Charlotte Coca Cola 600 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions / The Low Tier

John H Nemechek
Charlotte Fantasy Outlook – At Charlotte, I think Nemechek has teens potential, but it’s wise to brace yourself for a 20’s. So far at Charlotte, Nemechek is 2 for 2 at finishing in the teens and at Kansas just a few weeks ago he finished 13th (in 15th with 10 to go) so there is legitimate reason for optimism. For the season at high-speed 1.5’s, Nemechek’s Total Speed Ranking ranks 27th.
Charlotte Track History – Back in 2020 when he last competed at Charlotte on the Cup level, Nemechek had a pair of teen finishes, finishing 13th in race #2 and then 16th in race #1.

Todd Gilliland
Charlotte Fantasy Outlook – At Charlotte, I would feel comfortable viewing Todd Gilliland as a 20’s performer. Gilliland might even have a little bit of upside since he just recently finished 14th at Kansas (pit strategy in the final Stage, 21st best Total Speed Ranking) but it’s best not to get greedy for a driver of his tier. For the season at high-speed 1.5’s, Gilliland has the 29th best Total Speed Ranking and minus Texas where he had problems his average finish is 19th.
Charlotte Track History – Last year at Charlotte, Todd Gilliland was relegated to the Rick Ware Racing #51. He never looked better than a 30’s performer and he crashed which led to his 33rd. Personally, I wouldn’t read into his afternoon at all. In 2022, Gilliland finished 16th. That said, Gilliland was the last place finisher on the lead lap and in all, only 19 cars didn’t DNF. In the race, Gilliland had a 21.2 average running position and the 30th best Total Speed Ranking.

Austin Cindric
Charlotte Fantasy Outlook – High-Speed 1.5-mile tracks are a notable weakness for Austin Cindric and over the last eight races on this sub-track type going back to last year, Cindric’s finished 23rd or worse every race, so buckle up if you’re thinking of picking him because it likely won’t end well. I’ll note, at Kansas a few weeks ago, Cindric looked mid-teens good, finishing 16th in Stage #2 before crashing early in the last Stage (Finished 37th, 12th best Total Speed Ranking). For the season at high-speed 1.5’s, Cindric has the 18th best Total Speed Ranking. In the Coca Cola 600, I would view him as a +25 driver who might have upside.
Charlotte Track History – Charlotte has been brutal to Austin Cindric in the results column and he’s 2 for 2 at DNF’ing (32.5 average finish). In last year’s 600, Cindric didn’t run bad but crashed and finished 31st. On lap 369 at the time of his demise, Cindric was in 14th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Cindric ranked 20th. In 2022, Cindric had a short afternoon and finished 34th. That said, he ran fairly well. At the time of his demise on lap 146 when he had a flat tire and crashed which marked the end of his race he was running in 9th.

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Charlotte Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions & The Low Tier