Charlotte Coca Cola 600 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions
AJ Allmendinger
Charlotte Fantasy Spin – At Charlotte, AJ Allmendinger might have teens potential. So far in 2023 at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks, Allmendinger’s 2 for 2 at finishing in the teens and between the combined events, Allmendinger has a 16th place average finish and the 17th best Total Speed Ranking. In 5 of the last 11 races heading into the weekend, Allmendinger has finished in the teens.
Charlotte Track History – On the Cup level at Charlotte, AJ Allmendinger doesn’t have a relevant track record since he hasn’t raced here in NASCAR’s premiere series since 2018. Back in 2018 when he last competed, Allmendinger finished 23rd. In his two starts prior to that his finishes were 20th (2017) and 18th (2016). In the Xfinity series, Allmendinger won in 2019 but in his two races since, Allmendinger has results of 33rd (2021, 2nd in Stage #1 & #2, brakes DNF) and 19th (2022, 4th in Stage #1 and 6th in Stage #2).
Erik Jones
Charlotte Fantasy Spin – At Charlotte, I think we can pencil in Erik Jones for about a mid-pack finish. So far in 2023 at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks, Jones has a 20.0 average finish, courtesy of a 19th at Las Vegas and a 21st at Kansas. Also, between the combined events, Jones has an 18.2 average running position and the 18th best Total Speed Ranking.
Charlotte Track History – Erik Jones hasn’t been bad at Charlotte. Jones currently has back-to-back mid-teen finishes and in his career minus a 2019 crash his average finish is 16.1. Last year, Jones looked poised to finish in the top ten for much of the final Stage but ended up finishing 14th. On lap 391 before Briscoe’s “Failed Hail Mary” which was followed by a lot of chaos, Jones was running in 8th. For the evening his average running position was 12.7. In 2021, Jones finished 16th, had a 15.9 average running position and had the 13th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2020 #2, Jones looked competitive, but finished an asterisk mark 26th. “Performance Wise”, Jones was likely a top ten contender, but during a caution around lap 145 he was penalized a lap for pitting outside his pit box. In the 2020 Coca Cola 600, Jones finished 6th in Stage #2, 6th in Stage #3 and then 11th overall. In the race, Jones had the 10th best Total Speed Ranking and was running in 15th at the time of the final caution with two laps to go.
Justin Haley
Charlotte Fantasy Spin – At Charlotte, I think Justin Haley has high-teens potential. Haley just finished 18th at Kansas, and then at Las Vegas the one other high-speed 1.5-mile track visited this year he finished 8th but take note he was running in 16th before the late caution came out. That said between the combined events, Haley has the 21st best Total Speed Ranking and a 23.7 average running position.
Charlotte Track History – Justin Haley has two results on his resume at Charlotte, and the results are basically equally bad. Last year, Haley finished 27th due to an “engine DNF” and in 2021 he finished 28th in the #77. I’ll note in last year’s race, Haley’s engine problems were first noted on lap 298 while he was running around 20th. On lap 326 which was shortly before his exit, Haley was running in 21st.
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