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FireKeepers Casino 400

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FireKeepers Casino 400

Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, Michigan
Track - 2 Mile D Shaped Oval Superspeedway
18° of Banking in the Corners

The rain in Pocono pushed the Exalta We Paint Winners 400 into Monday where Kurt Busch became the 9th driver to pick up a win this season. Kurt and the #41 Stewart Haas Racing team picked up the win despite not having crew chief Tony Gibson available as he was suspended following the the previous race. It was also Kurt Busch's 12th Top 10 finish(leads all of NASCAR) in the first 14 races. On to next week.

This week NASCAR heads to Brooklyn, Michigan for the FireKeepers Casino 400. Michigan International Speedway is a 2 mile D Shaped Oval and is classified as a Superspeedway. It is known for being the fastest non plate track on the and this will be the fist race here with the new down force package introduced at the beginning of the season.

We are now 12 races from the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs and with nine drivers locked in with wins in 2016, that leaves seven spots up for grabs between the remaining drivers. Rookie Chase Elliott leads the non winners in points with 413 with Joey Logano(410) and Dale Earnhardt Jr.(381) not far behind him and all three are getting closer to getting that coveted win. Sitting on the bubble is Ryan Newman with 338 points with AJ Allmendinger(334), Kasey Kahne(325), Ricky Stenhouse Jr.(325), Trevor Bayne(319), and Kyle Larson(302) looking to climb in the top 16 in the next handful of races. It is going to be an exciting summer and future for NASCAR as so many young up and coming drivers are starting to become a fixture week in and week out.

Are looking to get better as fantasy NASCAR but don't have the time to conduct all the research necessary? Check out my DFS Cheatsheet which will give you the edge to cash more consistently on DraftKings. The cheatsheet includes driver salaries, current form(Last 5 races), Track History(Last 5 Years), Loop Data, weekly salary trends,  and practice and qualifying ranks. I have also created a weighting system which changes weekly and takes in to account all of the things listed previously. I update the practice and qualifying as they happen which changes the overall rankings through the weekend. The cheatsheet will also be final shortly after the final practice. If you purchase the cheatsheet prior to final practice you will receive an email when the final lineup has been set.

If you have any questions about the cheatsheet throw me an email(jagerbombs99@gmail.com) or hit me up on Twitter(@jager_bombs9).

Upper Tier Targets ($9,000+)

KevinHarvick
DraftKings - $10,600
First Practice - 5th
Qualified - 29th
Second Practice - 13th
Final Practice - 16th

Happy Harvick has just one win(August 2010) under his belt here at Michigan but has finished runner up five of the last six races here. He is coming into this race with decent form picking up two runners ups in his last four races and is second in Top 10 finishes(11) behind teammate Kurt Busch. The #4 team is due for a win no matter how you look at it. His price has reached its highest point since Richmond making it difficult to fit him in cash game lineups but will make a terrific GPP play as he is capable of picking up some dominator points(laps led) and winning the race.

Matt Kenseth 
DraftKings - $9,900
First Practice - 30th
Qualified - 19th
Second Practice - 14th
Final Practice - 15th

Kenseth and the #20 team have been on quite a hot streak lately with five Top 10 finishes, including the win at Dover, in his last six races which has vaulted him to 10th in the standings. He comes to Michigan where he has great form over the past five years. He has picked up a win, four Top 5's, six Top 10's and 11.0 average finish(5th best among active drivers). He ranks 3rd in my model this week and given his price is still under $10K this week he could be considered even higher. He is a safe play in all formats.

Brad Keselowski 
DraftKings - $9,200
First Practice - 8th
Qualified - 15th
Second Practice - 5th
Final Practice - 2nd

Looking at the salary trends tab on the cheatsheet my favorite play of the week is the Team Penske, #2 Brad Keselowski. His price went up $100 after his 3rd place finish last week. It was a very impressive finish as the #2 was faced with black flag penalty for modifying the car(jackman hip checked the right side door). Whether or not you agree with the penalty it took a huge effort from the entire team to rebound from that and finish 3rd. This would be considered his home track as he grew up not far from here in Rochester Hills. He will be looking for his first win here and comes in with excellent form having finished each of the last five races inside the Top 10 including his win at Talladega. At his current price point is is also safe in all formats.

Also Consider -  Kurt Busch

Middle Tier Targets ($6,500-$9,000)

Chase Elliott
DraftKings - $8,400
First Practice - 1st
Qualified - 10th
Second Practice - 18th
Final Practice - 21st

He is coming off another impressive performance in Pocono finishing 4th and at times looked like the car to beat. He now has five Top 5 and 10 Top 10 finishes this season and sits 7th in points. He will be making his Michigan debut this weekend and there is no reason to believe he won't be a factor once again. At his current price point he would need to have a bad qualifying for me to consider him in cash games but no matter where he qualifies I will have lots of exposure in GPP formats.

Ryan Newman 
DraftKings - $7,100
First Practice - 15th
Qualified - 6th
Second Practice - 10th
Final Practice - 12th

He makes a fantastic value this week as the 20th ranked driver in salary and comes in as the 6th ranked driver in my model pre practice and qualifying. He has two career wins at Michigan International Speedway back in Aug 2003 and June 2004 and has seen varying success ever since. In the last five years(10 races) he has recorded just one Top 5 and four Top 10's but has an impressive 11.7 average finish.  He comes in with some decent for for the price with four straight finishes inside of 16th including two Top 10's. Safe play in all formats.

Also Consider - Denny Hamlin

Low End Targets ($6,500 and Below)

Paul Menard
DraftKings - $6,300
First Practice - 27th
Qualified - 32nd
Second Practice - 27th
Final Practice - 30th

It has been a disappointing start to the 2016 season for Menard who has only recorded one Top 10 finish and sits 22nd in the standings 73 points behind the 16th and the Chase cutoff. He will need a win to get in and no better place than one of his best tracks. In the last five years(10 races) he has picked up four Top 5's, six Top 10's and has a 10.7 average finish. In fact his last seven races here at Michigan have looked like this: 12th, 8th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 14th, 9th. For $6,300 you won't find a better value play.

Also Consider - Trevor Bayne

Post Practice & Qualifying Update

Qualifying Top 10

If you have any questions on lineups or drivers prior to lineup lock scroll down to the comment section and join the conversation.

Good Luck everyone!

Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the FireKeepers Casino 400? Chris is selling lineups only $5. He covers DraftKings and FantasyFeud Cash Games & Tournaments. Fill out the form below or click here to purchase using PayPal. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.

Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA, PGA, and of course NASCAR. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any NASCAR questions or how he copes with the winters up north.