The Cup Series will travel to Michigan International Speedway this weekend. The race Sunday is the 23rd race on the schedule. That means we have used 22 drivers so far in the One & Done game. The picks are going to get tougher as NASCAR ends the regular season and starts the playoffs. Do not worry though; I have a plan to get us to Phoenix with some good picks. The FireKeepers Casino 400 can be seen Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on USA Network.
ONE & DONE CONTESTS
This pick is for games where you can only use a driver once throughout the season.
RYAN BLANEY will be my pick in games where you can use a driver once throughout the season. The Fords have found some speed this summer and they have won the last eight races at Michigan. Blaney won the race at Michigan in 2021 and he finished fifth in the race last year. He also won earlier this year at Charlotte. The No. 12 car posted the sixth-fastest speed in practice and qualified ninth for the race. Blaney should have a good chance to finish in the top-10, with the upside to win Sunday.
ONE & DONE (REGULAR SEASON/PLAYOFF GAMES)
This pick is for games where you are allowed to use a driver once in the regular season (the first 26 races) and then you can use them again in the playoffs, if your team advances in the playoffs. We only need 26 drivers in these games so we can be a bit more aggressive with our picks. Here are my picks for games that reset at the end of the regular season…
TY GIBBS will be my pick in games where you can use a driver once in the regular season and then the picks reset for the playoffs. Gibbs has not been good on the large intermediate tracks this year. He finished 16th at Auto Club, 22nd at Las Vegas, 34th at Kansas and 26th at Charlotte. He cannot be that bad again Sunday, can he? Gibbs qualified 11th and finished 10th at Michigan last year. The No. 54 car looks fast again this weekend. Gibbs posted the fourth-fastest speed in practice and qualified third for the race. I will use Gibbs Sunday and hope he can finish in the top-10 again.
ONE & DONE (USE A DRIVER MORE THAN ONCE)
I play in a game where I can use a driver three times throughout the season. I know some of you have told me you can use your drivers twice. We will only need 18 drivers in these games, so we do not need to dig too deep with our picks. Here is my pick in games where you can use a driver more than once….
CHASE ELLIOTT will be my pick in games where you can use a driver more than once. Elliott has a slim chance to make the playoffs on points. He is 40 points behind the cut line, with two road courses left on the schedule. The No. 5 team will likely play it safe this week and try to use strategy to score as many Stage Points as possible and put Elliott in position to finish in the top-10. This strategy will make the No. 9 car a great choice for your One & Done lineups.
Good luck Sunday!
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