It seems like it’s been forever but the Sprint Cup Series is back on an intermediate race track this week with the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway. This track was re-paved before the last race here (back in June) and this time around the teams will be working with a brand new tire from Goodyear. The race is 400 miles this week meaning the cars will run 200 laps around this D-shaped oval on Sunday. Michigan is one of two 2-mile tracks on the circuit, with the other being Auto Club Speedway in California.

During The Last Race At Michigan…Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. spanked the competition here back in June, leading 95 of the 200 laps and breaking his win-less streak that stretched back to 2008. Tony Stewart, who won back at Auto Club Speedway this season, finished 2nd followed by the Roush teammates of Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle. Those three led 18, 17, and 38 laps, respectively. It was “Five Time” Jimmie Johnson who rounded out the top 5 that day.

Practice Schedule…We will get practice both before and after qualifying this week, although for Yahoo! Auto Racing players that means that the rosters will lock down before seeing the cars on the track. The first practice of the weekend is set to begin at 12:30 pm on Friday followed by qualifying at 4:00 pm. Most cars in the first session will be focused solely on qualifying trim. Then on Saturday we have an early practice for the second weekend in a row as the cars will hit the track at 8:30 am sharp followed by Happy Hour at 11:00 am. All four can be seen on SPEED and the times are in EST.

Top Fifteen Ranking Entering The Pure Michigan 400:

1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – Steve Letarte said on Twitter that the #88 team is bringing back the same chassis from June and that should worry the competition considering how strong they were then. I never thought I’d say this, but I think Junior could get his second win of the season here on Sunday. He has two wins at Michigan International Speedway and has finished inside the top 10 in almost 35% of his starts here. While that number isn’t that great, the way that this team has been running on the intermediates this season is: Earnhardt has an average finish of 7.3 and an average driver rating of 105.1. With Pocono and Watkins Glen, this team has now had two terrible weeks in a row for the first time this season, but I expect the #88 to bounce back in a big way on Sunday. Remember, Junior ended up 3rd back at Auto Club Speedway, the other 2-mile race track on the circuit.

2. Greg Biffle – When you look at the last five races here at Michigan, The Biff has had some great runs but doesn’t exactly have the finishes to show for it. In those events, Greg has averaged a driver rating of 117.3 but has just three top 10s to show for it. This team has been top notch on every intermediate track this season, though (chart here) with an average finish of 7.0. The #16 ended up 6th back at Fontana and followed that up with a 4th here at Michigan back in June. Remember, this is Ford’s playground and the Roush cars are always fast. In the last three races at this track, Biffle has led a combined 192 laps, which is much more than anyone else in the series. Statistically Michigan is his 5th-best track on the circuit, and Greg has visited victory lane here twice (most recently in 2005). This team would love a second win before the Chase and it could happen this weekend.

3. Matt Kenseth – After a little three-race slump, the #17 team bounced back with an 8th-place finish at Watkins Glen (his career best there, by the way). That should give them a little momentum coming into Michigan, which has been Kenseth’s third-best track on the circuit. In twenty-six career starts here, Matt has an average finish of 9.3 and has visited victory lane twice in addition to his seventeen top 10s. He finished 3rd here back in June and should be top 5 material once again this weekend. On the intermediate tracks this season, the #17 car has been the sixth-best in the series when it comes to driver rating (chart here). Again, there’s really no reason to go against the Roushkateers this weekend, as they all should at least be fighting for a top 10 once the checkered flag waves on the Pure Michigan 400.

4. Jimmie Johnson – This team’s main mission right now is to win races, and with the races here at Michigan sometimes ended up as fuel mileage races, you can bet that Chad Knaus will pull the trigger and take a gamble. For fantasy owners, that can have great consequences or terrible ones. However, if Sunday’s race doesn’t come down to a variable like fuel mileage, you can expect the #48 to be a top 5 car at least. Nobody has been better on the intermediate tracks this season (chart here) and although he has never won here, Johnson has finished inside the top 5 in each of the last two events at Michigan. This team has been a top 5 machine lately and are in “Chase” form in my opinion. Whether that’s a good thing for them or not is yet to be determined, but it’s great for fantasy owners right now.

5. Tony Stewart – This summer has been a bit of a disappointment for Tony Stewart and the #14 team, so make sure they look pretty good in practice before going all in with them. Smoke won the rain-shortened event in Fontana and followed that up with a 2nd-place finish here back in June. This is actually his fifth-best track on the circuit and Stewart has now finished 9th or better in each of the last five Michigan events. He has notched an incredible nineteen top 10s in twenty-seven career starts here and should be in the running for a twentieth on Sunday. The only thing that worries me about Tony this weekend is how incredibly inconsistent this team has been on the intermediate tracks this year (chart here). He could win or finish 20th, I’m not 100% sure right now. Be sure to check back at ifantasyrace.com for my final predictions for this week’s Pure Michigan 400 after Happy Hour on Saturday.

6. Brad Keselowski – In case you missed it, I posted an article earlier this week on Brad Keselowski and how good he has been during the summer these past two seasons. You can read it by clicking here. Michigan is BK’s home race track and he will be looking to back up his 3rd-place finish in this race last season on Sunday. Back here in June, Keselowski was decent, finishing 13th, but he has momentum on his side this time around and is the most recent intermediate track winner. With each passing week, it’s getting more and more difficult not to at least consider Brad on your rosters. If you want an off-sequence type pick this weekend, the Blue Deuce would be your best choice.

7. Jeff Gordon – This team had a little slip up last weekend in Watkins Glen, but I fully expect them to bounce back here at Michigan. In a whopping thirty-nine career starts here, Gordon has an average finish of 11.3 and twenty-five top 10s. He has finished 6th in each of the last two events here and has recorded five in the last seven. Gordon has finished 7th, 6th, and 5th in the last three intermediate track races (chart here) and is probably going to need another win to get in the Chase this year. I don’t think that will happen this weekend, but a top 10 is definitely within the #24 team’s reach.

8. Clint Bowyer – Clint finished 13th back at Auto Club Speedway and following that up with an 7th-place finish here at Michigan in June. That makes it three straight top 10s for Clint at this track, and he should challenge for a fourth-straight on Sunday as well. Bowyer has an average finish of 14.9 on the intermediate tracks this year (chart here) and has been pretty solid in the last month of Sprint Cup action. Clint has an average finish of 17.5 here at Michigan International Speedway but should be much better than that on Sunday.

9. Kyle Busch – It’s crunch time now for Kyle Busch because he’s on the outside looking in at the Chase wildcard. The good thing for him is that he is the defending winner of this event and he has the seventh-best average driver rating in the last five races at Michigan. What could turn fantasy racers away from the #18 this weekend, though, is the chance that he tries too hard and ends up putting the car in the fence on Sunday. Back in June, Rowdy started 34th and got up to 7th before blowing a tire and ending his day, finishing 32nd. You can’t predict things like that happening, and if something similar doesn’t happen on Sunday, Busch should be good for a top 10. Make sure you pay attention the #18 in practice, though, as this isn’t Kyle’s best track (16.6 average finish).

10. Martin Truex, Jr. – Truex has been the fourth-best driver on intermediate tracks this season (chart here) and he should be strong once again this weekend. Back in June, Martin ended up 12th after starting 16th, and at Fontana he ended up 8th. He owns a career average finish of 17.1 here at Michigan with runner-up finishes in both events back in 2007 while at DEI. It’s hard to go against the guy that has the fourth-most points in the series over the last six races (chart here). If Truex is able to put up a top 10 qualifying effort on Friday, I expect him to challenge for a top 10 finish on Sunday. The story of his year has been if he qualifies well, he races well.

11. Ryan Newman – With an 11th-place finish last weekend at Watkins Glen, “The Rocketman” now has finished 11th or better in each of the last five Sprint Cup series races. It’s evident, too, as only five drivers have scored more points than him over the last six Cup events (chart here). The good thing for Newman is that this week we’re at a track that he owns two career wins at (the most recent in 2004). The #39 should be top 15 material all weekend and have a shot at the top 10 on Sunday if they play their cards right. He finished 15th here back in June and 5th and 6th in the two events prior.

12. Carl Edwards – Cousin Carl started in the back of the field back here in June and came home with an 11th-place finish. I’m still not sure what I think about the Carl/Chad Norris pairing, though. I’m kind of giving them the benefit of the doubt, though, considering the Roush Fords are always real strong here at Michigan. Statistically, this is Edwards’ second-best track on the circuit with an average finish of 8.4 in sixteen career starts. He won here in 2008 and while I don’t think that’s going to happen again on Sunday, a top 10 is definitely possible out of the #99. Carl has averaged a finish of 9.3 on the intermediate tracks in 2012 (chart here) and finished 5th back at Auto Club Speedway in March.

13. Kasey Kahne – Kahne started 4th here back in June but really fell back pretty quickly and ended up getting caught up in a wreck with Joey Logano and finishing 33rd and 49 laps down. The #5 Chevy should have some power here this weekend, which is a good thing, but it’s all up to Kasey and the team to get the car handling well for the race. If they can accomplish that, Kahne should be good to go. One thing to remember, however, is that Kasey likes to run the high line and with the re-pave that might not be the fastest way around the track. He has had the 8th-best average driver rating on the intermediate tracks this season (chart here) and should improve upon his average finish of 16.5 here at MIS. Don’t forget that this team is pretty hot as of late, with the second-most points scored in the series in the last six races (chart here).

14. Denny Hamlin – With finishes of 29th and 34th in the past two weeks, this team needs a rebound and Michigan could be the perfect place for it. Remember, Hamlin almost won the race back in Fontana but Darian Grubb made a questionable pit call late in the race with rain looming and Hamlin finished 11th. He had a driver rating of 115.1 in that race, though, so that tells you how good the #11 was. Denny has finished 34th and 35th in the last two Michigan races but has four finishes of 3rd or better in the last seven. Typically the Joe Gibbs Toyotas are really good here or just mediocre with no middle ground. Watch this team closely in practice if you’re thinking about picking Hamlin, although I do think that there are a lot better picks this weekend (and safer ones as well).

15. Mark Martin – Martin has a career average finish of 13.6 here at Michigan and was running solidly inside the top 10 here last June before having an engine problem late and ending up 29th. That’s the one issue I have with the #55 this weekend, as I have had for the last month or so as well, and part of the reason why I have Mark ranked 15th going into the weekend. The engine failure at Watkins Glen last weekend with Brian Vickers behind the wheel doesn’t help much either. However, you can’t predict mechanical failures, and with no problems Martin should be good for a top 15 on Sunday. He finished 12th back at Auto Club Speedway in March.

Those To Avoid Entering The Pure Michigan 400:

Richard Childress Racing - This entire organization is off a little bit and lacking speed. This includes Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard, and Jeff Burton. Harvick or Menard could net you a top 15 finish this weekend, but I wouldn’t expect much more. If the #29 or #27 look really fast in practice this weekend I might change my mind, but right now I think it’d be best to steer clear from the RCR Chevrolets this weekend. There’s just too many other (better) options.

Juan Montoya - He hasn’t even been able to get the finish at the road courses this year, so why would you trust Montoya on the ovals? He did finish 8th here back in June but Juan hasn’t finished better than 14th in Sprint Cup action since then. In eleven career starts here at Michigan, JPM has an average finish of 21.8 and just four finishes inside the top 15. On all of the intermediate track races thus far in 2012, Montoya has averaged just a 17.0 finish. I wouldn’t expect this team to be anywhere close to where they ended up back in June.

Casey Mears - I like to use Mears on the intermediate tracks in allocation leagues, but not this week. Why? This team plans to start and park. As far as the C Group goes in Yahoo!, Trevor Bayne is racing again this weekend. He started 7th back in June here but had an engine problem and finished 43rd. Another driver to consider is Bobby Labonte, who has finished 15th and 16th in the last two Michigan races.