DFS NASCAR DraftKings Lineup Advice: Charlotte Race Picks 5/28/17

The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series returns to the regular season after taking a break last week for the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.     Joe Gibbs Racing finally gets their first win of the season as Kyle Busch held off Kyle Larson and Jimmie Johnson for the All-Star win and a cash prize of $1,000,000.

This week’s race also runs at the 1.5 mile, Oval of Charlotte Motor Speedway.   The Coca-Cola 600 is the longest race of the year, running 600 miles(400 Laps) this Sunday night during Memorial Day Weekend.   NASCAR has added another Stage for this race due to the length of the race, giving drivers more opportunities to earn championship and playoff points.

At this point of the year, I like to build my NASCAR cash lineups around drivers that have finished consistently in the Top 10.  NASCAR is all about momentum and riding streaks.   At the same time, I easily avoid drivers that have performed poorly.   For example, NASCAR royalty Dale Earnhardt Jr. has finished outside of the Top 15 in 9 out of 11 races this year.   If he doesn’t get his act together, the only races that I would roster him would be at Daytona and Talladega where he is a restrictor plate specialist.

My Top 5 Drivers for the Coca-Cola 600

Martin Truex Jr.($10,700):   Truex Jr. is the most expensive driver this week and will be highly owned.   A couple of weeks ago, Truex won at Kansas, a similar 1.5-mile oval intermediate track like Charlotte.   Truex dominates these intermediate tracks, where he completely obliterated the field in last year’s Coca-Cola 600 by not only winning the race but leading a ridiculous 392 out of 400 laps.

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Brad Keselowski($10,400):   Keselowski is a momentum pick as he has been an elite performer in each race.   He also performs well at intermediate tracks, as he finished 2nd at the Kansas race right behind Truex Jr.   Team Penske decided to bring his Freightliner sponsored car that he drove at Kansas to also run at Charlotte, so we know he will have a fast car to work with.   Keselowski won this spring race in 2011 and has finished in the Top 10 in the last three Charlotte spring races.

Kyle Larson($10,100):  Larson is another momentum pick, as he has had an elite year thus far leading the field in the Championship points race.   Chip Ganassi Racing has consistently provided Larson with fast cars each week, and he finished 2nd to Kyle Busch in last week’s All-Star race.  Larson finished 5th in the Fall race at Charlotte last year.  He is a must start each week as he has shown that he contends in each race for the checkered flag.

Jimmie Johnson($10,200):  Johnson had a surprisingly lousy start to the year, but has regained his championship form winning two of the last five races.  His car last week in the All-Star race performed well, finished 3rd overall.    His Charlotte stats are staggering, winning eight times at this track with fifteen Top 5’s, and 19 Top 10 finishes.  He has the highest Drivers Rating for this track since 2005 of all active drivers.

Kyle Busch($9,800):  As compared to Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch has not won any races at Charlotte, but has ten Top 5’s, and fifteen Top 10 finishes.  Kyle Busch has been so close to winning many times this year and is so due for a win for Joe Gibbs Racing.  He won the All-Star race last week at this track and could carry this momentum for another victory at Charlotte.

Value Picks

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($7,500):   Stenhouse Jr. has put together a solid year thus far and is running a nice streak in his past six races with four Top 10 finishes as well as an upset victory at Talladega besting Kyle Busch in the final lap to capture his first ever Monster Energy Cup win.    He finished 15th in last year’s spring race, but look for him to score a Top 10 spot this year with his recent momentum.

Kasey Kahne($8,000):   Kahne performs extremely well at Charlotte, winning at this racetrack four times.   He also has ten Top 5’s, and fourteen Top 10 finishes.     Kahne finished 3rd in last year’s Fall race at Charlotte.   He has the capability to win at this racetrack on any given weekend and has a great value at $8,000.

Sleeper Pick

Denny Hamlin($9,200):    Hamlin is 3rd in Drivers Rating at Charlotte since 2005 behind only Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch.   He has not won at Charlotte but has six Top 5’s, and fourteen Top 10’s.    Hamlin’s performance this year has been choppy, where his highest finish is 3rd, and his worst finish is 38th.   Look for him to score a Top 10 finish on this track this week.

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