NASCAR Fantasy 2015: Quicken Loans 400 Top Drivers and Sleeper Picks
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will travel to Brooklyn, Michigan, this week for the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Selecting the perfect combination of top drivers and sleeper picks will give your fantasy team the best chance to win your contest this week.
Michigan was repaved before the races in 2012. When evaluating drivers for Sunday, fantasy teams should focus on the races the last three seasons because the track does not race the same as it did on the worn-out surface.
There are only two tracks that are two-mile ovals on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule (Michigan and Fontana). Fantasy teams can get a good idea of how the drivers will run by evaluating the Fontana results in March.
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Each week, the strategy for constructing the perfect lineup for DraftKings is different. Since Michigan is a two-mile track and there are 200 laps in the race, fantasy teams will want to select a combination of drivers who will lead many laps and drivers who can make their way from back in the pack. This will give your team the best chance to earn bonus points for laps led, fastest laps, place differential and pass differential.
Top Drivers
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevy ($13,900)
Harvick is the best choice in the DraftKings contest this week. Although he is very expensive, the points he can earn your team could be the difference between winning and losing your contest this week. I consider Harvick a “must have” selection for the Quicken Loans 400.
Harvick may not win the race Sunday, but he should finish no worse than second place. Harvick finished second in the last four races at Michigan, second in the last race on a two-mile oval at Fontana and he has finished second in half of the races this season.
If you decide to purchase Harvick at $13,900, you will need to pair him with some sleeper drivers to fit under the salary cap. There are enough lower-priced drivers this week who have good stats at Michigan to make Harvick a smart buy for your team.
| Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | AVG Start | AVG Finish |
| 1 | 7 | 12 | 17.1 | 13.0 |
Harvick is on a hot streak that has not been accomplished since Jimmie Johnson won 10 races in 2007. When a driver is this good, it is hard to justify a reason not to have Harvick on your team.
Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford ($11,200)
Logano will be a driver who could lead your team in the DraftKings contest. He has a series-best driver rating and the second-best average finish position in the last four races at Michigan. Since moving to Team Penske, Logano has finished every race at Michigan inside the top 10.
Logano has been running well this season. He won the three poles this season, finished half of the races in the top five and 10 of the 14 races in the top 10. Logano’s consistency this season makes him a great choice for the DraftKings contest this week.
Logano has the best stats at Michigan since the track was repaved, but he is the seventh-highest-priced driver in the DraftKings contest this week. His $11,200 price makes Logano a good buy for your team.
| Win | Top 5's | Top 10's | AVG Start | AVG Finish |
| 1 | 2 | 7 | 13.9 | 14.9 |
If you plan to play it safe with your selections this week, Logano is the driver you need on your team. He has a series-best driver rating and the third-best average finish position at all of the two-mile ovals in the last four seasons. Logano is one of the safest choices in the DraftKings contest this week.
Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing, Chevy ($11,500)
Truex Jr. does not have the best stats at Michigan, but that does not mean he is not one of the top drivers for the race Sunday. No driver has more momentum right now then Truex. He has led the most laps in the last four races, and he is coming off a victory at Pocono. There is no reason to believe Truex cannot have the same success in the Quicken Loans 400.
It will be important this week for fantasy teams to find the driver who can lead many laps in the race. Since DraftKings awards .25 points per lap led and .5 points for the fastest lap, the driver out front has the best chance to score the most points in the contest. The last four races, that driver has been Truex.
Truex is the fourth-highest-priced in DraftKings this week, but he will be well worth $11,500. Truex scored the most points in the last three weeks. Do not be afraid to use him at Michigan.
| Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | AVG Start | AVG Finish |
| 0 | 3 | 5 | 15.0 | 18.0 |
Truex is about as consistent as they come this season. He has finished 13 of the 14 races in the top 10. He should easily add another top 10 to his 2015 resume Sunday.
Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevy ($12,300)
Busch is not on this list because he has the best stats at Michigan. Busch is a top driver because of his performance in 2015 and the way he ran at Fontana earlier in the season.
Busch has competed in 11 races this season and finished in the top 10 in six of them. He has run very well this season on the intermediate tracks. At Fontana, he won the pole, led the most laps and finished third in the race. Do not be surprised to see similar results from the No. 41 team this week.
Busch is the third-highest-priced driver in DraftKings this week. It is hard to justify spending $12,300 on Busch this week but if he has the fastest car in Happy Hour practice, it may be wise to select him for your team. The laps he leads in the race could win you your contest.
| Win | Top 5's | Top 10's | AVG Start | AVG Finish |
| 2 | 4 | 9 | 12.0 | 21.3 |
Busch has run up front in every race this season, but he has had a problem finishing the races in Victory Lane. You will not need Busch to win this week to finish at the top of your contest. Busch should be able to qualify up front and lead many laps in the race. This will earn your team enough points to justify using him as one of your top drivers Sunday.
Sleepers
Greg Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford ($9,400)
Biffle is finally starting to show he can consistently finish in the top 15. His success at Michigan makes Biffle a great sleeper pick this week.
Michigan is Biffle’s best track. He has only won two races since 2012, and both came at the track. Biffle has the fifth-best driver rating and the seventh-best average finishing position at the track. He has finished five of the last six races at Michigan in the top 10.
Biffle is a good buy at $9,400 this week. Whenever you can get a drive with a legitimate chance at finishing in the top 10 for under $10,000, you have to take it.
| Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | AVG Start | AVG Finish |
| 4 | 10 | 15 | 13.7 | 1.5 |
Biffle will probably need a win to make the Chase, so do not be surprised to see the No. 16 team roll the dice on track position to get Biffle to the front. This strategy resulted in a second-place finish at Charlotte and could do the same Sunday.
Paul Menard, Richard Childress Racing, Chevy ($9,700)
Menard has not had much success in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but one thing he has accomplished is conquering the two-mile oval tracks. Menard has four straight fourth-place finishes at Michigan, and he finished fourth at the race in Fontana earlier this season. He has the third-best average finish position and the sixth-best average driver rating at the track.
Menard is the best buy in the DraftKings contest this week. He has top-five stats, but there are 15 drivers who have a higher price than Menard. He should be used in every contest this week.
| Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | AVG Start | AVG Finish |
| 0 | 4 | 5 | 21.4 | 18.4 |
There are not many weeks when Menard is one of the best-kept secrets in the field, but this week he is. The No. 27 team really knows how to get around tracks similar to Michigan. This is the week to select Menard and have an advantage over the competition.
Tony Stewart, Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevy ($9,500)
Can you trust Stewart on your team? The answer this week is yes. Michigan is one of Stewart’s best tracks, and the late June races are when he starts to heat up.
Stewart has the fifth-best average finish position and the eighth-best driver ranking in the last four races at Michigan. He has finished half of the races in the top five since the track was repaved. If Stewart is ever going to get back to his old form, it should start Sunday.
Stewart’s price went up this week because of the success he has had at Michigan. Spending $9,500 on a driver who has only one top-10 finish is hard to justify. If the No. 14 car runs well in practice, he will be worth the gamble this week.
| Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | AVG Start | AVG Finish |
| 1 | 12 | 20 | 19.4 | 11.7 |
Stewart will need a win to make the Chase. He is good at sneaking into Victory Lane when people least expect it. Do not be surprised to see Stewart gamble this week in the pits and find his way to the front.
Kasey Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevy ($10,800)
Kahne has run well at Michigan since the track was repaved. He started 13th and finished fifth in this race last season. The No. 5 team has the seventh-best average finish position on the intermediate tracks this season.
Kahne is a little overpriced at $10,800. He is a boom-or-bust pick this week. Kahne could win the race on Sunday and make his price look like a bargain, or he could finish near the back of the pack and be a waste of money. Since the track was repaved, Kahne has three top-10 finishes and two finishes outside the top 30.
| Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | AVG Start | AVG Finish |
| 1 | 8 | 10 | 12.0 | 15.9 |
The Chevys will be the fast cars in the race Sunday. Loading up on drivers from Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing will be a good strategy this week. Kahne is the cheapest of the drivers from his team, but he should be able to finish just as high as his teammates.
DraftKings Picks for Michigan
Driver 1: Martin Truex Jr. ($11,500)
Driver 2: Joey Logano ($11,200)
Driver 3: Paul Menard (($9,700)
Driver 4: Ryan Newman ($9,600)
Driver 5: Ty Dillon ($7,700)
Advanced stats courtesy of Racing-Reference.Info
If you need any further advice with your team, look for me on Twitter @MrFantasyNASCAR
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