Firekeepers Casino 400: You Can Ignore Chevrolets and Toyotas in This Cup Race

• You can ignore Chevrolets and Toyotas in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Michigan
• Defending winner Ryan Blaney returns to Michigan seeking his first victory of 2022
• It’s high time for Kyle Larson to get his Cup program headed in the right direction

Firekeepers Casino 400 Betting Odds

Odds taken from DraftKings Sportsbook.

Firekeepers Casino 400 Picks

Kevin Harvick to win the race at +2500

Ryan Blaney to finish in the top three at +350

Ryan Blaney to beat Martin Truex Jr. head-to-head at -110

Pick made on 08/04/2022 at 11:20 PM EST

Forget Chevrolets and Toyotas; Fords Have a Lock on Michigan

In recent years, two-mile Michigan International Speedway has been the exclusive real estate of Ford drivers—when it comes to NASCAR Cup racing, at least.

Drivers from the Blue Oval camp have won the last seven races at the facility, led by 2014 series champion Kevin Harvick with four of those victories.

That being the case, it doesn’t make much sense to us that Chevrolet and Toyota drivers are the oddsmakers’ top seven choices to win Sunday Firekeepers Casino 400.

The Chevys might have a chance, but only one Toyota has taken the checkered flag since Kyle Busch won 11 years ago.

Of the Ford drivers, we like Kevin Harvick to win this Sunday. Yes, Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers have had trouble getting up to speed with the Next Gen car, but Harvick’s recent history at the track can’t be discounted.

It’s an extreme long shot at +2500 via DraftKings Sportsbook, but we’re ready to roll the dice.

Ryan Blaney Returns to Michigan Hoping for First Win of the Season

Ryan Blaney is the defending NASCAR Cup Series winner at Michigan International Speedway—in a Ford, naturally enough.

But Blaney has yet to find Victory Lane this season, and the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Mustang still has to sweat making the Playoff, with four races left in the regular season.

Though we don’t like Blaney to win on Sunday, we do think he’ll finish in the top three and recommend a bet to that effect at +350.

With Playoff Approaching, It’s Time for a Kyle Larson Turnaround

Kyle Larson was responsible for a highlight he’d rather forget in last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

In the waning laps, Larson hurtled toward Turn 1 at a speed far too fast to make the corner, lost control and wiped out the Chevrolet of Ty Dillon in the process.

That’s the way things have been going lately for the reigning series champion, who has recorded finishes of 13th, 14th, fifth and 35th in his last four races.

You could argue that Larson won his only race of the season so far at two-mile Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., the track most similar to Michigan.

But that was in February, and Larson, like Blaney, hasn’t been able to close out a race with a fast car since then.

So our advice is to avoid Larson. Instead, our third recommendation is to back Blaney at -110 in a head-to-head matchup against Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr.

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