DraftKings NASCAR Driver Point Projections: Charlotte Coca-Cola 600

This is going to be a fun one. In addition to getting just one hour of post-qualifying practice in this weekend, the Cup Series cars were on track during the morning hours, which is all fine and dandy until you remember that Sunday night’s race doesn’t start until 6 pm Eastern time. Throw in the fact that the track is going to go through a bunch of changes from the green to the checkered flag and DraftKings players may be in for a treat this weekend. There should be plenty of comers and goers in the Coca-Cola 600, with some cars running better at night when the race is in the closing stages, and don’t forget that this event was won on fuel mileage last season. Good luck!

We have another race at a 1.5-mile track this weekend, but the Coca-Cola 600 is the longest race of the season, so there are more dominator points available than we usually get at a track of this length. Sunday night’s race at Charlotte will be at least 400 laps in length, and you can expect a bunch of green flag laps. The 400 laps equal out to 100 FPTS for laps led, and I’m expecting somewhere around 160-170 FPTS for fastest laps.

GPP Drivers I Love For The Coke 600

Kyle Busch ($11,100) – Two of the last four Coca-Cola 600s have been won from the pole and it wouldn’t be surprising at all for Kyle Busch to finally get a points-paying win at this track on Sunday night. Now, when it comes to DraftKings, he’s the obvious choice for dominator points simply because he’s starting up front. But don’t forget that Kyle Busch is averaging the 2nd-most laps led and fastest laps on the 1.5-mile tracks this season, trailing only Kevin Harvick in those categories. As far as practice this weekend, Rowdy was just 18th-fastest overall on Saturday morning, and was just 15th-best when it came to ten-lap average in that session. That might make some people shy away, but don’t forget that the #18 Toyota ranked P1 in twenty-lap average–and that’s going to pay dividends on Sunday night if we get long green flag runs. Kyle led 85 combined laps in the two Charlotte races last season but could easily eclipse that number here on Sunday night in the 2018 Coca-Cola 600.

Denny Hamlin ($9,200) – One driver that could grab some dominator points from the “heavy hitters” on Sunday night is Denny Hamlin. Charlotte has been a great track for him throughout his career, as his top 5 (32%) and top 10 (64%) finish rates are among the best in the series. Additionally, Hamlin has led 107 total laps here over the last three races, and has ended up finishing 5th or better in four of the last five. As far as this weekend goes, Hamlin qualified 3rd–which is admittedly a bit higher than I’d really like–but the #11 Toyota looks like a legitimate top 5 contender. Denny was 5th-fastest overall in the Happy Hour practice session on Saturday and also ranked 3rd when it came to ten-lap average. He was also 4th-best in twenty-lap average. Hamlin is coming off of a 5th-place finish at Kansas and seems to be building some momentum here as of late. If he can grab the lead in Sunday night’s race, he could have a huge points day at a relatively low price. I won’t have a ton of Hamlin exposure but I will have a handful of lineups with him in them.

Erik Jones ($8,100) – We’ve seen what Erik Jones can do with a fast car this season; at Texas back in April, the #20 Toyota rolled off the starting grid from 21st but ended up leading 64 laps and finishing 4th when it was all said and done. Flash forward to this weekend at Charlotte and the #20 Toyota might be even better. Jones spanked everyone during the Happy Hour practice session on Saturday and even qualified 4th for Sunday’s big race. Of course, picking a driver in DraftKings that starts that high means that they need to lead some laps to make it worth it, but Erik’s mid-range salary really helps minimize the risk there. The fact of the matter is that Jones has an average finish of 6.3 on the 1.5-mile tracks this season (excluding Atlanta) and looks to have his best car of the season for this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600. That’s a great combination for fantasy owners.

William Byron ($6,500) – William Byron wrecked out at Kansas, but let’s not forget that he was running on the lead lap when that happened–which was significant in that race. Chances are he would have wound up at least in the top 15 if he didn’t wreck that not, if not the top 10–which is what I like the most about Byron this weekend. The Coca-Cola 600 is typically the point of the season where the struggling teams catch up a little bit, and although Hendrick Motorsports has been doing that for the last month or so, there’s still room for improvement. Byron will start from back in 21st when this year’s Coca-Cola 600 goes green, which is that range where a lot of people will overlook him. The #24 Chevrolet was 13th-fastest in Happy Hour on Saturday and also had the 16th-best ten-lap average. I’m not saying Byron is top 10 good for Sunday night, but a top 15 is within reach. Also, don’t forget that he ended up 10th at Texas last month, and also has three finishes of 15th or better in three of the last six Cup Series races overall.

Salary Cap Relief at Charlotte

It’s much of the same here at Charlotte this weekend as it was at Kansas a couple of weeks ago: Matt DiBenedetto ($5,700) and Michael McDowell ($5,600) are the picks for salary cap relief in the Coca-Cola 600. They’ll start from back in 31st and 29th (respectively) but both have a decent chance at challenging for a high-20s finish when it’s all said and done. Looking at the 1-5-mile tracks this season, DiBenedetto has an average finish of 22.8 over those four races while McDowell is sitting at 23.8. As far as practice goes at Charlotte this weekend, DiBenedetto was faster (27th) on Saturday but McDowell wasn’t real far behind (31st). If you’re looking to pivot off of those two, my choice would be Landon Cassill ($5,300), who starts back in 35th and finished 25th at Kansas a couple weeks ago as well as 21st at Texas last month. If you’re really looking to save some cap, Corey LaJoie is sitting there at $5,100, but combining a longer race than normal and a guy that has a tendency to blow engines doesn’t normally end well. With that being said, LaJoie is sponsored this weekend and he finished 24th at Kansas a couple weeks ago. He qualified back in 33rd for Sunday night’s race.

Driver Point Projections for the Charlotte Coca-Cola 600

The following chart takes into account the very basics: the starting position and the projected finish of each driver. The projected finishes are averaged from five different ranking systems, using both mathematical equations as well as personal rankings. This chart also includes the average projected base + laps led + fastest laps DraftKings FPTS as well as the dollar per FPT. You can click the headers below to sort the chart by that attribute. By default it is sorted by average projected FPTS.