2017 Michigan International Speedway, Pure Michigan 400

Congratulations to Martin Truex Jr. who picked up his fourth win of the season and another five playoff points. He now has eighteen more playoff points than Jimmie Johnson, who is his closest competitor. Plus, by leading the point standings he will receive another fifteen points at the end of the regular season which gives him a huge advantage over every other driver in the playoffs. I’m not sure this is what NASCAR had in mind when they introduced stage racing this season.

PURE MICHIGAN 400

This week the series heads back to the Michigan International Speedway for the running of the Pure Michigan 400. This is a two-mile D-shaped race track that will have the drivers running in excess of 200 mph this weekend. This track is very similar to the Auto Club Speedway in California, so we can look at the racing histories of drivers at both of these tracks.

Chase Elliott: I think Chase gets his first ever Cup win this weekend and he won’t have to worry about getting in the playoffs on points. He has finished second in all three of his starts at this track and in the top ten in both of his starts at the Auto Club Speedway. This week everything comes together for him and he picks up that final spot and his first checkered flag in this series.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is still looking for his first win at this track and the way he has been running lately he just might get it this weekend. This team has been the cream of the crop no matter what type of track they have been running at and they are making the right calls in all of those races to keep themselves in contention. It’s hard not to have Martin on your team every week right now.

Kyle Busch: Kyle is the only driver who has had cars as fast as or faster than Truex over the past two months. The only difference is something bad always seems to happen to Kyle to take him out of contention. Last week he got caught up in an accident with Brad Keselowski which essentially took him out of the race for the win. I think these two are going to battle each and every week for the rest of the season with one of them winning the championship.

Kyle Larson: Kyle might have struggled the last three races, but he has won the last two races at this track. If there is any one thing that can break a driver out of a bad stretch it is going to a track where you have won the past couple of races. I look for Kyle to rebound this weekend and be another on a long list of contenders.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie is in one of those stretches he seems to get into every year where they are not really serious contenders in races. He has led more laps at Michigan than any other active driver and yet he only has one win at this track. It always seems like something goes wrong for him at this track during the race. He has won six times in California at a similar track, so I think we need to seriously consider having him on our roster here this weekend.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has won three times at this track with his last win coming here in August of 2015. Matt would really like to get a win so he doesn’t have to worry about another new winner on the season or racing against Clint Bowyer to get the last playoff spot on points. They came close a couple of times in the past few races and this should be another track where he has a good shot at getting his first win of the season.

Joey Logano: Joey has two wins at this track, but I just don’t think this team looks like they are ready to compete for wins right now. I don’t know what has been wrong with this team lately, but it seems like they have neither the speed or the handling in their cars right not to be in contention. Joey really needs a win to make the playoffs and he is running out of time with only four races left before the start of those playoffs.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is still seeking his first win in his home state. He would like to win this race more than any other on the circuit and he could do just that this weekend. He has finished in the top ten here in six of his last seven starts and has completed all but four laps in his sixteen career starts here. He has also led laps here in nine of his past ten starts which tells us that he has a car that can run up front here every time he comes to this track.

Jamie McMurray: Jamie has finished in the top ten here in four of his past five races. He is a teammate to Kyle Larson who won the last two races here. Jamie is my dark horse this week and could pull off a small upset. He is currently in the playoffs on points, but a win would give this team more confidence heading into the playoffs. We should be able to tell during the practice sessions if they are going to have a car that is capable of winning this race.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Martin Truex Jr.
• Brad Keselowski

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Chase Elliott
• Kyle Larson
• Jamie McMurray
• Ryan Blaney

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Erik Jones
• Daniel Suarez

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

1. Chase Elliott
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Kyle Larson
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Kyle Busch

Dark Horse: Jamie McMurray

Stay Away From: Kurt Busch

Big 18: Chase Elliott