The good news is that the weather didn’t interfere with the Bank of America 500 qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Sprint Cup Series was actually able to have a full session on Thursday night. The bad news is that the races at this track typically don’t have many “movers.” In this year’s Coca-Cola 600 back in May, all of the top 5 finishers started 8th or better, and four of the top six finishers in last year’s Bank of America 500 started 8th or better. With that being said, quite a few good race cars are starting outside of the top 10 this weekend, so we’re expecting a race that is a little different than normal on Saturday night (or whenever we get going). Unfortunately the two post-qualifying practice sessions on Friday got rained out, so we don’t have a lot of data to go off of this week except for history.
Last week at Dover 2, we had a good roster except for the fact that Kevin Harvick had mechanical issues in the first 100 laps and ended up finishing 37th. Still, we wound up scoring 152 points, which was pretty good, all things considered. Our official Fantasy Racing Online team is 559th overall in the game and still 3rd in our private league.
FOX Fantasy Auto Picks for the Charlotte 2 Bank of America 500
Brad Keselowski ($12,900) – We wanted to have a balanced lineup this week (in terms of salaries) but Brad Keselowski simply has too high of a fantasy points potential in FOX Fantasy Auto for us to pass up. The #2 Ford will roll off the grid from 20th whenever this year’s Bank of America 500 goes green, and if Brad can notch another top 5 finish (he has seven in the last nine Sprint Cup races overall), we’re looking at 51+ points from him. Yeah, too good to pass up. Keselowski has posted top 10 finishes in five of the last six Charlotte races and includes his only win here back in 2013. In this year’s Coca-Cola 600 back in May, BK started 5th and finished 5th, and during the only practice session this weekend, the #2 Ford was 6th on the ten-lap average chart. Keselowski should have a good race car this weekend, he just doesn’t have a great starting spot. This is long race, though, so we’re not too worried.
Matt Kenseth ($10,700) – Matt Kenseth has had a rough couple of October races here at Charlotte (he has finished 42nd and 19th in the last two) but we’re pretty confident he’s going to be a solid Fantasy NASCAR pick here on Saturday night. This #20 team had one of the best first rounds in the Round of 16 and they now have four top 10 finishes in the last five Sprint Cup races overall. And if they can add another to that total this weekend, we’re looking at around 40+ points out of Kenseth in FOX Fantasy Auto. In the lone practice session of the weekend, the #20 Toyota was 7th in terms of ten-lap average, and Kenseth still has four finishes of 7th or better in the last six races here at Charlotte despite his recent struggles in this race. He’s a two-time winner here and finishes inside the top 10 more often than not (eighteen in thirty-four starts–52.9%).
Martin Truex, Jr. ($10,700) – We’re going for finish points here for the most part, but Martin Truex, Jr. still offers some place differential potential this weekend since he qualified 7th. This #78 Toyota has been the fastest car on the track for the last month and a half, and has also been one of the best on the 1.5-mile race tracks this season. When you combine that with the fact that Truex absolutely dominated the last race here at Charlotte, this pick is a no-brainer. Oh, and let’s not forget that this #78 team brought the same exact race car from that dominating race, which is also the same one that won at Chicagoland a few weeks ago. Truex has three straight top 5 finishes here at Charlotte and should add a fourth in a row this weekend. His ownership percentage is going to be high (it’s at 55% as of this post) but it’s for good reason. If you want to fade him, we wish you the best of luck.
Kurt Busch ($10,200) – We initially had Austin Dillon in this spot (he starts 19th) but we’re leaning more toward Kurt Busch heading into Saturday. Kurt has actually been one of the most consistent performers on the 1.5-mile race tracks this season, and here at Charlotte he is currently on a four-race streak of finishes 11th or better. He wound up finishing 5th in this race one year ago and then ended up 6th in the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this year in May. Momentum-wise, Kurt Busch isn’t tearing it up every weekend, but he’s been posting top 15 after top 15, and if he’s able to come home inside that mark once again this weekend, we’re looking at at least 34 fantasy points from him in the FOX Fantasy Auto game. Like we said, Austin Dillon is another option in this spot, but we like Kurt Busch a little bit more.
Alex Bowman ($5,000) – Unfortunately there’s no really solid options under $9,000 in FOX Fantasy Auto this weekend, so we’re stuck with hoping for the best with Alex Bowman. This worked out at the last 1.5-mile race track we were at (Chicagoland, where he finished 10th), but it’s nowhere near a safe fantasy play. You could roll the dice with someone like Casey Mears in this roster spot, but Bowman at least has a chance to score 30 fantasy points on Saturday night, so we have to go with him. The good news is that Alex qualified 2nd for this year’s Bank of America 500, but the bad news is he has no chance for place differential points. This #88 Chevrolet definitely has speed, though, now it’s just up to Bowman to bring it home in one piece. We have faith…kind of.
