The stars are starting to shine as we get closer to the start of the Chase. Congratulations to Dale Earnhardt Jr on getting his second win of the season and first of his career at Pocono. Winning at a track you have never won at before makes you a legitimate contender to win a championship with the new rules this year. This just shows that this team has a chance to win at tracks they haven’t won at yet.
This week the series heads to Michigan International Speedway for the running of the Quicken Loans 400. MIS is a 2-mile D-shaped oval with 18 degree banking in the turns. It is very similar to California Speedway in the configuration and I believe the biggest difference in these tracks is the weather. Not a real big deal in racing, so those who are good at one of these tracks is usually good at the other.
QUICKEN LOANS 400
Greg Biffle: I am going to go out on a sturdy limb and predict that Greg gets his first victory of the season. He has won two of the past four races at this track and that is why I say the limb is sturdy. I believe that this is Greg’s favorite track to run on and that gives a driver an advantage heading into the weekend. He also has six top five finishes in his last eleven starts at this track, so he is a good pick to start no matter what.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin finished second in the last two race run here and the way he has been running this season I believe he will have a contending car once again. This team has had a great car every weekend and is a legitimate contender in Kevin’s first year with Stewart/Haas Racing. This team is ready to go every week this year.
Carl Edwards: Carl has won two races at this track and has finished in the top ten in his last three starts here.. This team already has a win on the season, but they would like to win another race heading int;o the Chase to prove that they can run well on a consistent basis.
Tony Stewart: Smoke has had a pretty rough season so far, but the weather is warming up and he is feeling better every week. He has finished in the top ten at Michigan in six of his last seven races and knows that he has a car as good as Kevin Harvick under the hood every week I look for him to content this weekend and for the remainder of the season on a weekly basis.
Jimmie Johnson: I can’t talk about California and Michigan without mentioning Jimmie. He has won two of the last three races run this season and is always good at both of the aforementioned tracks. He has also lead laps in the last three races at this track, but lost engines in two of those races. I wouldn’t worry too much about the engines this week though.
Matt Kenseth: Matt has always been a terror at Michigan and California, and even though he is still in second place in the standings I know he would love to get a win very soon. I think this team needs to go back to the basics and not worry so much about what might or might not happen during the race and just race. Then they will be good to go.
Clint Bowyer: This is another team that has been very disappointed with themselves so far this year. but they have always been very good at Michigan. Clint has finished in the top ten here in his last six starts and just needs to have things go right throughout the day. His pit crew needs to be better and then he will be a contender late in this race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale has won two races at this track, including a win here two years ago. Last year he struggled here, blowing an engine in the spring race and losing a bunch of laps in the fall race. This team isn’t worried about those things this season and will be looking back at the win they had two years ago as they head into this weekend’s race.
YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Kevin Harvick
- Jimmie Johnson
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Grag Biffle
- Brad Keselowski
- Tony Stewart
- Carl Edwards
Yahoo Driver Group C
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Trevor Bayne
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
- Greg Biffle
- Jimmie Johnson
- Matt Kenseth
- Kevin Harvick
- Carl Edwards
Dark Horse: Brian Vickers
Stay Away From: Kurt Busch