RADIO
The Tricky Triangle has been mastered by Kyle Bush yet again in last Sunday's race at Pocono Raceway. Things worked for Kyle from the start and his teammates Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones had themselves a day as well. Jones finished the race third and Hamlin finished sixth putting Joe Gibbs Racing back on their triple driver stack in Top 10s.
Now that we're on to Michigan its all about hot nasty speed. Michigan Speedway is known as NASCAR's fastest track and the man that's been the most effective when it comes to speed lately is William Byron. Willy B has been killing it in qualifying but still has some things to learn when race day comes around. Still, he's most definitely worth a shot with the way his car has been running this year.
Look for this to be a lot more of an entertaining race this year as we get ready to see some cars break 200 MPH on Sunday.
What We Learned At Pocono
- Denny Hamlin broke his bad run streak.
- Clint Bowyer had his first Top 5 since 2014.
- Kyle Busch is a fan of the new package (at Pocono).
- Chase Elliott and William Byron were the only Chevrolets in the Top 10.
DFS Lineup Sleepers - FireKeepers Casino 400
Matt DiBenedetto
Matt Dibenedetto had a strong start to the season but has been a bit in the background since then. This year there's no doubt he has a better car and that alone makes a big difference. One track similar to Michigan is Auto Club (2-mile Intermediate track) and this year DeBenedetto started 24th and finished 18th. It's not the biggest move but Id keep an eye out for DiBenedetto this weekend.
Alex Bowman
The Bow Man didn't deliver like I thought he would at Pocono last Sunday but that's not enough to keep him out of my lineups. It's easy to see that Bowman has been one of the few racers to really step up their game this year. Nothing can stop me for wanting to own some Bowman in my DFS lineups this weekend and you'd be crazy not to play him in at least a few lineups after watching his progress so far this season.
Daniel Hemric
Daniel Hemric has a great car from RCR this year and has put himself into the (background but still there) conversation in 2019. Hemric hasn't raced in Michigan in the cup series at all so there is seriously a blank slate for him on Sunday. So far this year, Hemric has led 15 laps in total and place inside the Top 20 six times with one Top 5 finish at Talladega.
DFS Lineup Avoids - FireKeepers Casino 400
Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell is one of the guys that finds himself towards the bottom of DFS lineups on the reg but I don't think this is the best week for it. McDowell has never been able to break outside the Top 20 in his career at Michigan. It shouldn't come as a surprise that he's also not great at NASCAR's other two-mile track, Auto Club. McDowell finished 24th at Auto Club this year and it's also another track he just can't seem to crack the Top 20 at.
Jimmie Johnson
It's been a long winding road for ole Jimmie this season and it doesn't seem like it's going to loosen up anytime soon. Johnson just seems like he cant adapt well to this new package and that's an obvious reason not to start a driver but Michigan isn't his best track throughout his career either. Johnson hasn't won at Michigan International Speedway since 2014 and has placed outside the Top 20 at both races here in 2018.
Erik Jones
One of the four driver picks I had last weekend was Erik Jones but he's staying in the garage for me this week in Michigan. In Erik's four career races at this track, he gets good starting positions but just can't seem to hold on to them. His best finish at MIS was third back in 2017 and since then its been outside of the Top 10 for Jones. there's obviously something in the air in Michigan that he hasn't gotten a filter for yet so be weary of spending up for Jones this weekend.
For any and all fantasy NASCAR questions, find me on Twitter @GarageGuyChase.
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