Charlotte Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Ranking Picks

1) Kyle Busch (Starting – 3rd)
Charlotte Fantasy Spin – Kyle Busch is an elite performer at Charlotte who’ll likely be the driver to beat. He’s run extremely well here and last year he won in dominate fashion. This year at high-speed intermediate tracks he’s been one of the strongest performers despite having a problem in every race. In Happy Hour, Kyle Busch had a great car. He had the best 10,15 and 20 lap averages. On Sunday, Busch is going to start in 3rd. 4 of the last 5 Coca Cola 600’s have been won from a top 3 starting position.
Charlotte Track History – Kyle Busch is a strong performer at Charlotte. He’s only won once, but he’s finished in the top five 41% percent of the time and in the top ten 59% percent of the time. Last year at Charlotte, Busch crushed the competition and put on a display of domination. He won Stage #1, won Stage #2, won Stage #3 and of course won when the checkered flag waved. Additionally, he led 377 laps and earned a near perfect driver rating. In fall 2017, Busch had a strong car but finished 29th after spinning three times. His first spin happened on lap 137 and at that time he was running in 2nd. In Stage #1 before his first spin he finished 5th. In spring 2017, Busch had a great car. He finished 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position and led 63 laps. Additionally, he won Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2 and finished 2nd in Stage 3.
DraftKings $11,200 / FanDuel $15,000

[themify_box]Full season passes are now available! Join now and read all of our full exclusive content! [/themify_box]

2) Kevin Harvick (Starting – 5th)
Charlotte Fantasy Spin – Kevin Harvick is an elite performer at Charlotte who’ll be one of the drivers to beat. He’s a three-time winner who’s finished in the top ten in 9 of the last 11 races. In recent races at this 1.5 mile track he ranks among the best. One attribute I like about Harvick is how strong he’s been at high-speed intermediate tracks this year. This year on this track type over the five combined races he has a 6.6 average finish and a 6.8 average running position. At Kansas, the most recent 1.5 mile track visited he had a great performance. He led 104 laps and arguably had the best car but finished a misleading 13th after having trouble late. In practice, Jeff Gordon liked how his car looked. On Sunday, look for Harvick to compete for a top five.
Charlotte Track History – Kevin Harvick has had great cars in recent Charlotte races and on Sunday he’ll be a contender. Last year, Harvick started in the rear of the field but easily sliced and diced his way up through the running order. Unfortunately, his race wasn’t incident free and on lap 82 while he was running in 4th he blew a right front tire and crashed into the wall hard which marked the end of his race. In fall 2017, Harvick had a strong showing. He won Stage #1, won Stage #2, earned the best driver rating, had a 2nd place average running position, led a race high 149 laps and finished 3rd when the checkered flag waved. I will note he was better than his result. With 10 laps to go he had a slow pit stop that dropped him from 2nd to 6th. In spring 2017, Harvick had a strong showing. He started on the pole, finished 8th, earned the 4th best driver rating and led 45 laps. In the race on lap 124 while he was running in the top five he made an unexpected pit stop which was a setback.
DraftKings $10,800 / FanDuel $14,500

3) Martin Truex Jr. (Starting – 14th)
Charlotte Fantasy Spin – Martin Truex Jr. has thrived at Charlotte and on Sunday he’ll be a favorite. He’s a recent winner who’s finished in the top five in 6 of the last 7 races. Over the last three Charlotte races he has the best driver rating, the best average finish (2.0) and the best average running position (5.0). This year at high-speed intermediate tracks he’s shown speed, but his recent 19th at Kansas is a little troubling. Over the five combined races he has a 9.8 average finish. In Happy Hour, Truex Jr. was fast. In that session he had the 7th best ten lap average and the 5th best fifteen lap average. On Sunday, look for Truex Jr. to compete for a top five and potentially be a factor to win.
Charlotte Track History – Martin Truex Jr. has been a dominate performer at Charlotte. Over the last seven races he has 2 wins and 6 top five results. Since 2017 he’s finished in the top 3 every race and was good enough to win two of those races. Last year at Charlotte, Kyle Busch dominated the race but Truex Jr. was “The best of the rest.” He finished 2nd, earned the 3rd best driver rating and had a 7th place average running position. That’s even more impressive when you take into account during the Stage #2 caution (finished 2nd) he was caught speeding on pit road. In fall 2017, Truex Jr. closed out strong and raced his way to victory lane. He finished 1st, earned the 2nd best driver rating and led 91 laps. In spring 2017 he was the class of the field but fuel mileage entering the equation at the end cost him the race. When the checkered flag waved he finished 3rd, earned the best driver rating, had a 2nd place average running position and led 233 laps.
DraftKings $10,600 / FanDuel $13,500