Can Ford continue its Cup Series winning streak at Michigan International Speedway? Maybe not according to a quick look at the odds! NASCAR returns to an oval track after a wild road course race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. This week the CUP Series is set for the running of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (MIS).
Many teams consider this a track they would love to grab a win due to its proximity to Detroit and the home offices of auto companies. That’s been the case for Ford drivers as they’ve won seven straight races in a row of the last ten at the track! If you look at the last ten races then it’s easy to see that Chevrolet won the other three.
That means Toyota has been nearly shut out! The last time Toyota won a Cup race at this facility was back in 2015. So how does that play out for the favorites to win outright? It looks like the oddsmakers may be blowing off the seven-race win streak by Ford!
Chase Elliott comes in as the outright favorite at +650 and he pilots a Chevrolet. Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch both are at +700 with Busch in a Toyota and Larson in a Chevrolet. The only Ford driver in the favorites this week is Ryan Blaney at +1000.
Blaney has yet to win a race this season but has been one of the strongest Fords all season long. He is also the defending track winner at MIS.
Here are the favorite drivers to win the FireKeepers Casino 400 outright:
Chase Elliott +650
Kyle Busch +700
Kyle Larson +700
Denny Hamlin +800
Ross Chastain +1000
Ryan Blaney +1000
One big change this time around, as compared to the odds for this race last season, is that Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. are not considered favorites. Harvick (+2200) has not won a race in almost two whole seasons. Truex (+1400) has also not won a race this season but has been able to rack up seven stage wins and has had nine finishes inside the top ten.
That means Truex is most likely locked into the Playoff picture while Harvick is one spot outside the 16- driver playoff bubble. His most likely scenario for making it to the post-season is to win a race and there are only four more races in the regular season.
2022 FireKeepers Casino 400 Preview
Date: Sunday, August 7, 2022, 3:00 pm EST
Track: Michigan International Speedway
Type: D-shaped oval, Asphalt, 2.0 miles, 4 turns
Race Distance: 400 miles, 200 laps
Defending Track Winner: Ryan Blaney
TV/Radio: USA/SiriusXM/MRN local affiliates
Fantasy NASCAR Beginners Guide
2022 FireKeepers Casino 400 Predictions
Chase Elliott +650
Chase Elliott is riding at the top of the NASCAR Cup Series point standings with a total of four wins this season and 15 finishes inside the top ten. He has also racked up five stage wins. That puts him at the top of the standings as the regular season winds down. And, Elliott has climbed up the fantasy stats at Michigan over the last two seasons and is now jumped to being ranked 6th best at the track.
Ryan Blaney +1000
Ryan Blaney is the defending track winner at Michigan Motor Speedway but he’s not won a race this season. But he’s finished inside the top ten a total of seven times this season and ten finishes of 10th or better. Blaney would love a win to pad his playoff picture but he should be locked in due to his finishes and five race stage wins. Blaney is probably one of the strongest Ford drivers this season.
Kevin Harvick +2200
I probably need to fade here. Kevin Harvick may be having a rough season but he has been running towards the front and he has won four of the last Cup Series races at Michigan. Last week Harvick was looking like a possible contender before being taken out in someone else’s wreck. That’s happened several times this season. This could be the Sunday where Harvick gets back to victory lane.
Others: Martin Truex Jr. (+1400) is 3rd in NASCAR Cup Series fantasy stats at Michigan. In his last ten races at the facility, he’s finished 10th or better seven times. A longshot pick this weekend may be Darrell Wallace Jr. (+3300) who seems to be finding a groove towards the end of the regular season. Wallace finished 9th at MIS two races ago and finished 19th last year with his brand new team.
2022 FireKeepers Casino 400 Betting Lines
Chase Elliott +650
Kyle Busch +700
Kyle Larson +700
Denny Hamlin +800
Ross Chastain +1000
Ryan Blaney +1000
William Byron +1200
Tyler Reddick +1200
Martin Truex Jr +1400
Christopher Bell +1400
Joey Logano +1600
Kurt Busch +2000
Alex Bowman +2200
Kevin Harvick +2200
Daniel Suarez +2500
Erik Jones +3300
Darrell Wallace Jr. +3300
Austin Cindric +5000
Chase Briscoe +5000
Austin Dillon +6600
Aric Almirola +10000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +10000
Chris Buescher +10000
Brad Keselowski +10000
Austin Hill +10000
Michael McDowell +15000
Harrison Burton +25000
Cole Custer +25000
Noah Gragson +30000
Ty Dillon +50000
Justin Haley +50000
Corey Lajoie +50000
Todd Gilliland +100000
Josh Bilicki +100000
J.J. Yeley +100000
Cody Ware +100000
BJ McLeod +100000
