NASCAR continues their season as they head to the two-mile track of Michigan International Speedway. It is time to continue our NASCAR Cup Series odd series with a NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan, FireKeepers Casino 400 prediction and pick.
The Michigan track is a two-mile-long track with 18-degree turns in a D-shaped oval. It has a flat back stretch, sitting at just five degrees, while the front stretch sits at 12 degrees of banking. The defending champion here is Chris Buescher, who was in the race last year after leading 52 laps. Mrtin Truex Jr. would finish in second place, while Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson rounded out the top three.
Here are the NASCAR Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NASCAR Odds: Cup Series at Michigan Odds
Denny Hamlin: +650
Kyle Larson: +650
Tyler Reddick: +850
Ryan Blaney: +850
Martin Truex Jr.: +1000
Christopher Bell: +1000
Brad Keselowski: +1100
Joey Logano: +1200
William Byron: +1400
Chase Elliott: +1400
Chris Buescher: +2000
Ty Gibbs: +2200
Bubba Wallace: +2500
Ross Chastain: +3000
Alex Bowman: +3500
Kyle Busch: +4000
Josh Berry: +6000
How to Watch Cup Series at Michigan
TV: USA Network
Time: 2:30 PM ET/ 11:30 AM PT
*Watch Nascar LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Favorites To Win Cup Series at Michigan
Denny Hamlin is the favorite in this race. Hamlin has been the winner here twice in his career, but his last win came in 2011. Still, he has been solid here as of late. In his last six races at Michigan, Hamlin has finished sixth or better in all of them. Further, he has led laps in the last eight races here, and been top three at the end of a stage five times in the last six races. Hamlin has back-to-back third-placed finishes and was second in 2020 at this track. Further, Hamlin is racing great. He finishes second at Richmond, while also finishing second at Pocono two races ago.
Kyle Larson has not had the same success in his recent races, with just one top-five in his last five races. The one was a win though, and he was seventh last week. Larson also won at Michigan in three straight races, starting with the second race here in 2016, and both in 2017. After that he would finish 14th or worse three straight times, it has been better as of late. In his last four races here, Larson has been third twice, seventh, and fifth. Last time here, he finished the first stage fifth and was sixth in the second stage. He would lead two laps and finish fifth overall.
Tyler Reddick sits third in odds, but his history here has been rough. He finished 20th last year after leading seven laps. That was his worst finish in his five starts here. Still, it was the only time he led laps at this track, leading seven. His best finish was in 2020, finishing 18th. Still, Reddick is racing wonderfully. He was third last week, and it was his sixth straight race being in the top six. He has been third twice, second twice, and sixth twice in the last six weeks.
Ryan Blaney has also been solid as of late. He did finish 11th last week, but was third two races ago and then was first the race before. He was also first at Iowa earlier this year. Blaney has also been solid in four of his last five races here. Last time on this track, Blaney led a lap and finished ninth. He was fifth here in 2022 but won the race at this track in 2021.
Sleepers To Win Cup Series at Michigan
Brad Keselowski has struggled as of late. After winnings at Darlington, and then getting second at Charlotte two weeks late, before a third place at World Wide Technology Raceway, he has not been doing much. Keselowski has been outside the top five in each of his last eight races, with only two races at tenth or better. His best finish as of late was at Pocono, which was a seventh-place finish. Last year on this track, Keselowski did get fourth and led 15 laps. It was his best finish since 2020, in which he finished second.
Chris Buescher has also struggled as of late. He has been outside the top ten in each of his last four races. Still, with the season winding down, Buescher needs a win. He is currently in the playoffs, but a win would secure a spot. Buescher is coming off a win here. He started fourth, would sit tenth after stage two, and lead 52 total laps. That was all on his way to a win.
Cup Series at Michigan Prediction & Pick
This is one of the fastest tracks on the circuit. With wide corners that sweep well into long straightaways, speeds get high. Further, this is a non-restrictor plate race, so in general, the racers who generally go faster, relying more on speed than technical skill, do well. That will favor Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney in this one.
Cup Series at Michigan Prediction & Pick: Hamlin Top 5 (-135), Larson Top 5 (-125), Blaney Top 5 (+110)