If you feel the need…the need for speed, then Michigan International Speedway is your kind of place. It’s D-shaped circuit lends itself to speeds of upwards of 200 MPH, the record at the track is 206 MPH in qualifying in 2014, due to the wide racing surface and the ability to carry speed well throughout the lap. There have been a handful of dominant drivers and then another handful of slightly lower-tier drivers over the past two years, which like Pocono, means the finer details have to be examined.
With that in mind, let’s have a look at the data.
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Avg. | Diff. | Laps Led | Laps Led | ||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Rating | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Matt Kenseth | 13.0 | 14.25 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 151 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 97.6 | -1.25 | 37.75 | 9.44 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 13.3 | 17.00 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 60 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 0 | 92.7 | -3.70 | 15.00 | 3.75 |
| Kurt Busch | 16.0 | 16.25 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 96.7 | -0.25 | 6.25 | 1.56 |
| Kevin Harvick | 4.0 | 8.75 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 141 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 0 | 123.1 | -4.75 | 35.25 | 8.81 |
| Joey Logano | 8.0 | 6.00 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 122 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 113.3 | 2.00 | 30.50 | 7.63 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 12.8 | 6.00 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 105.8 | 6.80 | 1.50 | 0.38 |
| Paul Menard | 13.3 | 7.00 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 96.0 | 6.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 21.5 | 19.75 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 1 | 76.4 | 1.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Brad Keselowski | 7.0 | 6.50 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 107.2 | 0.50 | 3.00 | 0.75 |
| Denny Hamlin | 16.3 | 13.00 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 29 | 0 | 85.2 | 3.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Kasey Kahne | 10.0 | 12.75 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 86.3 | -2.75 | 1.00 | 0.25 |
| Austin Dillon | 9.5 | 19.00 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 30 | 0 | 85.0 | -9.50 | 5.25 | 1.31 |
| Clint Bowyer | 19.5 | 16.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 41 | 0 | 86.2 | 2.75 | 0.25 | 0.06 |
| Ryan Newman | 19.0 | 13.00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 18 | 0 | 85.5 | 6.00 | 3.50 | 0.88 |
| Jamie McMurray | 15.8 | 12.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 88.0 | 3.55 | 1.00 | 0.25 |
| Kyle Larson | 18.8 | 20.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 43 | 1 | 78.9 | -1.45 | 2.25 | 0.56 |
| Carl Edwards | 8.0 | 16.00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 46 | 0 | 6 | 23 | 0 | 86.2 | -8.00 | 11.50 | 2.88 |
| Greg Biffle | 17.5 | 22.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 36 | 0 | 65.2 | -4.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Trevor Bayne | 24.0 | 22.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 41 | 0 | 57.0 | 1.25 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Danica Patrick | 20.8 | 19.00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 25 | 0 | 65.3 | 1.80 | 0.50 | 0.13 |
| Aric Almirola | 20.8 | 21.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 31 | 0 | 69.5 | -0.95 | 0.75 | 0.19 |
| Casey Mears | 31.0 | 24.00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 42 | 1 | 57.2 | 7.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Kyle Busch | 13.5 | 33.50 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 43 | 1 | 67.9 | -20.00 | 2.50 | 0.63 |
| Tony Stewart | 15.3 | 20.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 28 | 0 | 75.8 | 0.00 | 0.25 | 0.08 |
| Ty Dillon | 22.0 | 14.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 90.8 | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 26.0 | 21.50 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 28 | 0 | 63.5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 25.0 | 23.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 27 | 0 | 59.2 | 1.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| David Ragan | 24.5 | 28.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 38 | 0 | 55.0 | -4.25 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Josh Wise | 37.8 | 33.00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 37 | 0 | 39.9 | 4.80 | 0.25 | 0.06 |
| Ryan Blaney | 12.0 | 24.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 74.4 | -12.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Cole Whitt | 38.3 | 28.00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 32 | 0 | 47.2 | 10.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| David Gilliland | 32.8 | 30.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 42 | 1 | 46.1 | 2.55 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Landon Cassill | 35.5 | 32.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 36 | 0 | 43.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Reed Sorenson | 40.0 | 29.50 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 32 | 0 | 42.4 | 10.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Michael Annett | 36.5 | 31.50 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 40 | 1 | 41.5 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 37.5 | 34.50 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 39 | 0 | 37.8 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Chase Elliot | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Chris Buescher | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Jeffrey Earnhardt | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Brian Scott | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Key Drivers on 2-mile Tracks
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Diff | Laps Led | Laps Led | |||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Rating | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Jimmie Johnson | 12.7 | 14.57 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 189 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 0 | 104.4 | -1.87 | 47.25 | 6.75 |
| Matt Kenseth | 10.9 | 15.86 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 215 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 99.6 | -4.96 | 53.75 | 7.68 |
| Kurt Busch | 15.4 | 14.43 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 92 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 94.7 | 0.97 | 23.00 | 3.29 |
| Brad Keselowski | 7.6 | 8.86 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 51 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 103.8 | -1.26 | 12.75 | 1.82 |
| Kyle Busch | 12.3 | 26.67 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 1 | 81.1 | -14.37 | 3.75 | 0.63 |
| Kevin Harvick | 3.4 | 10.71 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 317 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 0 | 121.2 | -7.31 | 79.25 | 11.32 |
| Joey Logano | 8.7 | 10.57 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 125 | 0 | 3 | 39 | 0 | 105.7 | -1.87 | 31.25 | 4.46 |
| Paul Menard | 15.3 | 8.00 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 91.2 | 7.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 15.7 | 7.57 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 98.1 | 8.13 | 1.50 | 0.21 |
| Denny Hamlin | 12.3 | 13.83 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 58 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 0 | 90.9 | -1.53 | 14.50 | 2.42 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 18.1 | 20.29 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 1 | 79.5 | -2.19 | 6.50 | 0.93 |
| Ryan Newman | 15.0 | 13.00 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 86.5 | 2.00 | 4.25 | 0.61 |
| Kyle Larson | 17.6 | 21.14 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 2 | 73.9 | -3.54 | 2.25 | 0.32 |
| Kasey Kahne | 13.9 | 19.57 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 41 | 0 | 78.1 | -5.67 | 1.00 | 0.14 |
| Austin Dillon | 11.4 | 18.14 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 0 | 81.6 | -6.74 | 5.25 | 0.75 |
Drivers to watch this week:
Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has been one of, if not the, dominant driver at MIS in the last few races as he’s led the most laps (151), has a win and two top-five finishes. He is also one of the top active drivers at Michigan with career wins and 14 top-fives in 33 races at the track. Kenseth has been on a hot streak recently and is starting to show his true abilities that have been there all along. With him being under the $10,000 price tag he makes for an intriguing pick.
Kurt Busch: Fresh off his first win in his last 30+ starts and another great performance. He is one of three active drivers with a win in the last four races at Michigan and is a top-three driver on 2-mile tracks (Auto Club and Michigan). The older Busch brother has a top-10 finish in every race but two this season and owns the fourth-highest point total this year which makes him a bargain at $9,700 this week and should be played in both formats.
Ryan Newman: He is coming off one of his best races of the season at Pocono and now heads to a track that he is a top-15 performer in the last four races. At $7,100 he is a nice budget friendly play that has nice upside to him. The worst finish he’s had at Michigan in the last handful of races is 18th, so depending on qualifying position he could be a great play to capitalize on moving up through the field.
Greg Biffle: Biffle is the active driver with the most wins at Michigan with four, though he hasn’t had one in the past couple of years. He also leads all drivers in laps led there, but surprisingly hasn’t led any in the last four races. There is no doubt that given his performances for most of the year, he is a risk to play, however his numbers and pedigree at the track stipulate that it’s a risk worthy of taking in the right lineup.
Paul Menard: Menard is a top-10 driver this week two top-five and three top-10 finishes in the last four races at the circuit. He also owns the fifth best positional differential mark in the field despite the fact that he usually starts around the 13th spot in the grid. Menard also has three 42-point or more performances this season but even at $6,300 this week, he remains a GPP play simply for the boom and bust type of point totals he puts up.
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