The Cup Series will compete at Michigan International Speedway Sunday. There are only two races left in the regular season and two races left in the Fantasy Live regular season. The picks for this game have beaten 99% of the competition every year since 2009. I need a good race to keep the streak going. The picks are currently beating 99.2% of the entries. The good news is that I mapped out the drivers perfectly and we have the best drivers available for the race Sunday.
Here are my picks for Firekeepers Casino 400…
* I mapped out my allocations with each driver for each race. I do this each year to ensure I am using each driver at their best tracks. I will tweak it during the season if a driver gets on a hot-streak, but it gives me an idea of what allocations I have left with each driver.
Kyle Larson (1): It has been tough to save my allocations with Kyle Larson but I wanted to make sure I had one available at Michigan. It worked out perfectly. Larson starts on the pole and will have the No. 1 pit stall. He has three wins at Michigan on his resume and he should have a great chance to add win No. 4 to his resume this week. If you have any allocations left with Larson, you need to use it this week.
Kyle Busch (1): As good as Kyle Larson has been this year, Kyle Busch has been slightly better on the Intermediate tracks using the 550 HP aero package. Busch leads the Cup Series with a 4th-place average finishing position on the intermediate tracks. He has also scored the 2nd-most Stage points (behind Kyle Larson). Busch finished 4th, 5th, 6th, 5th, 3rd and 4th in his 6 races at Michigan using the current aero package. He should be a lock for a top-10 finish Suday.
Martin Truex Jr. (1): I put Martin Truex Jr. in the Garage last week at Indianapolis. I am glad I did. Now I have an allocation with the No. 19 car to use at Michigan. Truex finished 3rd, 3rd, 4th and 3rd in his last four races at Michigan. He also finished 5 of the 6 races on intermediate tracks this year in the top-9. Truex should be a serious threat for a top-five finish Sunday.
Kevin Harvick (3): I never thought I would end the season with extra allocations with Kevin Harvick, but here we are. I have three allocations left with the No. 4 car and I will probably use them in the final two races. Harvick has been a beast at Michigan. He swept the races at the track last year. He has won 4 of the last 5 races at Michigan. I know the No, 4 car has not had the same speed in 2021 that they had in previous years but Harvick should be good enough for a top-10 finish Sunday.
Tyler Reddick (7): Tyler Reddick is the final driver in the playoffs right now. He needs points or a win in order to secure a spot in the field of 16. I expect Reddick will have a similar race to last week. The No. 8 team will use a pit strategy to ensure Reddick scores the most Stage points possible. The No. 8 car has shown the speed to finish in the top 10. Reddick might not win the race but he should score a lot of points in the Fantasy Live game Sunday.
Garage Driver William Byron (3): I had William Byron penciled in for this race and then he crashed at Indianapolis. Now Byron will start 18th Sunday. That is a bit further back than I would like, but I still expect Byron to get to the front. He posted top 3 speed in all of the tracks like Michigan (Las Vegas, Kansas and Charlotte). I will have Byron in the garage as an insurance policy Sunday.
I know some of you do not have the same allocations left with your drivers that I have with mine. Here is my top 12 for Sunday race…
1. Kyle Larson (Use if you have any allocations left)
2. Kyle Busch (Use if you have any allocations left)
3. Chase Elliott (Use if you have any allocations left) (I am out of allocations with Elliott)
4. Denny Hamlin (Use if you have 2 allocations left) (I am out of allocations with Hamlin)
5. Martin Truex Jr. (Use if you have any allocations left)
6. Kevin Harvick (Use if you have any allocations left)
7. William Byron (He is my No. 1 replacement for the drivers listed above)
8. Ryan Blaney (He is my No. 2 replacement for the drivers listed above)
9. Alex Bowman (He is my No. 3 replacement for the drivers listed above)
10. Matt DiBenedetto (He is my No. 4 replacement for the drivers listed above)
11. Austin Dillon (He is my No. 5 replacement for the drivers listed above)
12. Kurt Busch (He is my No. 6 replacement for the drivers listed above)
Good luck and be sure to follow me on Twitter @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.
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