With the fireworks of the NASCAR All-Star race in the rearview, we turn our attention to Charlotte. The Coca-Cola 600 is one of the biggest races every year for NASCAR. In terms of length, it can’t be beaten. 400 laps will give us 600 miles of racing Sunday night as long as the weather cooperates. The weather may also play a role in Kyle Larson’s travel plans. Larson is locked in to race in both the Indianapolis 500 and then get on a plane to get to Charlotte in time for the Coke 600. The good news is that practice and qualifying were held late in the day on Saturday. So the conditions should match what we have for the race. Here are the NASCAR DFS Coca-Cola 600 picks for the latest crown jewel race.
If you haven’t yet already, be sure to check out this week’s Coca-Cola 600 Preview. It goes a little more in depth with some of the drivers we liked ahead of practice and qualifying. It is worth mentioning, the practice results from Saturday are a bit misleading. Group B had by far the faster track conditions than Group A. Tyler Reddick will also drop to the rear to start Sunday’s race. The team made an adjustment after tech inspection and he’ll also have to perform a pass-through early in the race. The good news? This race is long enough for him to make up for his lost track position. The bad news? He has to take a qualifying lap to scuff tires which will cost him a set of fresh ones for the race.
Coca-Cola 600 Picks: The Top 10
- Ty Gibbs (#54 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- William Byron (#24 Hendrick Motorsports)
- Christopher Bell (#20 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Martin Truex Jr. (#19 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Chase Elliott (#9 Hendrick Motorsports)
- Alex Bowman (#48 Hendrick Motorsports)
- Ross Chastain (#1 Trackhouse Racing)
- Tyler Reddick (#45 23XI Racing)
- Michael McDowell (#34 Front Row Motorsports)
- Kyle Larson (#5 Hendrick Motorsports)
Ty Gibbs wins his first career pole. Congratulations if you were able to bet him at +1600 to win prior to qualifying. He’s the second youngest polesitter in Coca-Cola 600 history. The youngest driver to ever do it? William Byron who starts right next to Gibbs. As we expected in the Coca-Cola 600 Preview, the Chevys and Toyotas dominate the top 10. Michael McDowell, also written up in the preview, is the lone Ford to start in the top 10. This race means a lot to Hendrick Motorsports. Their headquarters are about two miles from this track and all four drivers start in the top 10. I will also remind you all that Tyler Reddick will be scored from P8 and drop to the rear on the opening lap, then perform his pass-through penalty.
Which Value-Priced Coca-Cola 600 Picks Got A Points Movement Bump?
DraftKings
- Erik Jones – $7,200; Starting P34
- Austin Dillon – $6,700; Starting P27
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – $6,600; Starting P23
- Todd Gilliland – $6,500; Starting P35
- Ryan Preece – $6,400; Starting P31
- John Hunter Nemechek – $6,000; Starting P26
- Shane Van Gisbergen – $5,500; Starting P36
FanDuel
- Joey Logano – $8,000; Starting P28
- Erik Jones – $6,400; Starting P34
- Austin Dillon – $5,800; Starting P27
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – $5,500; Starting P23
- Todd Gilliland – $5,300; Starting P35
- Ryan Preece – $4,800; Starting P31
- John Hunter Nemechek – $3,500; Starting P26
There are some cheap value plays to like, and some to be weary of. Joey Logano might be very popular on FanDuel. He’s priced below the average price tag of $10,000. So at $8K he seems like a tremendous bargain. However, following practice he really hated his car. He said it was undrivable and the team had some work to do. If casual players flock to that chalk, then I would pivot elsewhere. Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. look like strong plays. Stenhouse especially has finished seventh in each of the last two Coca-Cola 600’s. Shane Van Gisbergen is a bit of a gamble. Nevertheless, he did have a good showing in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race where he finished 15th after starting outside the top 25.
Which Higher-Priced Drivers Got A Similar Bump?
- Joey Logano – Starting P28 (DraftKings)
- Brad Keselowski – Starting P30
- Chris Buescher – Starting P39
You can probably mix Ryan Blaney (Starting P16) and Kyle Busch (Starting P15) in with this group. However, they don’t offer a ton of position differential. For the most part, exposure will go toward Logano, Keselowski, and Buescher. We already mentioned Logano hating his car so play him at your own risk. RFK teammates, Keselowski and Buescher, have some work to do. The latter wrecked his car in practice but was logging some decent lap times in Group B. He was unable to post a qualifying lap and will start at the rear in a backup car. Cash game lineups can include both drivers. They’ve been trending very well. Keselowski won at Darlington a couple of weeks ago and Buescher was 0.001 seconds short of winning at Kansas.
Coca-Cola 600 Picks
DraftKings
- Martin Truex Jr. – $9,500; Starting P4
- Brad Keselowski – $8,700; Starting P30
- Chris Buescher – $8,500; Starting P39
- Ty Gibbs – $8,300; Starting P1
- Bubba Wallace – $7,700; Starting P12
- Chase Briscoe – $7,300; Starting P18
This is probably one of the more balanced example lineups I’ve submitted in any article. We don’t have a single driver over $10,000. I still feel we have win equity and dominator potential. I have outright bets placed on both MTJ and Gibbs. There’s another on Buescher that was placed prior to practice that I obviously don’t like as much now. However, I feel this lineup has drivers that can get to the front. Gibbs of course starts on the pole and we’ve seen him lead laps in bunches before. Truex has dominated here in the past and is due for a win. I also think we do enough to differentiate the lineup with Wallace and Briscoe while playing the popular RFK duo. It’s arguably a decent cash game lineup, but I’m excited about the upside in tournaments.
FanDuel
- Kyle Larson – $14,000; Starting P10
- Denny Hamlin – $13,500; Starting P11
- Chris Buescher – $10,000; Starting P39
- Erik Jones – $6,800; Starting P34
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – $5,500; Starting P23
So Chris Buescher is the only driver that carries over from the DraftKings lineup. To be honest, I’m debating swapping Jones for Briscoe. But for now, this is what I’m settling on. Sure, it’s certainly leaning into more chalk. Larson and Hamlin have plenty of win equity judging by the betting market. Stenhouse, while a high variance play, has made it known that he loves this track with back-to-back top 10 finishes. Even Jones, in a Toyota, has some appeal starting deep in the field. But he will be popular and if there’s a driver to pivot off of, it would be him. We likely miss out on the early dominator points. Fortunately, with four stages there is plenty of time for these drivers to move up and score well.
White Flag Thoughts Before You Go
With 400 laps, dominator points play a very large role in NASCAR DFS lineup construction. Prior to the NextGen car, it was possible for a driver to lead 250+ laps in this race. Both Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. have previously led over 300 in this race. But we’ve seen multiple dominators each of the last two years. That should be more of the same this weekend. So it may even be wise to plug in some three-dominator builds if you feel confident you can make it work. Don’t force too much chalk into your lineup. This race typically lends itself to plenty of chaos. Best of luck with Sunday’s race! It’s a great day for racing and I hope you all build that bankroll with your betting and DFS lineups!