Saturday, August 27, 2016

Fantasy Nascar Picks (Michigan)

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Well if you wanted to see a crazy weekend at Bristol, then I am sure you are fairly happy. The rest of us? Not sure much. I personally enjoyed the racing at Bristol (minus the rain), but my fantasy teams cannot say the same. But that's how this sport goes sometimes, you need some luck on your side. But luckily we turn around and head straight to Michigan this weekend. Michigan is a straightforward track and we already have a good idea of teams who will dominate up front. Fuel strateagy will likely come into play, but other than that most of us have it figured out. I personally expect Joe Gibbs Racing and Penske to dominate once again. Also wouldn't be shocked to see the Chip Ganassi cars up front, they are unloading some fast cars right now. I also wouldn't be shocked to see the Hendrick cars run more towards the front, but I also could see them run mid-pack again.

Michigan isn't a tough track to figure from a fantasy point of view, as I said it is pretty straightforward. Starting up front is key here, if you start on the pole here lately then you could easily dominate the day. The past 5 of 7 pole winners here have gone on to win. The past two pole winners have led well more than half of the laps. That shouldn't be surprising as track position is key and passing is more difficult than your average intermediate track. If you looking to do research on your own, then I would look back at the Michigan race in June. I also would take a quick peak at the Kansas' race. In my opinion, that is the most similar racetrack. You also make a case for Fontona. But I think Kansas is more similar (not because of it size), but because of the surface. Both been repave recently and both behave more similarly. Also some people would consider Kansas as mini-Michigan. I would still look at data from Michigan first earlier this season though. And if you must, you can view the results from Cali. Alright let's get started!

Yahoo -

A:

Start - Joey Logano (5)

Bench - Kevin Harvick (5)

Reasons - It is a pretty easy decision to make here. Logano starts on the pole and have a great track record here over the past few years. He been good with this package this season, including dominating Michigan earlier this season. There's no logically reason to consider benching him honestly. I have Harvick finishing second, in case for some reason you left him off your team.

B:

Start - Kyle Larson (3), Tony Stewart (6)

Bench - Ryan Newman (4), Austin Dillon (4)

Reasons -Tough week for picks, I wanted to go with Smoke and Dillon. But things didn't go quite according to plan. So we have to revamp our strategy, but should work out pretty nicely though. Still planning to use Tony Stewart. He has enough speed to finish top 12. I wanted to go with Dillon over Larson, and save Larson for the chase. But Dillon haven't looked all too great, while Larson been very fast since unloading. Sometimes, it is smart to bench the faster driver. Especially if he is a risky option, however Dillon just don't look good enough. I think this is a week to go with Larson!


C:

Start - Alex Bowman (8)

Bench - Chase Elliott (4)

Reasons - Alright, I have a strong feeling that Elliott will be a top 5 finisher on Sunday. However, I am sticking to my plan of start-saving and rolling with Bowman. We only need a few more races of start-saving before we are good, so why change things up now. Besides, Bowman could legitially steal a top 10 finish this weekend as well. So probably won't lose too much ground to the competition.

Fantasy Live - 4,22,11,38 and 34

Reason - I want some fast cars to be the balk of my fantasy lineup. So I am going with the drivers who will be at the front and lead a lot of laps and fast laps. So Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. All three drivers have top 5 cars. I could throw Elliott on there, if I wanted to free up some space and if I do I will change my lineup on this post. So who will round out my team? Chris Buescher because he is running quite well right now and likely won't lose many spots (and might gain some). Landon Cassill is just a value pick. He is good at improving his position. Very underrated guy when it comes to that. He have done it all year!

Sleeper - Chase Elliott

Winner -Joey Logano

Twitter - @MattAleza