The Cup Series will be back on the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway Wednesday night. NASCAR is really giving fans their fill of races after they were starved for 71 days. So will the second race at Charlotte be as good as the first? So far the return to racing has not let us down. The Alsco 500(K) can be seen Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
My Driver Group Game picks continue to be snake bit. Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman and Jimmie Johnson dominated the first race at Charlotte and these drivers have much to show for it. And let’s not get started on the Group C picks. If you pick my Bench Driver in Group C, you probably are winning your league. I am just going to use Tyler Reddick until the other drivers from this group show some consistency.
Here are my picks for Charlotte Part 2…
Driver Group Game A Picks
(Start) Martin Truex Jr.: You cannot find a safer pick for your team than Martin Truex Jr. His average finishing position in his last 5 races at Charlotte is 2.6 with an average of 105 laps led per race. The No. 19 car had a good chance to win last Sunday but his crew chief brought Truex to pit road with 2 laps to go. Truex will have a great chance to win his first race in 2020 Wednesday. .
(Bench) Chase Elliott: I thought I had bad luck with my Driver Group Game picks and then I looked at the highlights of Chase Elliott this season. His luck is terrible, but his car is blazing fast. I would love to use Elliott in this race but I will wait until Jeff Gordon takes him to that Voodoo doctor that he took Kyle Larson to a couple of years ago. If you do not believe in jinx though, Elliott should be your driver at Charlotte.
Group A Driver Rankings: 1) Martin Truex Jr. 2) Chase Elliott 3) Kyle Busch 4) Joey Logano 5) Brad Keselowski 6) Kevin Harvick 7) Denny Hamlin
Driver Group Game B Picks
(Start) Alex Bowman: How did Alex Bowman finish 19th Sunday night? He led a race-high 164 laps, had the second-best Driver Rating and the second-best Average Running Position in the Coca-Cola 600. Now Bowman starts on the front row. Many of the drivers in the race talked about how Bowman was the only driver who could hook the white line on the apron to turn fast laps. He should win this race if he can avoid mistakes.
(Start) William Byron: Thanks a lot William Byron! You cost me a lot of money in DFS Sunday. So now I expect you to pay me back with a top-five finish Wednesday night. Byron had a fast car for 398 laps. He ran in the top 10 for the entire race. Byron will start on the pole so he should score bonus points for leading laps. I also expect the No. 24 car to finish in the top 10.
(Bench) Ryan Blaney: Ryan Blaney starts deep in the field (18th) but I would not worry about where the No. 12 car starts the race. Blaney qualified 26th and finished 3rd last Sunday night. If you do not feel comfortable loading your lineup with Hendrick Motorsports cars, Blaney is the next best choice. He really runs well at the 1.5-mile tracks.
(Bench) Erik Jones: Erik Jones should be able to make his way to the front from the 10th starting position. His No. 20 Toyota ran well once the PJ1 Traction Compound provided another racing grove. The Xfinity Series and Truck Series should add some rubber to the track. This will play right into the hands of the No. 20 team. Jones is a good pick if you want to fade one of the drivers on the front row.
Group B Driver Rankings: 1) Alex Bowman 2) William Byron 3) Ryan Blaney 4) Erik Jones 5) Kurt Busch 6) Jimmie Johnson 7) Matt DiBenedetto 8) Aric Almirola 9) Austin Dillon 10) Chris Buescher
Driver Group Game C Picks
(Start) Tyler Reddick: Tyler Reddick is the best rookie in the Cup Series and he is the best choice in Group C. I have been fading him to get starts out of Ross Chastain while he filled in for Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth when he returned to the car. I am not fading Reddick anymore. Reddick finished 8th at Charlotte and 7th at Darlington. He should compete for another top-10 finish Wednesday night.
(Bench) Christopher Bell: Christopher Bell got off to a horrible start in 2020. Finally Bell looked like the rookie we thought he would be in the Coca-Cola 600. Bell qualified 15th and ran just outside the top 10 for most of the race. Bell had his first top-10 finish of the season and now he has some momentum to build from. If you feel like saving Tyler Reddick Wednesday, Bell is the next best choice.
Group C Driver Rankings: 1) Tyler Reddick 2) Christopher Bell 3) Matt Kenseth 4) Cole Custer 5) Ty Dillon
Driver Group Game Team
Good luck this week!
*Stats from Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Pro
If you need any further advice with your team, look for me on Twitter @MrFantasyNASCAR
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