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Chris Durell brings you DraftKings fantasy NASCAR advice, DFS lineups picks and sleepers analysis for Chris Durell brings you DraftKings fantasy NASCAR advice, DFS lineups picks and sleepers analysis for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway
Welcome back race fans. This week the Monster Energy Cup Series travels to Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400 this Sunday. The track is a two-mile oval intermediate track that produces some of the top speeds of any track in NASCAR as drivers reach top speeds over 200 mph. Kyle Larson is not only the defending champ here at Michigan, he also comes into this week with three straight wins at the track and will undoubtedly be the favorite this week.
From a fantasy perspective, we will want to look towards a couple dominator drivers to build a core around this week as three of the last six races have seen a driver lead 100 or more laps. This is significant as there are only 200 laps in this race. Digging deeper, it appears that the new stage racing has helped opened up some more dominator potential as there were two drivers in each race to lead 50 or laps last season with just one in each of the previous four races here. Place differential, as always, is dependant on qualifying and change from week to week. With all that said, let's jump into the top picks for the week and keep in mind these are coming after qualifying but before final practices so be sure to check out the cheatsheet for any changes.
Daily Fantasy NASCAR: DraftKings and FanDuel DFS Lineup Picks - FireKeepers Casino 400
Kyle Larson(DK-$10,500 FD-$11,500)
He came into this week as the heavy favorite as he has won three straight races here at Michigan and has been consistent overall with Top 10 finishes in four straight and six of his last seven races. For fantasy, he is going to be more popular after qualifying on Friday afternoon as he failed to get out of the first round and will start 26th on Sunday giving him elite place differential upside. He didn't like his car but the team now has two practices to get the car right. Considering he is fourth in salary, he is a safe play in all formats this week.
Kyle Busch(DK-$11,600 FD-$11,600)
Over the course of his career, Michigan has been one of Kyle Busch's worst tracks(19.5 average finish) but I think that helps keep his ownership lower than both Harvick and Larson and even possibly Truex this week. I will take that considering he is starting on the front row and has led the second-most laps(888) this season and bringing us a ton of dominator point potential.
Jamie McMurray(DK-$7,600 FD-$9,200)
The Chevy's have struggled to start the season but I will be turning to McMurray this week as he has been extremely consistent here at Michigan. He comes into this race with Top 10 finishes in four straight and five of his last six races here and has finished 16th or better in eight straight races here. If he was starting inside the Top 20 this week I would be reserving for GPP only but the fact he is starting 24th has me wanting shares of the #1 car in all formats.
Ty Dillon(DK-$5,600 FD-$6,500)
Dillon is another driver in a Chevy I will be taking a shot on this week in Michigan in the punt value range. He will be starting 31st this week and has some track history to back up the place differential value as he has raced here four times early in his career and has finished inside the Top 25 in all four. Making me feel even better about the pick is the form as he comes in with Top 25's in two straight and seven of his last nien races.
NASCAR DFS Cheat Sheet
Don't have the time to search multiple sites looking for NASCAR stats and data?
Check out my DFS NASCAR cheatsheet which includes Track History(2-Year Trend & Career), Track Type History(2-Year Trend), Current Form, Practice/Qualifying Data, and a weighted system to get an overall rank for each driver each race. Check out it now while it's still in BETA mode and FREE to everyone. Also, be sure to check out the Race by Race Trends Sheet.
DFS & Fantasy NASCAR Chat Room
If you have any questions leading up to the race hit me up in the chat below!
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