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Race Preview/Lineup Construction
The NASCAR Cup Series will be heading to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend for the Coca-Cola 600. This is the longest race of the season with 400 laps and 600 miles. We saw Brad Keselowksi steal the win in the first Charlotte race and Chase Elliott win the second Charlotte race in a dominating fashion. There will be four 100 lap stages, so we could see a lot of drivers get trapped a lap down depending on how long the green flag runs are. In terms of lineup construction, there are 280 dominator points available, which means we’re probably going to want multiple dominators in our lineups. While practice data and qualifying is important, we shouldn’t let that factor in too much for what drivers will have speed in the race. With all of that out of the way, here are some of the guys that I’ll be targeting for tonight’s race!
Kyle Larson (DK $11,300 FD $14,500)
Larson has been dominant this season and is always a threat to lead a lot of laps and win any given race. Hendrick Motorsports showed great speed in the practice sessions and all qualified up front. I don’t see any reason to fade Larson in cash with the upside he has, but you could fade him in tournaments to be different from the field. I will have a lot of exposure to him as well as the other Hendrick cars today.
Kyle Busch (DK $10,200 FD $13,500)
Kyle Busch has finished 3rd, 5th, and 1st over the last three 1.5 mile races. Usually, we’re scared to play him because of no practice, but there was practice for this race which could help them a lot this weekend. Kyle qualified 20th, so there’s a lot of place differential upside and dominator potential making the ceiling very high for him. He’ll probably be one of the highest owned drivers which makes him a great cash play but interesting fade in tournaments to be different.
Ryan Blaney (DK $9,000 FD $11,000)
Blaney is priced appropriately on FanDuel, but I feel like his $9,000 price on DraftKings is too cheap. Over his last ten intermediates, he has one win, three top 5’s, and seven top 10’s. He also finished 3rd in both Charlotte races last season, so he could definitely be a threat to lead some laps. Penske has been compared to the other teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, but Blaney has still been strong in 2021. At his price, all we need is a few dominator points and a top 5 finish.
Matt DiBenedetto (DK $7,500 FD $9,500)
DiBenedetto has an average finish of 13.8 over his last ten races at 1.5 mile tracks and usually runs better in the high-downforce package because of how difficult it is to pass. He finished 17th and 15th in the two races at Charlotte last season and stayed on the lead lap in both as well. DiBenedetto will start 22nd, so there’s place differential and top 10 upside depending on when the cautions happen. His expensive price on FanDuel might make him a lower owned option that could help you takedown a gpp.
Chris Buescher (DK $6,700 FD $6,500)
Buescher’s recent form is very strong with two top 10’s and three top 15’s over his last four races. I wouldn’t be too worried about the practice data and poor qualifying position because I think the Roush cars are trying to setup their cars more for the long runs. He offers a lot of place differential starting from 27th and has top 15 upside.
Michael McDowell (DK $5,800 FD $6,500)
McDowell has ran very well in the high-downforce package with finishes of 6th, 17th, 19th, and 13th. In the two races at Charlotte last season, he finished 18th and 25th. He was 23rd in practice, 18th in 5 lap, and 17th in the 10 lap. McDowell offers some place differential starting from 24th and could contend for a top 20 finish.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading my free article for the Cup Series Charlotte race, and I wish you the best of luck in your DFS contests! Make sure to follow me on Twitter if you haven’t already @DFS_NASCAR_Zone, so you can see when I post NASCAR DFS content!
