Charlotte Coca Cola 600 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Alex Bowman
Charlotte Fantasy Outlook – Alex Bowman might just prove to be a top ten contender at Charlotte. Bowman recently finished 3rd at Texas and at Charlotte in the Next Gen, he’s 3 for 4 at finishing between 9th to 12th, ranks 9th for Driver Rating and 14th for Next Gen Speed Rankings.
Charlotte Track History – Charlotte has been a good track for Alex Bowman and in 6 of the last 9 races, Bowman’s finished in the top 12. In the Next Gen minus last year his average finish is 10.3. Last year, Bowman finished 29th but you can get out an asterisk mark for that result. Late in Stage #1 on lap 98 while running in 9th, Bowman got into the wall and broke his toe link, and his afternoon was toast after that. In terms of speed over the first segment of the race, Bowman ranked 9th. In 2024, Bowman had a strong showing. In the race, Bowman finished 9th, had a 7.5 average running position and had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking. In 2023, Bowman started 31st but came home 12th. Additionally, Bowman earned the 10th best Driver Rating, had the 14th best Green Flag Speed and the 15th best Total Speed Ranking. In the two races prior to that, Bowman had results of 10th (2022) and 5th (2021).

Ryan Preece
Charlotte Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Preece shouldn’t get overlooked at Charlotte and on Sunday night, look for him to be a low double-digit driver who’ll compete for a top ten. At Charlotte, Preece’s average finish is a down the depth chart 21.3, but he finished 9th last spring and at high-speed 1.5’s this year, Preece’s average finish is 12th, he ranks 11th for Speed and in the results column he’s 3 for 3 at finishing between 11th to 14th.
Charlotte Track History – Charlotte hasn’t historically been a bright spot on the schedule for Ryan Preece and in 6 of his 8 starts he’s finished 22nd or worse. That said, Preece ran well last year which is ultimately the most important race. Last year, Preece started 28th, finished 10th in Stage #3, had a 14.6 average running position and then finished 9th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Preece ranked 9th. In 2024, Preece had a pretty bad evening, finishing 26th, having a 30.5 average running position and ranking 34th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. In 2023, Preece snuck in a 13th. I will note, that result doesn’t match his performance and can be chalked up to all the wildness/attrition that ensued. In the race, Preece had a 19.4 average running position and just the 23rd best Total Speed Ranking.

Kyle Busch
Charlotte Fantasy Outlook – Kyle Busch has historically been a super-elite performer at Charlotte and on Sunday, I would view him as a risky top ten contender. Busch smoked the field in 2018 en route to victory lane, and in 6 of the last 9 races he’s finished in the top 6. In the Next Gen era, Busch has the 2nd best average finish (9.5), the 7th best Driver Rating and ranks 9th for Speed. That said in the last two, Busch has back-to-back 15th’s. This year at high-speed 1.5’s, things have typically been ugly for Busch, but he’s been running better in recent weeks and at Texas the most recent visited, Busch had the 7th best Total Speed Ranking and was a top ten performer throughout the afternoon until he imploded at the end (20th).
Charlotte Track History – Charlotte has been a good track for Kyle Busch and in the Next Gen his average finish is 9.5 and his Speed Ranking is 9th. Over the last two, Busch has finished 15th and ranked 18th for Speed in both. Last year, Busch finished 15th, had a 19th place average running position and ranked 18th for Total Speed Rankings. Also from the race I’ll note, Busch started in the back (unapproved adjustments) and spun on the last lap of Stage #2 while running in 15th (didn’t hit anything). In 2024, Busch finished 15th which is pretty respectable when you take his circumstances into account. In the race, Busch started 15th, was caught speeding during the first green flag pit cycle in the lap 40’s (dropped him from 13th to 34th) and was then later caught speeding in Stage #2. Over the final segment, Busch ranked 11th for Speed. In 2023, Busch finished 6th and had a 7.3 average running position. In terms of speed stats, Busch ranked 5th for Total Speed Rankings and then 6th for Speed Late In A Run. In 2022, Busch didn’t have an incident free race but finished 2nd after all the wildness ensued.

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