The Cup Series is scheduled to race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday (If the rain stays away). This is a marathon race and the drivers who can avoid mistakes, typically finish up front. There is a good chance that a surprise driver finds his way to Victory Lane in the Coca-Cola 600, so I am going to take a chance with a few drivers who I wasn’t planning on starting.
The Cup Series was scheduled to have practice and qualifying Saturday evening, but Mother Nature did not cooperate. The starting lineup for the Coca-Cola 600 will be set “per the rule book.” There are some drivers who start deep in the field, who should have a lot of speed Sunday. I plan to play the drivers who start up front.
CUP SERIES PICKS
* Kyle Larson is probably the safer pick, but William Byron starts on the pole, has the No. 1 pit stall and he has been really good his home track (Charlotte) in his career. Byron won at Las Vegas, so I will use the No. 24 car when they race.
* Kyle Busch is a lock from the 5th starting position. Charlotte is his best intermediate track, and he did get some track time since he practiced and qualified his Xfinity Series car. Martin Truex Jr. is ranked higher than Bubba Wallace in my rankings, but I will use the No. 23 car in the Coca-Cola 600. Wallace finished 4th at Las Vegas and 4th in Kansas. I am running low with allocations with Truex, so Wallace gets the spot.
* Ty Gibbs has a decent chance to win the Coca-Cola 600, but I am using Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Charlotte is his best 1.5-mile track. Stenhosue finished 8th in this race last year and the No. 47 car has had a lot more speed in 2023. Stenhouse starts 10th so he has the track position to score some Stage Points in this race.
Good Luck Sunday!
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