Wild Chase for the Wild Card

In one of the most exciting finishes in the last decade, Marcos Ambrose won for the second straight time at Watkins Glen on Sunday afternoon. Oil all over the track made it look like a dirt track event on the last lap and Ambrose, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch let it all hang out all the way around the 2.45-mile track with the lead changing hands multiple times.

Kyle had the race in hand and most likely would have won easily on a clean track. You could see that Bobby Labonte had lost his engine and that is probably where the oil came from. The real harm comes to Kyle who would have gotten his second win of the season and taken control of the final wildcard spot in the Chase. Ryan Newman currently holds that spot with only four races left before the Chase begins.

Pure Michigan 400

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/TheDarkKnightRises/National Guard/ Chevrolet, crosses the finishline to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday in Brooklyn, MI
Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Matt Kenseth: Matt is my pick to get back on track this week and get another much needed win with the Chase in sight. He has four straight top ten finishes and has led laps in the last three races at Michigan. He also has two wins at this track in his career.

Tony Stewart: Tony has five straight top ten finishes here and finished second to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the June race here. Tony has run very well on these types of tracks all season and should compete for the win once again.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has won two of the past five races here and finished second in another one of those races. He currently sits in tenth place in the standings with a forty point lead over Kasey Kahne. With two wins already this season he will likely make the Chase no matter what happens in the next four races.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale won the race here in June and will be looking to repeat that feat this week after a

disappointing finish last week at Watkins Glen. That finish dropped him from first to fourth in the standings, so he would like to get his momentum back.

Jimmie Johnson: It’s hard to believe, but Jimmie has never won a race at Michigan in the Cup series. He always seems to qualify towards the front of the field and leads a bunch of laps during the race only to have something terrible happen to him late in the race. He will be a contender once again this weekend.

Greg Biffle: Greg has always run well at Michigan and had a great finish at Watkins Glen last weekend. He has started in the top ten here in his last four races and led a bunch of laps in the last three. He got back to back wins here early in his career and should be a threat this week.

Mark Martin: Mark has always run well here during his career and has five wins to prove it. The Michael Waltrip cars have been very good almost every week of the year and Mark could very well put the #55 car in victory lane this weekend.

Kyle Busch: Kyle won this race last season, and after a disappointing finish at Watkins Glen last week in a race he should have won, he will be out to get his second win of the season and make sure that he is in the Chase.

Carl Edwards: Carl has had a disappointing season to say the least. He needs at least one win to have a shot at making the Chase and this is one of his favorite tracks. He has two wins here and has finished in the top ten in eleven of his sixteen starts here in his career.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff either needs another win, or he needs to pass both Kyle Busch, and Ryan Newman in the standings to make the Chase this year. He was really hoping to get his second win last week at Watkins Glen and now he knows that he is in a four week battle with a bunch of other drivers to make the Chase.

Yahoo Fantasy NASCAR Picks for Michigan

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Matt Kenseth
• Jimmie Johnson

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Greg Biffle
• Mark Martin
• Martin Truex Jr.

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Aric Almirola
• Sam Hornish Jr.

My Top-5 For Michigan

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Greg Biffle
5. Denny Hamlin

Dark Horse: Mark Martin

Stay Away From: Marcos Ambrose