Michigan International Speedway, Pure Michigan 400

Congratulations to Kevin Harvick who picked up his second win of the season this past weekend at Bristol in another weather delayed race. Chris Buescher came away with a top five finish which moved him into thirtieth place in the points standings which would put him into the Chase if he can stay there for the next three races. The next big fight will be for who can still get in on points and who needs to win a race to make the Chase in the next three weeks.

Ryan Newman currently holds the last points position to make the Chase, but a new winner will knock him out too. There are still a handful of drivers who need to run very well over the next three races to give themselves a shot at getting their team into the Chase while Buescher and Tony Stewart must maintain their position in the standings to make their wins propel them at a chance to win a championship.

PURE MICHIGAN 400

Kevin Harvick: I am going to pick Kevin to win back to back races this week at Michigan. He has finished in the top five here in six of his last seven starts including five second place finishes. When you finish runner-up that many times in a short stretch you know you are doing something right and you just need that small piece of something going right to take the checkered flag.

Joey Logano: Joey won the race here in June and has won two of the past six races at this track. He has also finished in the top ten in his last seven starts here. This team has run really well at this type of track this season and that should continue this weekend. Look for Joey to compete against Kevin for the win.

Martin Truex Jr.: Speaking of drivers who have run well on this type of track this season let’s not forget about Martin. This team has been good on every type of track this year and really dominated at Charlotte in May. Look for this team to qualify well and run up front all day. If they hit their set up correctly at the start of the race, they could make this another runaway race.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is still looking for his first win at what he considers his home track and he always seems to run well here. He has finished in the top ten at Michigan in his last five starts and is tied for the series lead with four wins on the season. This team is solidly in the Chase and I think they will take any chance they can to try and win this race in Brad’s home state.
Matt Kenseth: Matt won this race last year and has always ran well on this track. With three wins, fourteen top five, and twenty top ten finishes in thirty-four starts here, Matt is one of the most consistent drivers on the circuit at this track. He had some more bad luck at Bristol last weekend that knocked him out of contention late in the race. Look for him to move to the front once again this weekend.

Carl Edwards: Carl is another driver who has run very well here throughout his entire career. With two wins, nine top five, and seventeen top ten finishes in only twenty-four starts, he is the only driver more consistent here than Matt is. With both of them driving for Joe Gibbs and those cars being the class of the field for most of the year, expect to see both of them vying for the win this weekend.

Chase Elliott: Chase has only run one race here which was back in June, but he finished second in that race and had a fast car all day. This team is going to win a race real soon and this might be the weekend that he does it. He has run well each and every week and just seems to be getting closer and closer to breaking through for his first Sprint Cup Series win. It won’t be a big surprise when it happens.

Kyle Larson: Kyle needs to pick up or win or run really well the next three races if he wants to make the Chase. This team seems to be good in most of the races they run, but always seems to run into some kind of trouble on the track late in the race. They are either getting caught up in somebody’s wreck or hitting the wall on their own because Kyle likes to run the real high line. That is the way to get around Michigan so this might be his week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr./Alex Bowman: I am not sure if Dale will be back this week or not. We will have to watch the entry list and the news to see what his status is. This is one of the tracks where he really excels and if he comes back this week he knows he will need a win to make the Chase. If he is out once again this weekend, Alex Bowman will be back in the car subbing for him and the car will be set up the same in either case.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has only won once at this track, but he usually has a great handling car here. This team really needs to step up their game on this type of track and the intermediate tracks if they want to seriously threaten for another championship. This is the time of the year where you need to start running consistently and winning races. I think they will be fast once again this weekend.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Joey Logano

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Martin Truex Jr.
• Kyle Larson
• Kasey Kahne

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Chase Elliott
• Alex Bowman

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Joey Logano
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Carl Edwards
5. Martin Truex Jr.

Dark Horse: Chase Elliott

Stay Away From: Trevor Bayne

Big 18: Chase Elliott