Welcome to the NASCAR Cup Series DFS Preview!!! For this edition, we will take a look at the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. This article is brought to you by DFSArmy.com and written by Ryan Larkin. Now is the very best time to sign up and become a DFS Army VIP Member. Become a VIP member!! Sign up and use code LARKIN to save 20%!! You can catch up with Ryan on twitter or in the DFSA VIP slack @Larkin8
Michigan International Speedway
The NASCAR Cup Series makes its way to Michigan for a two race weekend. They will race on Saturday and Sunday in slightly shorter than normal races for Michigan. The races will be down to 156 laps from the normal 200 laps. We will see lineups for race one set by points while the lineup for race two will be set by how the drivers finish in race one. While Michigan is one of the widest tracks the low horsepower, high aero package has relegated this race to essentially being wide open single groove racing. Track position will be unbelievably important and passing the leader will be quite the task. I would highly recommend throwing away the info from race one last year and focusing on race two which will have identical conditions to our races this weekend.
Aug 11, 2019; Brooklyn, MI, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) wins the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Quick Facts
Date: August 8th
Race 1: Saturday 4:00 pm ET.
Laps: 156 Stages: 40/85/156
Date: August 9th
Race 2: Sunday 4:30 pm ET.
Laps: 156 Stages: 40/85/156
Drivers: 39
Defending Champion: Kevin Harvick
AVG. # of Cautions: 5 excluding stage breaks
AVG DNF’s: 4 per race
Pit selection:
- Order based on finishing position from the July 23rd race at Kansas, followed by new entries in order of points.
Starting lineup procedure:
- Starting Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
- Positions 13-24: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
- Positions 25-36: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
- Lastly, Positions 37-40: Open teams in order of owners points
- The top 20 drivers on Saturday will be inverted for Sunday’s start. Drivers that finish 21-40 on Saturday start in that position for Sunday.
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DraftKings
For DraftKings I am trying to lock in on 2 drivers who will lead a large chunk of laps and finish upfront. I expect it will be difficult to pass the leader and that we will see 2-3 guys lead most if not all the laps. Pit strategy will certainly be the key to gaining track position throughout the race. Since it is a shorter race, I will be really focusing on the mid-tier drivers who start deep in the field and can offer good place differential upside. Shorter races should lead to more cars being on the lead lap overall. This will give a lot of teams the ability to overachieve especially when utilizing strategy.
Favorite DK Play: Joey Logano
Logano led 163 laps in a win here last June. He also led 52 laps in the August race while his teammate Keselowski led 66 from the Pole. Logano will start 1st this weekend in race one and I will be loading up on him with the expectation that he dominates a large portion of this race.
FanDuel
For FanDuel, I am strictly worried about trying to hit top 5 finishers and anyone who can pair place diff points and top 10-15 finishes. Only 15.6 dominator points and if those are split between 3 drivers then we are talking about 5 extra points. This is a secondary concern for me. I really want to try and make the most of the salary. Might be a race to attack the 8-11k range and let others over pay for the upper tier, high end priced drivers. Michigan sets up well for mid level teams to do well such as Preece finishing 7th last year and Ty Dillon finishing 11th last August. This can be applied to any team.
Favorite FD Play: Ryan Blaney
The Penske teams showed great speed last year here at Michigan. Blaney also was incredibly fast at Cali earlier this year which is a track I like to compare to Michigan. Blaney starts 11th which means he pairs top 5 upside with a few place differential points. I really feel like he will have the speed to contend for the win this week.
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