NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: In the Irish Hills




Track Classification: Superspeedway
Similar Tracks: Daytona International Raceway •  Auto Club Speedway (Fontana) 
Indianapolis Motor Speedway  • Pocono Raceway • Talladega Superspeedway
Distance: 2 Miles

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):
By Race
Tony Stewart - 5
Carl Edwards - 4
All with 3 - Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers

By Track
Both with 6 - Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards
All with 5 - Brian Vickers, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin

Recent Pole Winners:  
2011 & 2010 Kurt Busch

The Likely Suspects: NASCAR has run 85 Sprint Cup races at Michigan International Speedway (MIS), so there is a bit of history to help pick your fantasy team. However, like last week at Pocono we will need to deal with the unknowns of a recent repave. Hopefully the repave will not create the kind of timing fiasco we saw last week, but instead will set up faster speeds and more action than penalties. In testing Jeff Gordon actually clocked an unofficial speed of 215 m.p.h.

Although I wouldn't be surprised to see some dark horse breakouts this week I am focusing my picks on past performance. The following drivers have finished well at MIS: Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch. 

My 2 Cents: When it comes to MIS fantasy picks think Fords and Roush Fenway Racing drivers. Roush Fenway and The Wood Brothers both have 11 wins, more than any other teams. Ordinarily my no-brainer pick this week would be Carl Edwards who has an average finish of 8.7 at MIS, but his performance this season has been way too inconsistent for me, so I'm going with Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin as my first picks followed by my Ford driver Greg Biffle, then Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr and Kasey Kahne. Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin are also worthy of consideration. I am rounding out my team with Trevor Bayne and Aric Almirola. I'm keeping an eye on Austin Dillon who is the real deal though.

Enjoy the race! Post your comments here or email me at ssfantasyracing@skirtsandscuffs.com
NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: In the Irish Hills NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: In the Irish Hills Reviewed by Carol D'Agostino on Thursday, June 14, 2012 Rating: 5