The NASCAR Cup Series will honor or veterans on this Memorial Day weekend with the longest race on the schedule. The Coca-Cola 600 in a marathon race that starts in the evening and ends at night. The teams that are able to make 400 laps mistake-free will outrun the fastest cars that have issues in the pits. It takes a complete race by the driver, crew chief and pit crew to win the Coca-Cola 600. It should be fun to see which team can get the job done this weekend. The Coca-Cola 600 can be seen Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on Prime Sports.
Here are my updated picks for your season long Fantasy NASCAR games…
* There is a good chance that practice and qualifying get rained out. If it does this will be the starting lineup…
* I may change up the lineups a bit if qualifying is rained out. Check back Saturday morning to see if I made any changes.
DRIVER GROUP GAME PICKS FOR CHARLOTTE
GROUP A DRIVERS
WILLIAM BYRON (8): Byron is not having a great season by his standards, but he has been good on the 1.5-mile, intermediate tracks. He finished 3rd in Las Vegas, 7th in Kansas and 8th at Texas Motor Speedway. Now he gets to race at his home track in Charlotte. This is by far his best track on the schedule. Byron led 293 laps and finished 2nd at Charlotte last year. He led 49 laps and finished 3rd in 2024 and the No. 24 car led 91 laps and finished 2nd in 2023. Byron has a great chance to get his first win in 2026 at the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (7): I thought about pairing Kyle Larson with William Byron but I did not want to invest all of my Group A stock into Hendrick Motorsports. Denny Hamlin has been great this year and the No. 11 car was an option too, but I am quickly running out of allocations with Hamlin. The best driver to pair with Byron is Bell. This 600 mile race will have at least 14 pit stops and the No. 20 team has dominated the field in the pits. Bell has been fast but he has had some bad luck on the 1.5-mile, intermediate tracks this year. He won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2024 and he finished 8th last year. Bell should be a threat to win again Sunday.
GROUP B DRIVERS
TY GIBBS (8): Gibbs is having his best season in the Cup Series. He already won at Bristol and he finished 5th in Las Vegas and 9th at Kansas. Gibbs has been hit or miss in the Coca-Cola 600, but based on how his season is going this year, I expect another top-10 from the No. 54 team Sunday. The Toyota’s have had a lot of speed on the intermediate tracks, so Gibbs gets the spot in my Driver Group Game lineup.
CHRIS BUESCHER (7): I wrote in my Charlotte Preview article that the Coca-Cola 600 often comes down to the driver who makes the fewest mistakes over the 600-mile race. Buescher is turning into a cheaper version of Chase Elliott. He does not lead my laps, but he is good at stacking top-10 finishes. Buescher finished 6th at Las Vegas, 10th at Kansas and 5th in his home state of Texas. Buescher has a great chance to finish in the top-10 again Sunday.
BRAD KESELOWSKI (6): Keselowski is a good pick in Fantasy NASCAR if you know where to play him. Charlotte Motor Speedway is one of his best tracks. Keselowski won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2020, finished 2nd in 2024 and 5th in 2025. He typically qualifies outside the top-15 and it takes the No. 6 car a while to get to the front on the intermediate tracks. He will have plenty of time to work his way to the front in Sunday’s marathon race. Keselowski is just too good in this race to fade this weekend.
BUBBA WALLACE (6): The last choice for Group B came down to Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace. I only have 4 allocations left with Reddick, so I will save him for other races. Trackhouse Racing has not had much speed on the intermediate tracks, so I will give Chastain the week off. I do not trust Bowman for 600 miles, so that leaves me with Wallace. He finished 9th in Las Vegas, 5th in Kansas and 9th at Texas. The Toyota’s have been fast on the intermediate tracks, so Wallace should run well Sunday.
GROUP C DRIVERS
CARSON HOCEVAR (6): Hocevar has been the biggest surprise in 2026. He won the pole and finished 7th at the last 1.5-mile, intermediate track race in Texas. Can his “Drive it like he stole it” style last for 600 miles Sunday? He has run the Coca-Cola 600 twice. Hocevar finished 21st in 2024 and his engine blew up while he was running 13th last year. He is just too good and too fast to fade on the intermediate tracks this year.
COREY HEIM (9): Heim Time in Prime Time? Yes, please. It is crazy that Heim is not a full-time driver in the Cup Series. He has run well every time he has been behind the wheel of the No. 67 car for 23X1 Racing. Heim finished 13th in Kansas last year and 15th this year. The Toyota’s have had a lot of speed, so I expect Heim to have a good chance to finish in the top-15 again Sunday.
* Be sure to check back Sunday morning for my starting lineup.
SPEEDWAY COLLECTIVE PICKS
GROUP A DRIVERS: My picks for Group A in the Speedway Collective game will be the same as the picks for Group A in the Driver Group Game. William Byron is the best driver in the field at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the pit crew for Christopher Bell is too good to pass up in a race with 14+ pit stops.
GROUP B DRIVERS: The picks in Group B will be the same as the two drivers who I plan to start in Group B of the Driver Group Game. The Toyota’s have had the speed on the intermediate tracks this year, so Ty Gibbs should finish up front. Chris Buescher is just a steady driver who should avoid mistakes in this marathon race and finish in the top-10.
GROUP C DRIVERS: Carson Hocevar has been too fast to pass up in Group C. His track history is not that great, but it is a small sample size and a blown engine is not his fault. Ryan Preece will be my second pick in Group C. All of the RFK Racing drivers are running well this year. Preece should be a good backup plan to Hocevar this weekend.
GROUP D DRIVERS: The Toyota’s have had the most speed this year on the intermediate tracks, so I will play two Toyota’s in Group D. Corey Heim will be behind the wheel of the No. 67 car for 23XI Racing. He finished 15th in Kansas and he should have a good chance to finish inside the top-15 Sunday. Riley Herbst is racing for a job next year. It is no secret that Corey Heim is taking over his car at 23X1 Racing. Herbst finished 14th at Kansas and 11th at Texas. His Toyota should be fast enough to finish in the top-15 again Sunday.
* Be sure to check back Saturday night for my starting lineup.
FANTRAX PICKS
* Each league in Fantrax is different. Some leagues have bench drivers and award qualifying points and others do not. The two leagues that I am playing in do not have bench drivers. Also, most leagues (including mine), do not require your lineup to be set until minutes before the race starts. My picks will change after practice and qualifying for most races. If you need bench drivers, you can use my picks from the Driver Group Game.
* Be sure to check back Saturday night for my starting lineup.
Good Luck Sunday!
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