It goes without saying that at the heart of NASCAR Cup Series racing is the automotive industry.
And while the Charlotte area is the home of NASCAR itself, Michigan International Speedway is just as important to the sport. For Chevrolet and Ford in particular, this is a prestigious event, as they were born not too far away in Detroit.
What I’m getting at, is that when picking your lineups this week, do not discriminate by manufacturer. Mix it up and instead take a look at data from races at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Kansas Speedway. Heck, you can even study the Next Gen races at the old Auto Club Speedway. It’s definitely the closest to this place in size and makeup among these fast intermediate tracks.
Follow these steps, pick some former winners and you should be golden. Let’s take a look at last week’s results from Nashville Superspeedway.
Fantasy/Betting Breakdown: 2025 Cracker Barrel 400
| Right On The Money | Lick Your Wounds |
| Zane Smith: 45.4 points scored | Alex Bowman: -6.1 points scored |
| William Byron: 43.1 points scored | Chase Elliott: 24.0 points scored |
| John Hunter Nemechek: 25.4 points scored | Chase Briscoe (+320) to finish top five: finished 17th |
No disrespect to Smith, but if he’s the leading points scorer with a 13th place finish, that’s not a good week. Elliott’s odd lack of speed after the first stage and Bowman’s penchant for crashing as of late were the biggest nails in my coffin, though. It’s definitely going to be a better week this week, because honestly, it couldn’t have gone much worse at Nashville.
2025 DraftKings Rules of the Road
Drivers will be awarded points based on their finishing position, position differential, fastest laps and laps led. The driver who wins the race scores 45 fantasy points, while second place gets 42 points, third gets 41 points and so on, at least through the top 10. The 11th-place finisher scores 32 points, 21st gets 21 and 31st gets 10.
However, many spots drivers lose or gain on the track are added or subtracted from their score. If the driver leads a lap, they will earn 0.25 points for each lap led and 0.45 for each fastest lap.
Fantasy Forecast
Kyle Larson ($11,000)
Driver No. 5 turned in a championship caliber performance at Nashville after a horrible attempt at The Double the previous week.
This team was dog water for the entire first stage and most of the second, but they rallied for a solid top 10.
That builds significant momentum, and if you read this column each week, you know that’s my bread and butter.
He’s so good on these tracks also, so he’s the obvious choice, even if he costs a heavy amount this week.
Ross Chastain ($9,500)
I’ve decided I’m going to board the Chastain train for at least one more week.
He’s been able to be pretty stout on the intermediate tracks all season, though he did have an odd lack of speed at Homestead-Miami Speedway earlier this season.
He might have been a little further back from where we expected him to be at Nashville, but I don’t think it’ll hurt the momentum from that Coca-Cola 600 win. He’ll be a factor early and often Sunday. Of that, I’m sure.
Look for a top 10 out of this No. 1 Chevrolet
Carson Hocevar ($8,000)
I think we can absolutely all agree that we have a budding superstar on our hands when it comes to Hocevar.
It seems like no matter where he qualifies, he finds his way to the front and contends for wins each week. That goes for intermediate tracks especially.
The only real question when it comes to this pick is the equipment he’s in. After all, his engine expired while fighting for the lead back in Charlotte Motor Speedway.
I don’t know if that win will come at Michigan, this place is notoriously hard on motors, after all. However, I do see another stellar run to the top five for him.
Bubba Wallace ($7,700)
Wallace was finally able to get some momentum going his way after finishing a gutsy sixth at Nashville.
He was able to overcome a speeding penalty to do so, which I think bodes well for his chances this week.
As long as he and his team can avoid unforced and unnecessary errors, he might just pick up another win at this track.
I at least expect a top 10 or 15 out of this group, and they’ll keep the momentum moving in the right direction.
Ryan Preece ($7,000)
Preece has certainly had his hot couple of weeks cool a bit with his 28th place finish at Nashville.
I’m not ready to give up on him just yet though. After all, he was running pretty well when he got caught up in the accident that ended his chances. He also had two straight intermediate track top 10s going into last week.
I still believe Preece is close to winning, much closer than both of his teammates. I don’t think that win comes here, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all.
At this salary, you can sign him and get more bang for your buck points-wise.
Erik Jones ($6,400)
It was really refreshing to see Jones have such a good run last week. Encouraging, really.
This season he’s been overshadowed by the emergence of his teammate John Hunter Nemechek, though most would agree the senior driver at Legacy Motor Club has all the talent in the world to be at the front more often.
I expect Jones to play off this momentum he’s found and run extremely well at his home racetrack. He’s a very dark horse for a win, but I see a solid top 20 run coming for this group.
Prop Bets and Locks
- Hocevar (+500) to finish top three: There is no doubt in my mind that as long as he can stay out of a wreck and his equipment holds up, Hocevar can win you money here. The unpredictable nature of betting on these races is the fun part, and this is far from a lock, but it’s a really fun prop.
- Chris Buescher (+550) to finish top Ford driver: Roush Fenway Keselowski has definitely struggled this season, but up until a few weeks ago, Buescher was a bright spot. He always seems to run well at these intermediate tracks though, and he does have a recent win here. I think the oddsmakers are being a little stingy here, but it’s a safe bet because of what we’ve seen out of him in the past.
- Larson (+550) to win: This is my lock of the week without question. What I saw last week reminded me of why Larson is considered the absolute best driver in the sport today. It was very Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus-like with the way he and crew chief Cliff Daniels were able to make something out of nothing. He’s always the fastest guy on four wheels on these tracks, and he’s won at Michigan multiple times. He’ll add another trophy to the case this weekend, and add money to your pocket to boot.
Garrett joined Frontstretch as a news writer in 2023, and became a fantasy racing and betting writer in 2024. Hailing from the heart of coal country in southern West Virginia, he's a married father of three and currently enrolled in the Physical Therapy Assistant Program at New River Community Technical College in Beaver, WV.
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