We’re getting to the point of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season where things start to change. This will be the 12th race of the year, and it’s right around this time that a lot of the teams that got off to a slow start will catch back up the field. Likewise, many that shot out like a cannon to start the season will come back down to earth. This weekend, the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 trophy is up for grabs at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is another 1.5-mile race track on the circuit. The only difference with this race is that there’s 600 miles as opposed to the typical 500 (or 400), and NASCAR has also added a fourth stage to the mix. The race will start in the evening and then end under the lights at night, so it’s going to be up to the crew chiefs to keep up with the track and make the right adjustments to the car as the race goes on.
REMINDER: Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing rosters lock on Thursday morning at 5:00 am Eastern. It’s a bit of a weird schedule this weekend so please don’t forget that we have an earlier lockdown time than normal.
Yahoo! A Group Early Picks and Rankings for Charlotte
Martin Truex, Jr. (8 starts remaining) – Nobody can forget the ass whooping that Martin Truex, Jr. put on the field in last year’s Coca-Cola 600, and while it’s unlikely that he has a repeat performance this year, he’s still going to be one of the contenders. This #78 team is coming off of their second win of the season at Kansas a couple of weeks ago and have been a solid threat at most 1.5-mile tracks this season–just like last year. As far as Charlotte goes, Truex has led over 500 total laps in the last two Coke 600s and has finished inside the top 5 in three of the last four races overall. I still have 8 starts left with him so I have no problem using Truex for a second race in a row.
Jimmie Johnson (9 starts remaining) – Even though he didn’t end up with a good finish at Kansas a couple of weeks ago, we can’t overlook how fast Jimmie Johnson was in that race, and if it wasn’t for his multiple problems during the event, he probably would have had a shot to win it at the end. This #48 team seems to have found quite a bit of speed as of late after getting off to a sluggish start this season, and when you consider the fact that Jimmie has went to victory lane eight times in his career here at Charlotte Motor Speedway, it’s extremely hard to bet against him this weekend. He ran top 5 in both Charlotte races last season, including a win in the fall event.
Kevin Harvick and the #4 team are knocking on the door of victory lane, and their first 2017 win could easily come this weekend at Charlotte. As mentioned before, this is the part of the season where we see teams make gains after a slower start. Harvick has finished 1st or 2nd in four of his last eight Charlotte starts and has wound up 6th or better in six of the last eight. If I had more than 6 Yahoo! starts left with him, I would definitely roster him–and I still might. The Penske teammates of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano are what they are–top 5 threats. They’re strong week in and week out and that will be the case this weekend. You can’t really go wrong with either of them. Kyle Busch is an interesting option this week, as he won the All Star Race last weekend. He’s never gone to victory lane in a points-paying race here at Charlotte but does have single-digit finishes in 14 of his last 19 starts here.
EDIT: I’m going with Joey Logano instead of Jimmie Johnson.
Pre-Lockdown A Group Rankings: (1) Martin Truex, Jr., (2) Kevin Harvick, (3) Brad Keselowski, (4) Kyle Busch, (5) Jimmie Johnson, (6) Joey Logano, (7) Denny Hamlin, (8) Matt Kenseth, (9) Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Yahoo! B Group Early Picks and Rankings for Charlotte
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (8 starts remaining) – Believe it or not, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. has the best average in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series over the last six races (8.2). Next-best is Brad Keselowski with 8.7. Having success in Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing is all about getting the most you can out of the mid-tier drivers (when necessary), and right now there isn’t a better time to do so with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. This #17 Ford has finished 20th, 15th, and 13th in the last three Charlotte races, and it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see Ricky flirt with the top 10 once again this weekend; in five of his ten career starts at Charlotte, Stenhouse has ended up inside the top 15–which is pretty good when you consider the equipment he has been in over the last five years.
Kyle Larson (6 starts remaining) – Remember that VHT stuff that NASCAR used at Bristol to try and make the high groove work? They’ll be using that once again here at Charlotte this weekend to try and achieve the same result, which must be music to Kyle Larson’s ears. He finished a career-best 5th the last time we raced here and should be a solid top 5 threat once again this weekend for the Coke 600. As always, the only way I’m going to start him in Yahoo! is if I have to, or if he can dominate the race. Hopefully Larson as worked on his qualifying, considering he’s started outside of the top 20 in six of his seven Cup starts here at Charlotte.
Kurt Busch (7 starts remaining) – Looking back at the Kansas race a couple of weeks ago, I had three of my four Yahoo! guys inside the top 5 with a few laps remaining, and then Kurt Busch made contact with Jimmie Johnson and slid all the way back to 19th. Oh, well, the speed was still there. This #41 team still has three top 10s in the last five Cup Series races overall and will be contenders for another one this weekend at Charlotte. Kurt won the Coca-Cola 600 here back in 2010 and has finished 11th or better in each of the last five races here. Look for him to make it six in a row on Sunday night.
Jamie McMurray (5 starts remaining) – I never thought at this point in the season that Jamie McMurray would be my most-used driver in Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing but here we are. McMurray is just solid on these 1.5-mile race tracks and is 100% in terms of finishing inside the top 10 on them this season. And as far as using the low downforce package, he’s 8-for-8 with top 10 finishes on intermediate tracks overall. Here at Charlotte, Jamie Mac has ended up 12th or better in four of his last six starts, and he even wound up top 5 in both races here back in 2014. There’s no guarantee that McMurray is going to keep up this kind of success so you might as well use him while you can. The B Group is deep enough right now that it shouldn’t hurt you later on in the year.
Chase Elliott is in a slump–three straight finishes of 24th or worse–and while he’s more than capable of getting out of that slump, his starts are so valuable in this Yahoo! game that I’m going to stay away for the time being. With that being said, he did lead 103 laps here at Charlotte last fall but got caught up in a wreck and finished 33rd. I can’t blame you for rostering Chase this weekend, but chances are he won’t make my Yahoo! team for the Coca-Cola 600. Ryan Blaney is an interesting option considering how much speed that #21 Ford has shown as of late. His best finish in the Cup Series here at Charlotte thus far has been 14th, but he’s more than capable of knocking out a top 10 here on Sunday night. Don’t forget that Blaney has started on the front row in three of the last five Cup races (bonus points!).
Trevor Bayne is another start save option like his teammate, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. This season the #6 Ford just has a knack for being between 10th and 15th at the end of the race, and that’ll probably happen again. Bayne finished 18th in the fall race here last season. Austin Dillon is a driver that has ran well here at Charlotte throughout his career–best finish of 7th and just one result worse than 16th–but he’s going to be working with a brand new crew chief this weekend and there are sure to be some bumps that the team will have to get through.
Pre-Lockdown B Group Rankings: (1) Kyle Larson, (2) Chase Elliott, (3) Jamie McMurray, (4) Kurt Busch, (5) Clint Bowyer, (6) Ryan Blaney, (7) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., (8) Trevor Bayne, (9) Ryan Newman, (10) Kasey Kahne, (11) Austin Dillon, (12) Chris Buescher, (13) A.J. Allmendinger, (14) Paul Menard, (15) Danica Patrick
Yahoo! C Group Early Picks and Rankings for Charlotte
Aric Almirola will be out of racing for a couple of months so that means we’re going to get some major start relief in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing C Group. It is anticipated that Regan Smith will be filling in for Almirola this weekend but nothing was official as of Tuesday morning. Still, that’s probably who it is going to be, and Smith isn’t a bad option for a C Group driver; Regan wound up 28th in last year’s Coca-Cola 600 and then finished 21st in the fall race here last October–and those finishes came in subpar equipment. I fully anticipate Smith in the #43 Ford for this weekend’s race, so even if it’s not official at lockdown time, I’d still roster him (just uncheck the “Show Only Entered Drivers” option). As far as “The Big 3” C Group drivers go–Erik Jones, Ty Dillon, and Daniel Suarez–they’re all making their first career Cup starts here at Charlotte Motor Speedway but we should expect similar speed out of the three of them as we have in previous weeks. However, with Suarez coming off a 7th-place finish at Kansas, and having finished inside the top 20 in each of the last five Cup Series events, I’m going to roll the dice with him this weekend and put him on my roster for Charlotte. I still have full intentions of starting Aric Almirola’s replacement on Sunday night, though.
Pre-Lockdown C Group Rankings: (1) Erik Jones, (2) Ty Dillon, (3) Regan Smith, (4) Daniel Suarez, (5) Michael McDowell, (6) Landon Cassill, (7) David Ragan, (8) Matt DiBenedetto, the rest
