DraftKings NASCAR DFS Picks for Charlotte: Fantasy NASCAR Strategy and Picks for the Coca-Cola 600

NASCAR’s longest race of the season takes place today, as 37 drivers will duke it out over 600 miles at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Last year, which was the first race at Charlotte in the Next Gen car, was absolute chaos. There were 18 cautions and two red-flag periods. While I don’t expect that extreme level of chaos in this one, we should expect a good chunk of it, as recent intermediate races at Kansas and Darlington also produced wild affairs.

With that in mind, it’s a great week to get off of the chalk.

Before we jump into my picks, don’t forget all my NASCAR projections can be found in the NASCAR Models on FantasyLabs, complete with floor, ceiling, median, and ownership projections.

Let’s not skip the best part — my Perfect% metric — a metric that tells you how often certain racers appear in the optimal lineup when running 10,000 race simulations.

And don’t forget about the tools that FantasyLabs has to offer, like our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups, or our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.

Here are my NASCAR DFS picks for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

 

Charlotte DraftKings DFS Cash Game Picks

William Byron ($10,500): We simply have to take the driver starting on pole who has been the second-fastest driver all year. The only driver faster is his teammate Kyle Larson, and Larson starts 12th, so he will need some time to make his way forward.

Look for Byron to put in a dominant performance early and have a strong car throughout the race.

Byron’s potential early dominance could lead to a strong performance on PrizePicks, where his Laps Led line sits at 51.5.

Alex Bowman ($8600): Bowman has been a revelation this year, placing inside the top three at Las Vegas in speed before a back injury sidelined him four weeks ago.

If not for a points penalty to his No. 48 team, Bowman would have been leading the points standings at the time of his injury.

He starts 31st and should have a top-12 car, or better.

Daniel Suarez ($7800): Suarez had one of the cars to beat in this race last year until he got collected in a wreck in Stage 4 while running in fourth.

Overall, Suarez has been fast at both Las Vegas and Kansas, placing inside the top 10 in my FLAGS metric in those races.

Thanks to the qualifying rainout, Suarez will fire off from the 24th spot, giving him plenty of place-differential potential.

 

Charlotte DraftKings DFS Tournament Picks

Kyle Larson or Ross Chastain ($11,000 or $10,100): With Byron likely to lead a chunk of the early laps, and the Toyotas also in the mix for laps led, it’s likely at most one of these two drivers ends up in the optimal lineup, especially with all the potential chaos that could sweep up one or the other.

Chastain had the fastest green-flag speed in this race last year and certainly one of the best cars. Larson has been hands down the best driver so far in 2023, especially at similar tracks to Charlotte.

Pick one or the other, or none, but if you’re mass multi-entering, I don’t mind a small percentage of lineups with both.

Joey Logano or Ryan Blaney ($9000 or $8400): In a race that can produce chaos, and with all eyes on Chevy and Toyota, the Fords may slip through the cracks.

This week on Action Network’s motorsports podcast Running Hot, I talked about how this may be a bounceback week for the Penske cars, as a race at night in the humidity would help increase the air density, and thus the downforce, on the Fords — which have lost some downforce thanks to their new nose design in 2023.

I find it unlikely either dominates, but one could end up top five, or even better, and end up in the optimal lineup.

Ty Gibbs ($8100): Young Ty Gibbs has produced some stellar performances and now starts 19th with an $8100 price tag. That’s almost in the zone where people will be inclined to ignore him for some bigger names. I love that he has 600 miles to adapt his car to the race, and he’s been extremely fast as of late.

Gibbs is in the top half of my FLAGS metric among drivers who have raced at all three of Charlotte’s similar tracks this year (Vegas, Kansas, and Darlington), with improving performances in each one. Look for him to move forward.

Charlotte DraftKings DFS Paul Menard Pick of the Week

Harrison Burton ($5200): Burton took home a top-10 finish last week at Darlington and this week, in a bit of a surprise, NASCAR is running the exact same tire package as Darlington.

That bodes well for Burton, who placed 11th in this race last year by avoiding the chaos.

If he repeats that finish, he’ll almost certainly end up in the optimal lineup thanks to his bargain-bin price tag of $5200.