It has been incredibly difficult to write the articles this week. “The Legend”, Kyle Busch was taken from us way too soon… When I found out Thursday morning that he was sick, I posted on social media that I hoped he would get better soon. When I found out about the passing of Busch Thursday evening, I could not believe it. I was sad, I was shocked and I was angry that he was taken from us and his family too soon. I still cannot believe the news. I wish it was all just a bad dream and I could wake up and everything would be back to normal. It makes me so sad to know that is not going to happen. RIP Rowdy!
Sadly, onto the picks for the race at Charlotte….
The Cup Series has a home race this weekend as the honor our veterans and Kyle Busch in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This is the toughest test for the Cup Series in 2026. The engines will be tested in the 600-mile race, the pit crews will be tested with 14+ pit stops, the crew chiefs will be tested as the track transitions from day to night and the drivers must be focused for over 5 hours in the race this weekend. It should be fun to see which team can be mistake-free and make it to Victory Lane. The Coca-Cola 600 can be seen Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on Prime.
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 DraftKings Points…
PRACTICE / QUALIFYING
Qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was rained out. The starting lineup was set “per the rule book.” Tyler Reddick starts on the pole Sunday.
NASCAR did have a short practice session for the teams to shake down their cars. I doubt we will learn anything from practice because the track conditions Sunday will be completely different.
Here are the lap times from the practice sessions Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but do not rely too much on these speeds for your pics this weekend…
STRATEGY FOR CHARLOTTE
The race Sunday is scheduled for 400 laps (600 miles). That means there are 100 points available for leading laps and 180 points available for fastest laps (280 dominator points). The trend in the Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway is for one driver to lead roughly 160 laps and score 80 fastest laps (76 dominator points). Another driver leads roughly 100 laps and scores 40 fastest laps (43 dominator points). A third driver leads roughly 50 laps and scores 32 fastest laps (26.9 dominator points). The last dominator leads roughly 30 laps and scores 30 fastest laps (21 dominator points).
We have to treat this race like a short track race because there are so many dominator points available. We must have the top-two dominators in our lineup and the 120 bonus points they are projected to score. I plan to try and fit as many dominators as possible into my lineups Sunday.
WINNING LINEUPS AT CHARLOTTE (2022-2025)
It may be tough to fade William Byron at his home track. He has been in the winning lineup three years in a row. He is averaging 92.78 DK Points Per Race at Charlotte. It is hard to ignore those numbers.
Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain have been the three best “value picks” at Charlotte. Reddick is no longer in the value pick category because his price increased significantly based on his 2026 success.
The common lineup strategy for the Coca-Cola 600 is to pay up for two drivers priced over $10K and have one (and maybe two) drivers priced under $6,500 who can score some place differential points. I expect this lineup strategy to work well again this week.
DRAFTKINGS MODEL (Prediction Based on Stats)
Finish = Finishing Points PD = Position Differential Fastest = Fastest Laps Led = Laps Led
* The number in front of the driver is his projected finishing position based on stats.
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST LINEUP
DENNY HAMLIN ($11,500): The No. 11 car has been the best on the intermediate tracks this year. He won the race in Las Vegas, finished 4th in Kansas and 2nd at Texas Motor Speedway. Hamlin has a good chance to score some place differential points and some dominators points on his way to a possible win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
CHRISTOPHER BELL ($10,000): Could the Coca-Cola 600 be the race where Bell gets his first win 2026? 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. The No. 20 car looks fast again this weekend. Bell won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2024 and he finished 8th last year. Bell should be a threat to win again Sunday.
WILLIAM BYRON ($9.500): 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 end up in the winning lineup four years in a row.
COREY HEIM ($6,900): Heim will be back behind the wheel of the No. 67 car for 23Xl Racing this weekend. It is no secret that the Toyota’s have had the speed on the intermediate tracks and Heim has been fast every time he has had a chance to race in the Cup Series. He started 28th and finished 13th at Kansas last year and then Heim came back this year and started 24th and finished 15th. Heim starts last, so he has a chance to score a lot of place differential points Sunday.
DANIEL SUAREZ ($6,700): The No. 7 car has had some decent speed this year. Suarez finished 6th in the last intermediate track race in Texas. I am not worried about his track history at Charlotte, because his Spire Motorsports car has more speed than what Suarez has had in the past at this race. Suarez also has the 7th-fastest pit crew. That should help him out a lot in a race with 14+ pit stops.
NOAH GRAGSON ($5,400): Gragson has not been great on the 1.5-mile tracks this year, but the Coca-Cola 600 is a wild race and weird things happen. Gragson finished 10th in this race last year. Wouldn’t it be nice if he honored his Las Vegas Brother with another top-15 finish Sunday? There is little risk in using Gragson from the back in your Cash Contest lineup.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
CHASE ELLIOTT ($9,700): The Coca-Cola 600 is the perfect race for Elliott. He has been one of the best drivers on the 1.5-mile, intermediate tracks this year. Elliott won the race in Texas, finished 2nd in Las Vegas and 8th at Kansas Speedway. He also finished 6th and 7th in his last two intermediate track races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Elliott is good at staying out of trouble for 600 miles, so he should score some place differential points from the 16th starting position Sunday.
WILLIAM BYRON ($9.500): Byron is going to be a popular pick, but there is good chalk and bad chalk in DFS NASCAR. Byron is definitely good chalk. Charlotte is his best track and he starts deep in the field. Byron has the best chance to be in the winning lineup.
CHASE BRISCOE ($9,200): Briscoe ended the season last year on a hot streak, started out the 2026 season in a slump and now he is starting to heat up again. Briscoe finished 8th in Las Vegas and 3rd at Kansas earlier this year. He also finished 3rd in his first Coca-Cola 600 in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota last year. I will use Briscoe as one of my dominators in the Tournament Contest lineup.
BRAD KESELOWSKI ($8,000): Keselowski is the safest pick in the field Sunday. The No. 6 team is really good at starting in the back, working on their car and then finishing up front. The Coca-Cola 600 is a great race for Keselowski so I will play the No. 6 car in both lineups this weekend.
ALEX BOWMAN ($7,800): Bowman has been good but not great in the Coca-Cola 600. He finished 4 of his last 5 races on the intermediate track at Charlotte in the top-12. He really needs to get on a hot streak because his contract is up with Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season. Bowman finished 3rd in the last intermediate track race in Texas. He has a chance to score a lot of place differential points from the 29th starting position Sunday.
RILEY HERBST ($5,600): Herbst is racing for his career in the Cup Series right now. It is no secret that Corey Heim will be taking over the No. 35 car next year. Herbst needs to show he can finish inside the top-20 in order for other teams to get interested in his services. So far, he has done it. Hebrst started 22nd and finished 14th at Kansas. He started 18th and finished 11th at Texas. Hebrst starts 30th Sunday. His Toyota should be fast enough to finish inside the top-20 and for Herbst to score enough place differential points to help this lineup score well at Charlotte.
FANDUEL MODEL (Prediction Based on Stats)
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST LINEUP
FANDUEL TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
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