After what some would say was an awesome race last week at Watkins Glen, we are headed back to the auto makers head quarters Michigan for the Consumers Energy 400. With the way tempers flared last weekend, it will be interesting to see how everyone races each other this weekend. That on track product could potentially affect your fantasy lineup this weekend as well. With this being the second to last race before the playoffs things are heating up for sure.
Starting Lineup
- Joey Logano
- Kevin Harvick
- Kurt Busch
- Martin Truex
- Denny Hamlin
- Kyle Larson (Garage)
Here’s Why
After a dominance performance the last time the cup series was in Michigan this first driver could be looking to repeat this weekend. Joey Logano lead a whopping 163 laps when they were here back in June. He’s also averaging around 37.3 points per race this season which is second to only Kyle Busch. Plus I mean he was fighting for mid pack spots last weekend at Watkins Glen he could use a rebound weekend during the Consumers Energy 400 especially since him and Kyle Busch are battling for the regular season points title.
It took a lot longer than pretty much anyone thought it would for Kevin Harvick to win his first race of the season this year. The bad thing is SHR and Kevin haven’t been back to victory lane since that win either. Kevin was able to win this race last year and lead 108 laps. Along with that he has won the August race once more in his career and has finished second at Michigan in general a total of seven times in thirty seven starts. The Consumers Energy 400 could be the race Harvick is able to grab victory number two on the 2019 season.
The argument could be made to throw Kyle into my lineup this weekend, and its a very well respected argument in my opinion, but he’s not going to be the Busch brother whose got a spot. Kurt Busch grabs the spot over his brother this weekend in regard to his wins. Kurt in thirty seven career starts at Michigan has won three separate times. Along with that in his past seven starts his worst finish is twelfth. Kurt is going to give you a solid performance this weekend point wise if he can stay out of trouble.
In the past five races at Michigan last weeks runner up Martin Truex Jr has an average finish position of 8.6 and has led a total of one hundred and forty four laps. The one thing though is he has never been able to make it into victory lane in Motor City. MTJ could be looking for some redemption this weekend especially after the argument being made by some that he had the better car last weekend but just couldn’t pass Chase Elliott. After his swap to Joe Gibbs Racing this year Martin has been out to prove himself once again. The Consumers Energy 400 could be the first Michigan checkered flag for Martin to add to his long list of tracks he’s visited victory lane.
Denny Hamlin has really came back hard this year. With three wins and almost four at New Hampshire he could really contend for win number four this weekend. In the past five races Denny is eighth among the active drivers in finishing average and has led a total of thirty four laps. Denny has two career wins at Michigan, and a career average finish of fourteenth. Keep an eye on Hamlin to keep on proving why he deserves to keep his seat next year with young Christopher Bell breathing down his and Erik Jones neck for a spot in the cup series.
My garage pick and only reason he’s a garage pick is because of his horrible luck this season. Kyle Larson in his eleven career starts has won three times, and has led a total of one hundred and fifty laps. I think the younger CGR driver could really potentially win this race. If his performance is like that of years past, I know his teammate has been on his game this year so it is possible. Keep an eye on Larson especially if any one of those other drivers have some bad luck this Sunday.
Potential Starters
The Consumers Energy 400 really could have any number of different drivers in the starting lineup. It’s getting to the point though that if you aren’t on your game every week the leader in your fantasy league could pull away. So some other options this week include the likes of last weeks winner Chase Elliott. Chase in seven career starts his worst finish is twentieth. He’s finish second three times and led a total of sixty seven laps. Chase took his momentum from Watkins Glen last year and ran onto win two more times in the playoffs. The same could happen this year if history repeats itself
Another driver that very well as I said above could be in your lineup is Kyle Busch. The Candy man’s weekend was filled with tons of controversy last weekend. Having run in’s with William Byron and Bubba Wallace it will be interesting to see how he gets raced this weekend. In the past five races Kyle hasn’t finished worse than tenth. I know nothing is for certain especially with the high drag aero package but its just about a given Kyle will be in the top ten if not competing for a win this weekend at The Consumers Energy 400.
Conclusion
We have seen some interesting finishes so far since NBC has taken on the broad cast responsibilities. The Busch brothers battling it out at Kentucky and then the last lap battle at New Hampshire. While we did see some hard racing earlier this year with the new rules package here at Michigan some might say it was kind of a boring racing product in all. I think this race will be a little bit better especially if Pocono was any indication, the second race winded up being way better of a total product over all.
In conclusion I think this lineup is about as solid as you can get. That’s not being conceded let me just explain respectfully each of these drivers averages over thirty points per race so far this season. Also in points gained only one of my drivers Kyle Larson ranks out side of the top ten in points earned. If this year is any indicator I think you should be able to get a good purse of points this week, and with Bristol coming up as much points as you can grab is recommended.
