The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series speeds in to Michigan International Speedway for the Pure Michigan 400. It will be the second of two MENCS races at this track, which means we could incorporate some of what we saw from the first race here in to our decisions when building a winning fantasy roster for this week’s race. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for this week’s DraftKings NASCAR daily fantasy leagues.
Martin Truex Jr., 10,500
No driver has been better than Truex this season and at this point it’s almost impossible to avoid him in DraftKings tournaments. Truex extended his lead atop the point standings with his MENCS-leading fourth win of the year last week at Watkins Glen and he now has 15 top-10 finishes in 22 starts on the season. Truex finished sixth in the first of the two Michigan Cup races this season and it won’t be a surprise to anybody if he produces an even better result in his second race here.
Kyle Larson, $9,000
Larson is going through his worst stretch of the season but this week’s race will be an excellent opportunity to get back on track. Larson won the first of two Cup races at this track this season and he has two wins in five starts at Michigan. Larson should be a good bet to contend for the outright win in the Pure Michigan 400 this weekend so he is worth investing in when it comes to DraftKings tournaments.
Joey Logano, $8,600
Logano is coming off back-to-back finishes outside of the top-20 so he isn’t in his best form heading in to the Pure Michigan 400. However, Logano owns the second-best average driver rating at Michigan so he could be in line for a strong bounce back performance. Logano has five top-10 results in five starts at Michigan, so look for him to bounce back and contend this weekend.
Chase Elliott, $8,100
In terms of average driver rating at Michigan, there isn’t a better pick on the board than Elliott. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet has posted three top-10 finishes in three starts at Michigan. Elliott has looked pretty good for the most part this season with 12 top-10 finishes in 22 starts. We’d rather he have a little more momentum than right now. He started the season with four top-seven finishes in his first five outings but he has not been that crisp of late. He has finished 13th, 10th, 39th and 11th over his last four starts.
At $8.1K in DraftKings competitions, Elliott is a strong pick this week. We’re looking for him to produce at least a Top 15 finish for us in this spot for our DFS lineup.
Matt Kenseth, $7,900
Kenseth has been absolutely on fire over the last month with four-straight top-10 finishes. That run includes a runner-up result at Watkins Glen last week. Prior to that, he had a ninth place finish in Pocono, a fifth-place result at The Brickyard and a fourth-place finish at New Hampshire.
In addition to his excellent form, Kenseth has performed at a high level at Michigan throughout his career with the sixth-best average rating at the track among active drivers. At just under $8K, Kenseth is a good enough value that he should be a lock in most DraftKings lineups this week.
Danica Patrick, $5,900
Danica has been on an excellent run dating back to the June race at Sonoma with seven consecutive top-25 finishes. That run includes four top-15 results, which isn’t bad at all for a driver that is available in DraftKings competitions at under $6K.
She placed 22nd last week at Watkins Glen but was 13th at Pocono before that. She also finished 11th at the Brickyard, 13th in New Hampshire and 15th in Kentucky. Given her pricing, that’s not bad.
Danica might not place in the top-10, but she should deliver a strong enough result at Michigan to make her worth taking a chance on. The fact that her extremely low price tag affords us even more flexibility throughout our lineup makes her a smart sleeper value pick.
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