Friday, June 8, 2018

Michigan Betting Preview: 2018 FireKeepers Casino 400

Kyle Larson has won the past three Michigan races.
There's not much a rivalry between the hammer and the nail, and Chevrolet has played the rare role of the nail through the first 14 NASCAR Cup Series races where Ford and Toyota have combined to win the past 13 races after Chevy's new Camaro grabbed the season-opening Daytona 500 victory, one of four restrictor-plate races a season where randomness and equality is the theme.

It's certainly been a struggle for Chevrolet so far this season and their issues will come to the forefront, even more, this weekend in the Motor City's backyard at Michigan International Speedway. Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400 is basically the first half of the 2018 manufacturer's Super Bowl.

Michigan's wide 2-mile layout hosts two Cup races a season and all the executives from Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota use it as a way to gather, high-five each other and root for the home squad. Since 1969, Michigan has had two races a season won by eight different manufacturers. The scoreboard reads 34 wins by Ford, 23 wins by Chevrolet and 4 wins by Toyota.

This season, if using football terms for this battle, we would say that Chevrolet is getting blown out. Ford has sevens win so far led by Kevin Harvick's series-leading five wins and Toyota has six wins, four by Kyle Busch and two by Martin Truex Jr. There's a major disparity between those who can win and those who can't unless a driver gets rain or a crazy win by fuel mileage, or gets a random plate-race win like Austin Dillon in February. The new Camaro has been giving teams fits trying to find speed or at least all except one.

Kyle Larson's No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Camaro has been good enough to win and he's been riding the high-line around Michigan better than anyone the past two seasons winning the past three races there joining legends like David Pearson and Bill Elliott as the only drivers to do so. One more win Sunday and he'll tie Elliott who had sweeps in the 1985 and 86 seasons.

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