan record is pretty darn good. Even with JGR he been reliable.
Over the past 4 races (All with JGR), he only have one finish worse than
15th and that last season where he finished 30 laps down. Also he
probably should have won at Auto Club earlier this season, if the
caution didn't come out late in the event. It helps that he qualified 12th and posted good practices on Saturday. I wouldn't call them great
practices, but he usually races better than he practices. If that the
case , he will easily finish inside the top 10 on Sunday. I have a
feeling he knock off a finish somewhere in the top 5 when it all said
and done though.
My Overall Ranking - 4th
5.Kyle Busch - My sleeper in this tier have to be Kyle Busch. He starts 10th and looked pretty good in both practice sessions on Saturday. I wouldn't call him a favorite by no means since he have struggled to finish races here since the repave, but it hard ignore how much upside a guy like Rowdy have. I also like the fact that he is racing again in the NXS race. I feel like he does better when he is racing double duty. Is it set in stone he will finish better? No, but it probably doesn't hurt him either though.
My Overall Ranking - 6th
Other Options - Gordon (7th), Keselowski (9th) , Hamlin (10th) , Logano (11th) and Newman (14th)
B:
1. Kasey Kahne - It really hard to not like Kasey Kahne this weekend. He starts on the pole and looked pretty good in both practices on Saturday. Everything in practice points to Kasey being a top tier option in Sunday's race. Honestly I been pretty high on him all week long for the most part. Michigan have been a solid track for him since joining HMS. He haven't been anything special this season on the high-speed intermediate racetracks, but have ran very competitively in several of them this season. Typically when he starts up front, he finishes there too. Not saying he will win , however I wouldn't rule out an top 5 finish. Or more realistically an top 10 finish.
My Overall Ranking - 5th
2. Martin Truex Jr - Truex is the hottest driver in the NSCS right now. He have led the most laps in each of the past three races. Don't expect him to slow down anytime soon either. He qualified 9th and had two solid practices on Saturday. I don't think he will make it back-to-back wins, but I wouldn't rule out another top 10 finish though. Not as high on Truex as most are this weekend. Personally I think he hit his peak last week at Pocono. Honestly I am interested how he fares over the next few races. This weekend he has an top 5 car, but I decided to leave room for error with Truex in my rankings. I have him across the line in 8th! On a side note , one of Truex's better racetracks is coming up next weekend for those of you who play Yahoo Fantasy Racing.
My Overall Ranking - 8th
3. Kyle Larson - Larson have been on a roll lately with finishes of 3rd and 8th at Dover and Pocono. Well he doesn't look to be done quite yet. Larson qualified 17th , but don't expect him to stay there for long. He post two very strong practice sessions on Saturday. I felt like Larson slipped under the radar this week. Honestly I am not sure why either. He finished 8th last season in his debut. Realistically he probably will finish somewhere in the top 10 or Top 12. However I wouldn't rule out a finish near the top 5 when the checkers wave. I have him across the line 12th, but I expect him to easily to finish better than that.
My Overall Ranking - 12th
4. Carl Edwards - I am not real high on Edwards this week due to his inability to finish up front. Personally I think Edwards is one of the most hyped drivers headed into a season we have seen in quite a long time. A lot of people jumped on the Carl Edwards 2015-Championship bandwagon in the offseason, but so far the results haven't followed. He qualified 4th , but I am pretty sure he will find a way to finish outside the top 10 once again. He wasn't terrible in practice, but he only posted short runs though. Which kinda makes him unreadable for the most part. I would wait until next week at Sonoma to use him. It been a pretty good place for him lately.
My Overall Ranking - 13th
5. Kurt Busch - Busch have looked a little off this weekend and it doesn't help he qualified 24th for Sunday race. I wasn't super impressed by his practice results , but I wouldn't worry though. He will find his way into the top 15 fairly quick. After that I don't know to be honest. I think he can run top 10 in the race, but I don't think he is anything beyond that. I would feel a lot better if he didn't wreck his primary car in practice 1 on Friday. That car was a lot better than his backup overall in my opinion. It was the car he finished 3rd at Auto Club with earlier this season afterall. I have him across the line in 14th overall in my rankings.
My Overall Ranking - 14th
Other Options - Menard (16th) , Dillon (17th), JMac (18th) , and Stewart (19th)
C:
1. Ryan Blaney - Without much debate , Ryan Blaney is the best fantasy option in this tier. He qualified 5th and had the best practices of anyone in this grouping tier of drivers. His speed and competitiveness isn't my concern at all. It weather or not Blaney can go the full 400 miles. That been a major concern all week long. I agree it a concern, but the reward could be huge if plays out right for Ryan. I personally have him ranked 20th in my fantasy rankings. But if he goes the distance with his engine , then he probably gonna least knock off an top 15 or top 20. We cannot predict engine failures , so I say roll the dice with him.
My Overall Ranking - 20th
2. Ty Dillon - If something were to happen to Blaney , I think without question Ty Dillon is the primary fantasy option in line to be the top scorer in this grouping tier. Dillon qualified 22nd and should be able to easily finish inside the top 25 on Sunday. Ty Dillon (In my opinion) is a younger more talented Austin Dillon. They share a lot of great qualities. One of them is consistency improving their cars throughout the race. His brother loves this track , so let hope Ty shares the same opinion!
My Overall Ranking - 22nd
3. David Ragan - Ragan been a pretty safe fantasy option over the past few weeks, but I don't feel great about rolling the dice with a driver who was just given a new crew chief. Personally I thought Ragan was the best option in this tier in final practice. However I don't think it a good idea to roll the dice with him over Dillon and Blaney. Especially since he have a new crew chief. Just my personal opinion though. I could see an top 20 finish out of him though.
My Overall Ranking - 23rd
4. Danica Patrick - I definitely could see Danica outscoring all three options above, but I think it unwise to go that route if one of drivers are available to you. Especially in Yahoo Fantasy Racing where allocations are pretty limited. Danica qualified 19th and looked pretty decent overall. She should be able to run top 25 on Sunday, but I am not so sure about anything better than that. However I wouldn't it out either though. I personally have her across the line in 25th in my fantasy rankings. Wished she show us a little more in practice this week.
My Overall Ranking - 25th
Email - JeffNathan74@yahoo.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans
