The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will compete this week at Michigan International Speedway. This is a 2-mile oval with a lot of grip and a lot of speed. Drivers who qualified poorly can make their way through the field Sunday.
The scoring format for Fox Fantasy Auto Racing rewards drivers who improve their position in the race a lot more than the drivers who lead the most laps. Sometimes all of the best drivers qualify up front and the drivers in the back are risky picks. That is what happened Friday. I am not going to deep in the field this week because the drivers who qualified just outside the top 10 still have a chance for 8-10 position differential points and a lot of finishing points.
Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski qualified right outside the top 10. These three drivers have top five cars. I trust them a lot more than I trust the drivers deeper in the field like Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Austin Dillon and Paul Menard.
Jimmie Johnson will start from the rear but be scored from the 13th position. I am not worried about Johnson making his way to the front. He has won 5 of 7 races he went to the back, so he is in good shape. Johnson is risky but I am willing to take a risk with a 7 time champion.
Erik Jones is another Michigan native who should run well. He looked great in practice and the team even said this might be the best car they have had all year.
The No. 13 team failed post qualifying inspection so Ty Dillon will start 37th. He is a must start because he will likely move up 20 positions and score top 10 points in Fox Fantasy Auto Racing.
Here are my picks for the FireKeepers Casino 400….
Driver 1: Kevin Harvick $11,800 (Starts 11th)
Driver 2: Jimmie Johnson $11,500 (Starts 13th) *Will go to back for car change
Driver 3: Brad Keselowski $11,000 (Starts 12th)
Driver 4: Erik Jones $8,000 (Starts 15th)
Driver 5: Ty Dillon $6,800 (Starts 37th)
Good luck this week!
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