Charlotte Coca Cola 600 Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Ranking Picks

1) Kevin Harvick (Starting – 8th) (Odds To Win – 3/1)
Quick Fantasy Spin – Kevin Harvick is a good fantasy NASCAR pick to win the Charlotte Coca Cola 600. He’s entering the race as the favorite and there’s every reason to believe he’ll be the driver to beat. He’s the most recent winner at Charlotte and in 3 of the last 4 races he’s finished in the top 2. The main variable I like about him is how strong he’s been in recent races at 1.5 mile tracks. At tracks of this length dating back to last season he has 7 straight top 2 results. On Sunday Harvick is using his 2nd place Atlanta chassis. When the green flag waves he’ll start in 8th. Last fall he started in 7th and went to victory lane. In Happy Hour Harvick worked on long run speed and his ten lap average ranked as the 10th best.
Charlotte History – Kevin Harvick has been a great performer at Charlotte. Since 2011 he’s finished in the top ten in every race but one and has a series best 5.1 average finish. In 2014 nobody was better than him. Last fall Kevin Harvick had a great car and was essentially in a league of his own. He had good speed over long runs and raced his way to victory lane. In the race he had a 3.0 average running position, led a race high 162 laps and ran 83 fastest laps. In May 2014 he also had a strong showing. He finished 2nd, had a 5th place average running position and led 100 laps. Long runs were a strength of his and he translated that into 75 fastest laps. In the race he earned the #2 PROS Rankings and that’s where he finished. He had a solid chance of winning but with about a quarter of the race remaining he pitted under green and the caution came out shortly afterwards. That dropped him from 2nd back to 15th. Over the final 20 laps he drove the 4 car hard and rallied from 11th up to his 2nd place finish. In fall 2013 in the #29 car he ran well and finished 6th. Also in that race he earned the 9th best driver rating and had an 11th place average running position. In the 2013 Coca Cola 600 Kevin Harvick didn’t have the best car but he raced his way to victory lane. That victory can largely be chalked up to him getting fresh tires at the end and passing Kahne who was on old tires. In that event until the final 100 laps it looked like he had an 8th place car at best. In the 2011 Coca Cola 600 he got his first Charlotte win.
Recent Similar Track Trends – This season at 1.5 mile tracks Harvick has a 1.8 average finish, 3.5 average running position, has led 407 laps (most by 132) and has ran the most fast laps (223). If your fantasy league such as DraftKings rewards points based on those variables he could be fantasy gold for you this weekend.
Momentum – Minus his Bristol crash while leading he has a 3.0 average finish for the season.

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2) Jimmie Johnson (Starting – 13th) (Odds To Win – 6/1)
Quick Fantasy Spin – Jimmie Johnson has been extremely strong at 1.5 mile tracks in 2015. In terms of looking to make a good fantasy pick at Charlotte that’s the #1 variable I would look to. He loves the current rules package and in three of the four races at tracks of this length in 2015 he’s gone to victory lane. In the one race he didn’t win he was leading until he had a loose wheel which led to an unexpected pit stop. Johnson runs extremely well at Charlotte. He’s the defending champion of the Coca Cola 600 and last fall if he didn’t have bad pit strategy at the end he likely would’ve finished 4th. In Happy Hour Johnson had the 5th best 10 lap average. In practice #2 which will be close to how the race ends he had the best 10 lap average.
Charlotte History – Charlotte is Jimmie Johnson’s “house” and he’s tough to beat here. In his career at Charlotte he has 7 wins and has finished in the top five 48% percent of the time. Last fall at Charlotte Johnson finished 17th but that’s a misleading result. At the time of the green-white-checker restart he was running in 4th but Chad Knaus called him in for tires and that dropped him back to 10th and over the last short run he fell back a few more positions. In last year’s Coca Cola 600 Jimmie Johnson had the car to beat. He was fast over long runs and nobody was better than him running the low line. When the checkered flag waved he finished 1st, had a 2nd place average running position, led a race high 164 laps and ran 62 fastest laps. In fall 2013 Johnson was a contender to win. He earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position, finished 4th, led 130 laps and had a race high 72 fastest laps. In the 2013 Coca Cola 600 he likely had about a 6th place car but he came home with a 22nd place result. What happened is that there was a caution during a late pit cycle and he got burned when the yellow flag came out. That trapped him back in the field and then with 58 laps to go he spun and got caught up in a multi-car wreck. In fall 2012 he finished 3rd and led 53 laps.
Recent Similar Track Trends – Jimmie Johnson has been the man to beat at 1.5 mile tracks. He’s won three of the four races and in the one race he didn’t go to victory lane he was leading until he had a loose wheel. Also at 1.5 mile tracks this season he’s led 175 laps (2nd most) and has run 152 fastest laps (2nd most).
Momentum – Jimmie Johnson has five straight top three finishes. Over this stretch he’s scored the most points by 33 points.

Further Recommended Reading – 10 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet, Happy Hour Notes, Happy Hour Speeds, Practice #2 Notes, Practice #2 Speeds, Starting Lineup, Scouting Report, PROS Rankings, Asterisk Mark Report

3) Kurt Busch (Starting – 14th) (Odds To Win – 7/1)
Quick Fantasy Spin – This season Kurt Busch has been using Kevin Harvick’s setups and that’s worked well for him. Kevin Harvick’s setups at Charlotte have been stellar so that should carry over to Busch. In the last three races at high-speed intermediate tracks Busch has ranked as one of the best drivers as you’ll read below. Last fall at Charlotte Busch was very competitive. Kurt has had a quick car all weekend long. In both practice sessions he had the best outright speed. In Happy Hour his ten lap average ranked as the 6th best.
Charlotte History – Kurt Busch is a former Charlotte winner (2010) and he’s run well here recently. Since 2013 minus his engine failure in last year’s Coca Cola 600 he has a 6.7 average running position and a 9.3 average finish. Last fall at Charlotte he had a good evening and was better than his 11th place finish. In that race it’s important not to overlook his 5th place average running position and his 5th best driver rating. Also in the race he had 12 fastest laps and ran 99% percent of the laps in the top fifteen. In last year’s Coca Cola 600 he was attempting the Memorial weekend double so he lacked focus. He started in the back after missing the drivers meeting and got lapped early. Once he got back on the lead lap he looked like he had mid-teens potential but his engine couldn’t go the distance. In fall 2013 he had a 10th place average running position and finished 14th. In spring 2013 at Charlotte he had a good car. He started in 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating and finished 3rd. His result could’ve potentially been better because during a caution with 75 laps to go he was running in 2nd but pitted to change batteries and fell back to 11th.
Recent Similar Track Trends – Kurt Busch has been in three races at high-speed intermediate tracks this season. Over these three races he has an 8.3 average finish, 6.0 average running position, has led the 3rd most laps (130) and has run the 2nd most fastest laps (72).
Momentum –Kurt Busch has been in 8 races this season and over this stretch he’s scored the 3rd most points and has a 9.0 average finish.