From one of the fastest road courses in the country, and the fastest on the schedule, we travel to Michigan International Speedway, the fastest track overall on the schedule for the Pure Michigan 400 on Sunday. It is a 2-mile, D-shaped track that is of similar layout to Fontana or Auto Club, as it’s known. This is a track where it is possible to move up through the field with seven drivers owning a +6 positional differential or better, however it is also a place where five of the last eight winners have won from the pole as well. Practice speed here has been a very good indication in the past of where a driver has a good chance to finish, more so than other tracks.

Track Data

 Avg.Avg.     Laps  HighLow Avg.DifferenceLaps LedLaps Led
DriverStartFinishRacesWinsTop 5'sTop 10'sTop 20'sLedPolesFinishFinishDNFRatingPts.Pts.Pts./race
Kyle Larson1475233514511170112.3736.257.25
Joey Logano65.25135516921100109.20.842.258.45
Matt Kenseth10.88.65122515711140106.82.239.257.85
Kurt Busch18.2115112560120087.17.21.50.30
Kevin Harvick10.6115033411102290107.8-0.427.755.55
Chase Elliott8.32303336602201196.316.55.50
Brad Keselowski12.47.6502453203160101.34.881.60
Martin Truex Jr.9.88.8502357903200108.1119.753.95
Denny Hamlin5.412.45023400433197.2-700.00
Jamie McMurray14.695014500516082.45.600.00
Dale Earnhardt Jr.16.8154013310239183.21.80.250.06
Austin Dillon10.81550124200427080.9-4.251.00
Ryan Blaney8.418.85011200425084.6-10.400.00
Jimmie Johnson9.41850024410639085.4-8.610.252.05
Ryan Newman1513.85001520818080.61.20.50.10
Paul Menard24.615.65001410822074.490.250.05
Kyle Busch92450013500743282.2-1512.52.50
Trevor Bayne21.817.45001300924065.74.400.00
Clint Bowyer21.62850011101041070.5-6.40.250.05
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.24.4235001100829060.51.400.00
Kasey Kahne12.415.650004111321081.3-3.20.250.05
A.J. Allmendinger25.424.450002001538156.6100.00
Ty Dillon26.719.3330002001424066.47.3700.00
Aric Almirola2821.75400013014260606.250.750.19
Danica Patrick22.624.450001201637157.1-1.80.50.10
Chris Buescher22.330.3330001002036045.6-8.0300.00
David Ragan25.426.650001001835049-1.200.00
Erik Jones141310001001313081100.00
Regan Smith3230.520000102635043.61.50.250.13
Jeffrey Earnhardt37.736.3330000003537126.81.3700.00
Reed Sorenson37.733.6730000003136027.84.0300.00
Corey LaJoie323010000003030036.2200.00
Matt DiBenedetto33.632.650000002839136.7100.00
Cole Whitt36.230.250000002734039.7600.00
Brett Moffitt37.533.520000003334039.7400.00
Landon Cassill31.432.650000002539140-1.200.00
Michael McDowell28.52720000002331043.91.500.00
Daniel Suarez202410000002424063.1-400.00

Top-15 Drivers at Michigan International Speedway Historically

 Avg.Avg.     Laps HighLow DifferenceLaps LedLaps Led
DriverStartFinishRacesWinsTop 5'sTop 10'sTop 20'sLedPolesFinishFinishDNFPts.Pts.Pts./race
Matt Kenseth16.910.39363142034443114216.51110.753.08
Kurt Busch12.919.733335111944521438-6.83111.253.37
Dale Earnhardt Jr.14.815.573528152335521394-0.7788.752.54
Denny Hamlin1314.72327111714601393-1.736.51.59
Joey Logano11.612.061725121335631351-0.46895.24
Ryan Newman13.416.63322582311311422-3.2328.250.88
Kyle Larson13.612.2972346147114311.3136.755.25
Kevin Harvick16.112.7331101527337114113.484.252.55
Kasey Kahne12.115.81271810186731403-3.7116.750.62
Jimmie Johnson9.616.233115132267401403-6.63168.55.44
Kyle Busch13.719.88251471622201433-6.1855.52.22
Martin Truex Jr.13.916230581714502371-2.136.251.58
Brad Keselowski16.312.56160581275023403.7418.751.17
Paul Menard22.117.77220461316043914.3340.18
Chase Elliott8.32303336602206.316.55.50

Top-15 Drivers at 2-mile Tracks (Since Feb. 2015)

 Avg.Avg.     Laps HighLow  DifferenceLaps LedLaps Led
DriverStartFinishRacesWinsTop 5'sTop 10'sTop 20'sLedPolesFinishFinishDNFRatingPts.Pts.Pts./race
Kyle Larson13.512.638344625521391102.30.8763.757.97
Joey Logano10.95.258158817321100107.85.6543.255.41
Brad Keselowski116.2581478330116099.54.758.251.03
Kurt Busch16.61481236711130082.52.617.752.22
Matt Kenseth10.416.13812262021136198.7-5.7350.56.31
Jimmie Johnson14.615.1381146660139090.7-0.5316.52.06
Kevin Harvick898055728702290109.2-171.758.97
Martin Truex Jr.10.3118035717803320108.3-0.744.55.56
Chase Elliott9.24.45035571021001154.817.753.55
Denny Hamlin4.813.3880346620333197.9-8.5815.51.94
Jamie McMurray14.610.258016700521081.84.3500.00
Dale Earnhardt Jr.18.413.297014610239184.45.110.250.04
Ryan Newman11.612.888012820518080.4-1.280.50.06
Austin Dillon10.915.7580126201427080.5-4.8550.63
Paul Menard21.315.638012630428074.45.670.750.09

Drivers to watch this week:

Kyle Larson: Larson is clearly the favorite to win again this week as he goes for three-straight Michigan wins, having won last August and this June. He is third in the laps led tally in the last five races here with a 145 to his credit. Larson is in a bit of a slump over the last several races and this Sunday is a great chance for him to get back in the swing of things before the Chase starts just five races from now.

Joey Logano: Logano, and his teammate Brad Keselowski, love to show off what their Fords can do in Ford’s backyard. Joey has nailed down a win, three top-fives, and five top-10s in the last five races here while also leading the most laps at 169. Aside from that, if you combine his Auto Club numbers with Michigan, he has eight straight top-10 finishes at the 2-mile distance. Things didn’t work out his way to get his first (Chase-counting) win of the season at Watkins Glen, but this is another great chance for him to punch is ticket, and provide a lot of points to DFS players in the process.

Chase Elliott: Three races at Michigan and three runner-up finishes for the youngster.  He has been so close to winning here, that one of these days he’ll break through, or so says the law of large numbers. His 66 laps led in those three races are good for sixth best in the field, though the drivers ahead of him had two more races to add to their total. Like everyone on this list, except for Larson, he too is still looking to solidify his standing for the Chase and while a second place finish here would get him a lot closer points-wise, nabbing that win would be even better. There are a lot worse ideas than paying for consistency in a cash lineup.

Matt Kenseth: I have been talking about Kenseth in this section for a few weeks now, but it is because we are in a stretch of tracks that he is good at, typically. In the last five races here, he has a win and two top-fives with 157 laps led and a worst finish of 14th. Overall in 36 races at MIS, Kenseth has three wins (tied for most in the field), 14 top-fives (most), 20 top-10s (most), and 34 top-20s (most) while being third in laps led with 443. He wants to prove he can still drive at a high level and this tees up well for him.

Jamie McMurray: His teammate has stolen most of the thunder this year, but McMurray has been very good in his own right most of the year and specifically at Michigan. He has a top-five and four top-10s in the last five races here and six top-10s in the last eight races at 2-mile tracks. His average finish of P9 over the last five races at MIS is fifth best in the field and second only to Chase Elliott among drivers without a win in that span.