The NASCAR Cup Series will be joined by the O’Reilly Series and the Truck Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. This is typically the best day on the calendar for racing. We always got Breakfast in Monaco, Lunch at Indy and Dinner in Charlotte. The Monaco Grand Prix was moved to next weekend and getting to see Katherine Legge pull off the Indy 500 + Coca-Cola 600 double is not the same as watching Kyle Larson attempt the double, but it should still be a fun day for race fans.
Here is the schedule for the on-track activity at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend…
Friday (May 22nd) 4:20 p.m. ET: Truck Series Practice
Friday (May 22nd) 5:30 p.m. ET: Truck Series Qualifying
Friday (May 22nd) 7:30 p.m. ET: Truck Series Race
Saturday (May 23rd) 11:00 a.m. ET: O’Reilly Series Practice
Saturday (May 23rd) Noon ET: O’Reilly Series Qualifying
Saturday (May 23rd) 1:30 p.m. ET: Cup Series Practice
Saturday (May 23rd) 2:40 ET: Cup Series Qualifying
Saturday (May 23rd) 5 p.m. ET: O’Reilly Series Race
FANTASY STATS FOR CHARLOTTE
So, how do we handicap the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway? The length of this race brings more drivers into play since there are typically 13-14 pit-stops in the Coca-Cola 600. That is a lot of opportunities for the teams to make mistakes in the pits and the drivers to speed on pit-road. We cannot predict pit-road problems, so we need to rely on the race speed and hope the drivers we select have a mistake-free race. I used the stats from the last three races on the intermediate track at Charlotte and combined them with the three races on the 1.-5-mile, cookie-cutter tracks this year (Las Vegas, Texas and Kansas). This should show us which drivers typically run well at Charlotte and which drivers have had the speed on the intermediate tracks this season.
Here are the stats from the last three races at Charlotte and the races on the intermediate tracks this year, sorted by Driver Ranking…
CHARLOTTE RACE REWIND
The Coca-Cola 600 was dominated by William Byron last year. The No. 24 car led 283 of the 400 laps and Byron won the first two Stages. This is nothing new for Byron at his home track. He has been one of the lap leaders in the last three races on the intermediate track at Charlotte and he finished the last three races in the top-three.
The story of the race was Ross Chastain. He crashed the No. 1 car in qualifying, so he had to start dead-last, in a backup car. Chastain had a flawless race and a lot of speed. He went from worst to first as Chastain smashed the watermelons in Victory Lane at the Coca-Cola 600 last year.
All three drivers from RFK Racing (Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece) finished the Coca-Cola 600 in the top-10. Charlotte Motor Speedway is typically the best intermediate track for their team.
The best cars in the Coca-Cola 600 last year were William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick and Ross Chastain. The best sleeper picks were AJ Allmendinger, John H. Nemechek and Noah Gragson.
You can watch the highlights of last year’s race here: 2025 Coca Cola 600
EARLY WEEK DRIVER RANKINGS
The Coca-Cola 600 has traditionally been one of the best tracks for Hendrick Motorsports. The track is right in the backyard of the Hendrick Motorsports campus, so it should be one of their best tracks. The Toyota’s have dominated the races on the 1.5-mile, intermediate tracks this year. So, who do we favorite this week? Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing or maybe another team will sneak into Victory Lane.
The Coca-Cola 600 is a unique race. Speed is important, but being mistake free for 600-miles is more important. For this reason, I ranked the drivers with the best track history in the Coca-Cola 600 at the top of the rankings, but gave a slight bump to the drivers who have had speed on the intermediate tracks this year.
Here is the early week Driver Rankings for the Coca-Cola 600….
* These rankings will be updated after all of the practice sessions are completed and the field is set for the race.
STRATEGY FOR CHARLOTTE
SEASON-LONG GAME STRATEGY: The Coca-Cola 600 is not only one of the crown jewel races on the schedule, the 600-mile; marathon race could be considered the most important race during the regular season. The race Sunday is the only race with four Stages, instead of three. That means there are more points up for grabs for NASCAR teams and for our Fantasy NASCAR lineups. We can really make up some ground in our Fantasy NASCAR leagues if we have a good race Sunday at Charlotte. This is not the race to save allocations. Use the best drivers possible and try to hit the jackpot.
DFS GAME STRATEGY: There are 400 laps in the race Sunday. That means there are 100 points available for leading laps and 180 points available for fastest laps (280 dominator points). We need to treat the Coca-Cola 600 last a short track race. There are typically two drivers who lead over 100 laps in the Coca-Cola 600 and we need these drivers in our lineup. The winning lineups at Charlotte typically have two high-priced drivers who lead the most laps and three value picks that score a lot of place differential points. This is a good race to build a “stars and scrubs” lineup for your DraftKings Contests.
EARLY WEEK BEST BETS FOR CHARLOTTE
I like to look at the odds early in the week and see if there are any drivers who are mispriced. I like to bet on these drivers before they get on the track for practice or qualifying and then we lose these odds. I am not suggesting that these drivers are the best picks in the field, but they are worth some a few bucks to return a nice profit.
Here is my early week Best Bets for the Coca-Cola 600…
CHASE ELLIOTT (11-1): The Cola-Cola 600 is a grueling race that requires the drivers and their teams to be mistake free for 400 laps. That is what the No. 9 team for Hendrick Motorsports is good at. Elliott may not lead 100 laps in the race, but he should stay out of trouble and move to the front. Elliott the last race on a 1.5-mile, intermediate track. I will bet he can do it again Sunday.
CHASE BRISCOE (12-1): I really like the Toyota’s this week, but the odds with Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell are not long enough to take a chance with early in the week. Instead, I will pivot to Briscoe. When I think of the Coca-Cola 600, I think of Martin Truex Jr. leading 392 of the 400 laps on his way to Victory Lane. Briscoe is not going to do that, but he should have a good chance to take the No. 19 car back to Victory Lane in Charlotte. Briscoe finished 3rd in this race last year and he finished 3rd at Kansas this year. His odds will drop significantly if Briscoe wins the pole Saturday (I think he can do it), so I will bet him now at 12-1 odds.
TY GIBBS (16-1): Gibbs is having his best season in the Cup Series. He finished 5th in Las Vegas and 9th at Kansas. He has been hit or miss in the Coca-Cola 600, but he is on a hot streak this year and the Toyota’s have been fast. Gibbs has a good pit crew and he should have the speed to compete for a win in Charlotte.
BRAD KESELOWSKI (30-1): Wow, 30-1 for Keselowski is crazy good value. Keselowski won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2020, finished 2nd in 2024 and 5th last year. He also finished 6th at Kansas and 10th at Las Vegas earlier this season. Keselowski is one of the best at moving through the field to finish up front on the intermediate tracks. He often runs out of time. This 600-mile race should give Keselowski plenty of time to make his way to the front and win the Coca-Cola 600.
* I will add a one or two drivers to the card that I think are Best Bets after qualifying Saturday.
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