The All Star race is now behind us as drivers and teams prepare for the longest race of the season. This week NASCAR stays in Concord, North Carolina for the 2016 Coca Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway. It will take both mental and physical endurance to reach the end of this long 400 lap grind on the mile and half intermediate track.
For fantasy this week it will be important to find the one or two drivers who have a good shot at dominating the laps led. It will also be a nice week to target place differential bonus points as drivers who start outside the Top 20 will have plenty of time to move through the field during green flag runs and 8+ pit stops to gain some ground on their competition. Let's get to it.
If you have any questions leading up to the race be sure to join the conversation in the chat below. I will also be sharing a link to a cheatsheet I developed and use weekly to help reduce research time. The cheatsheet includes driver salaries, track history(last 5 years), current form(last 5 races), Season Loop Data, and I also provide updated practice and qualifying rankings with a weighted system to rank all drivers. Check out the link in the chat room below and feel free to ask me any questions leading up to the race tomorrow night.
Daily Fantasy NASCAR: DraftKings DFS Lineup Picks
Kevin Harvick - $10,500
Harvick has absolutely dominated Charlotte over the past five(10 races) years with three wins, five Top 5's, nine Top 10's and an incredible 5.2 average finish. He currently sits first in the Sprint Cup standing despite only having one win and has finished all but three races inside the Top 10 this year. Look for him to be the next multi win driver come Sunday evening.
Jimmie Johnson - $10,200
Getting Jimmie as the 4th ranked driver in salary seems like a steal. He has seven career wins at Charlotte despite only one in the last five years with just three Top 10 finishes but has led 350 laps(3rd in the field in last five years). He qualified 7th leaving and was 2nd fastest in second practice on Saturday and also had the 2nd fastest 10 lap average. Look for the #48 to get up front early, lead some laps, and contend for the win in the closing laps.
Martin Truex Jr. - $9,800
He will be starting from the pole on Sunday evening and will have a great opportunity to pick up his first win of 2016. He has come close in many races but has been a bit unlucky and is due for a break through. Not only did they get the pole they have improved on the speed of the car throughout the weekend. They were 7th in practice one, 3rd in practice two and had the fastest 10 lap average. If they can shake the bad luck they will be up front at the end of the race.
Ryan Newman - $7,200
Newman comes back to Charlotte with some nice track history despite no career wins here. In the past five years(10 races) he has finished inside the Top 10 five times with a 13.2 average finish. He qualified 14th limiting the upside for place differential but he is a consistent driver who has seen his salary slowly dropping creating value in any format. He was a Top 10 car in practice two and had the 6th fastest 10 lap average.
Also Consider - Trevor Bayne($6,300)
DFS & Fantasy NASCAR Chat Room
If you have any questions leading up to the race hit me up in the chat below!
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