Michigan International Speedway plays host to NASCAR’s Cup Series for Sunday afternoon’s running of the FireKeepers Casino 400. The green flag for this race is set to wave at 1 p.m. (ET) with FOX Sports 1 carrying the national broadcast.
FireKeepers Casino 400 Top NASCAR Value Bets
Kyle Busch reestablished himself as the driver to beat this season with last Sunday’s victory at Pocono. This was his fourth Cup Series victory of the year. Brad Keselowski turned in a solid effort in second place, and Erik Jones rounded out the top three drivers. I missed the mark with Martin Truex Jr. as my top-valued favorite to win at +650 odds. He ended up way down the list with a blown engine.
Turning to NASCAR’s futures board at 5Dimes online sportsbook, I have come up with my top three value picks for this Sunday’s race at Michigan.
FireKeepers Casino 400 Top Favorite – Kevin Harvick +475
I backed off of Harvick last week, and he faded all the way to 22nd in one of his poorest runs this season. Kyle Busch closed as the favorite and went on to win. Busch has been opened as a +290 favorite to win again on Sunday, but I think this is an excellent spot to put the No. 4 Ford in the top-valued favorite spot at Michigan. It gets repetitive to say, but sooner or later, Harvick is going to start winning a few of these races. He has raced strong enough to win on more than one occasion, and there is a reason why this team is holding down fifth place in the current Cup Series standings without a victory this year.
Harvick turned in a strong performance last season at Michigan with a second-place finish in this event followed by a victory in the second race here later in the year. He has now finished in the top five in five of his last seven runs around this track.
FireKeepers Casino 400 Top Contender – Joey Logano +1050
Logano remains one of the more consistent drivers in the Cup Series behind the wheel of the No. 22 Ford. Along with an early season victory at Las Vegas, he has been able to finish seventh or lower in his last eight point race events. This includes a pair of second-place runs at Richmond and Charlotte. The steady run has this team second in the current Cup Series standings with a total of 564 points. Logano has posted seven Top 5 runs in the first 14 events.
When it comes to his recent track record at this week’s venue, he has finished 10th or better in 11 of his last 12 Cup Series races at Michigan. This includes a pair of victories in the 2013 and 2016 racing seasons.
FireKeepers Casino 400 Top Longshot – Clint Bowyer +2150
Bowyer is one of those veteran NASCAR drivers that always manage to put quite a few solid runs together over the course of the 36-race schedule. With last Sunday’s fifth-place finish at Pocono, he has been able to guide the No. 14 Ford to five runs inside the top five this year. His best effort was second at Texas in the seventh point race on the list. This team is holding down 10th place in the standings with 402 total points.
The primary value in these longer odds is that Bowyer comes into Sunday’s race as the defending champion of the FireKeepers Casino 400 in what was one of two victories in the 2018 racing season. Most of his other recent runs here have been forgettable, but I am banking on lightning strike twice for the senior driver.
