Overview
After an exciting Xfinity race on Saturday, the Cup cars hit Michigan Motor Speedway Sunday. The drivers will turn over 200 laps for 400 miles on the two-mile superspeedway. Dominator points will be important here and nailing those dominators will be even more important. Kevin Harvick has won four of the last five races here in dominant fashion leading 90, 92, 22, and 38 laps respectively. With that said, Sunday’s pole sitter looks to be as close to a lock as ever to dominate this race from the start. More on him and other below!
Most comparable tracks: Kansas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
*Note: all pricing is DraftKings focused
Dominators
These are the drivers that we can typically expect to, you guessed it, dominate the race. When we think dominator we are looking for guys that will be in a position to lead a hefty amount of laps as well as be able to turn over fastest laps.
Christopher Bell ($9,800), Starting on the Pole
Bell started second in this race last year and was doing well. He led 31 laps before a crash derailed him leading to a 20th-place finish on the day. Despite not much success here over his career, Bell’s price point and starting position make me enthused to consider him as a potential dominator today.
Ryan Blaney ($9,700), Starting 9th
It may take him some time to get to the front starting back at ninth, but Blaney has been strong here when looking back through recent history. Blaney has top-five finishes in three of his last four here (the outlier being a crash during the second race of 2020) and won here two years ago. Blaney made really good gains last year finishing fifth despite starting back at 24th. He’ll contend today and could be overlooked as a potential dominator.
Joey Logano ($9,300), Starting 6th
If Harvick is considered the class of Michigan, Logano isn’t too far behind him in my opinion. Logano finished fourth here last year continuing a string of top-10’s which is now of six in his last eight races here. The driver of the 22 has three career wins and eight top-fives here and has led 51 or more laps here on four occasions.
Also consider:
William Byron ($10,000), Starting 8th
Ross Chastain ($9,000), Starting 2nd
Denny Hamlin ($10,700), Starting 13th
Place Differential Targets
Kevin Harvick ($10,300), Starting 22nd
As mentioned above, Harvick has dominated this track winning four of the last five races here. Its plain and simple, Harvick knows his way around here no matter where he starts. This is a huge spot for place differential and despite the hefty price tag, I’m in on Harvick today.
Kyle Larson ($10,800), Starting 17th
Larson should be a trendy play today but the salary could push some people away. It shouldn’t considering how versatile Larson has been at Michigan through his career. Larson at one point won this race three years in a row starting from the 12th, pole, and ninth positions, a stretch that ranged from 2016-2017 when he was running the 42 car. Since moving the the 5, Larson has not won here but he has finished seventh, third, and third in his last three races here, two of those being in the 5 car. With an average finish of 11th for his career here, it’s a sure bet that as long he keeps the car clean, he’ll be in the top-10 and could contend for a top-three or win.
Alex Bowman ($8,000), Starting 20th
Bowman has been hit or miss of late and it’s been that way a bit at Michigan. However, he has the ability to drive through the field quietly and finish well at a track such as this one. Bowman did just that last season when he started 30th here en route to a ninth-place finish. Despite an unfavorable history here, Bowman is worth a play as a boom or bust candidate in a tournament setting with potentially less than 10 percent ownership.
Also consider:
Ricky Stenhouse ($7,000), Starting 27th
Josh Berry ($6,400), Starting 35th
Justin Haley ($6,000), Starting 26th
Erik Jones ($7,300), Starting 25th
Corey LaJoie ($5,500), Starting 31st
GOOD LUCK!!