LineStar® Weekly Pitstop - Coca-Cola 600

🔥Written by 2020,2023 FBWC and 2021 KoS qualifier @joejets19

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Coca-Cola 600🏁

Every year I am reminded of why I take the All-Star race off while watching the All-Star race. For those of you who watched, I hope you enjoyed it and possibly made some money. I, on the other hand, played light and only followed it loosely. Before we tackle this Sunday’s race, let’s first take a moment to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. We have an amazing day of racing ahead of us and if it weren’t for our fallen soldiers who knows what life would be like for us today.

Sunday evening NASCAR travels to Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC for the Coca-Cola 600. The track is a 1.5 mile banked, asphalt, quad oval. Last year’s race was a complete mess with 18 cautions and an over five hour run time. While I thought Goodyear figured out their tire issues as 1.5 mile tracks this year that hasn’t exactly been the case, so there is a chance this turns into a sloppy affair too. Practice and qualifying were rained out on Saturday, which really puts a damper on the event as a whole. This is the longest race of the season in terms of miles run and total time elapsed so get ready to hear about it all broadcast and make sure to settle in because we will be in for a long race.

With all of that being said, the weather looks pretty terrible for Sunday and most of Monday so who knows if any of this race will be run on either day. For those who love all things racing, at least the F1 race at Monaco and the Indy 500 will be Sunday, so you can get some of your racing fix there.

_{On to Charlotte!}

Scoring Breakdown

At this point, we know how the DK scoring system works, so let's see how many points are available this week:

Laps Led Points =0.25 points per lap led. 400 laps will be run this week, and 100 DK points will be awarded (plus any overtime laps).

Place Differential Points = 1 point per position gained or -1 point per position lost.

Fastest Lap Points = 0.45 points per lap not run under caution (roughly 360 laps should run under the green flag for 162 possible DK points).

Finishing Position Points: The 40th place driver receives 4 points, and for each position gained, another point is awarded (39th=5, 38th=6…), and the winner gets 46 points.

Lineup Construction 🏗

Sunday night/Monday/Tuesday’s race will test these drivers and cars endurance in every sense of the word. While it is not the most laps that will be run during the season it is the most miles, which I always thought was overdramatizing the mundane, but things happen over 600 miles. The dominator situation during this race is a unique one because there is a 50/50 chance that one driver is going to get out front early and lead more than 300 laps. If that doesn’t happen, the race still tends to revert back to one major dominator and two minor dominator structures with the major dominator leading around 150 laps and the other two drivers leading about 80. If this plays out to be a solo dominator race, it will most likely be the driver on the pole, so roster Byron and no other dominators. If you think the laps led will be more spread out, leave Byron out of those lineups and find your dominators elsewhere. The elsewhere, unfortunately, can be anywhere. There are so many laps being run this weekend and an extra stage break that any fast car with a good pit strategy can get up front if they play their cards right.

Regarding place differential drivers, we want to roster drivers we think can finish in the top 15 with a positive place differential. Oddly enough, Charlotte has not been kind to the top 10. Most dominators (beside the solo-lead-all-the-laps ones) start outside the top 10, so we should only play top 10 drivers with Byron, otherwise, lineups with all drivers starting outside the top 10 will be the play.

The bargain basement is again open this weekend. We will need drivers with some upside and hopefully top-15 potential, but honestly, that requirement can be a little looser on a low-cost driver.

Stage 1: 100 Laps

Stage 2: 100 Laps

Stage 3: 100 Laps

Stage 4: 100 Laps

Lineup Foundation Targets

Martin Truex Jr ($9,900 DK, $11,500 FD)

Every year there is a race that Truex runs away with that reminds me how good he is on day turning to night races. This year, I am going to be early on the trend and play a ton of him from his 18th place starting position. Martin is only the 5th most expensive driver on DK but has had one of the fastest cars at 1.5 mile tracks this season. His recent results at Charlotte have been a bit lackluster, but his long term history here is hard to beat, with three wins and two races with more than 200 laps led in his last 10 races here. 80 laps led, and a top 5 finish should be enough to get Truex in the perfect lineup, and that is exactly what I am looking for this weekend.

Alex Bowman ($8,600 DK, $10,000 FD)

This will be Bowman’s first race back from injury, and he will have his work cut out for him from his 31st place starting position. Alex generally qualifies well at Charlotte, pick up a ton of stage points then fades towards the end. I am hoping for the opposite result this weekend and love his place differential potential considering the overall lack of upside on this slate.

Tournament Targets

William Byron ($10,500 DK, $13,500 FD)

Byron has been on another level this year, and I am going to ride the hot hand for as long as I can. Byron has already won three races this season, one of which was at another 1.5 mile track (Las Vegas), and came in third at the other cookie cutter. He starts on the pole this weekend and is set up perfectly to completely run away with this race. I discussed earlier in the Lineup Construction section that any lineup that play Byron should not have any other dominators in them but can have another driver or two that start in the top 10 and finish in the top 10 with positive place differential. I don’t think Byron is a cash safe driver this weekend, but he has the potential to completely break the slate if he runs away with the race, and that is the type of upside we look for in tournaments.

Tyler Reddick ($8,800 DK, $9,500 FD)

Reddick is kinda in no man’s land, which makes him a very intriguing tournament option. He is fairly cheap and starts 15th on Sunday. I don’t really see him as a dominator, but he has been decent at Charlotte with three top 10 finishes in four races here. He is one of four drivers in the 7,000-9,000 range that have top 10 potential with positive place differential, and that is the type of driver that will make the perfect lineup without a ton of ownership.

Bargain Basement

Todd Gilliland ($5,100 DK, $2,000 FD)

Gilliland starts 35th on Sunday and will not finish in the top 15. That being said, he has performed very well on similar tracks with an average finish of 24.25. That is a much more reasonable expectation for Todd this weekend and really right around where I think his ceiling is. This is a very tough price range this slate, and I think Gilliland has some of the highest upside in the group.

Other Driver To Consider

Here are three more drivers I like at Charlotte that have a chance to make some noise in no particular order:

Kyle Larson ($11,000 DK, $14,000 FD)

Michael McDowell ($5,700 DK, $5,200 FD)

Jimmie Johnson ($6,900 DK, $5,800 FD)

Top Driver to Avoid

Christopher Bell ($9,800 DK, $10,500 FD)

Bell just does not perform well at Charlotte. He starts 9th this weekend but has habitually lost spots here. He is a fast, capable driver, but I expect him to fall out of the top 10, and if he runs into any type of trouble, he can destroy a lineup.

Pitstop Picks

2022 results: 17-57 (-27.3 u)

2023 results: 7-15 (-4.45 u)

Kes is the most reliable driver in this group. He has the best starting position and the best average finish too. I think he has a great chance of a top 5 finish, but think a top 10 should be enough to win the group.

Playing a top 5 at even money is damn near criminal. Elliott has finished in the top 5 in four of the last five races, and there really isn’t any reason not to expect that trend to continue this weekend.

Pitstop Poll

2023 Results: 2-2 (1.65 u)

A new feature this season will be the Pitstop Poll. I will select one of the groups posted on the DK Sportsbook and leave it up to the readers to vote on their preferred bet. I will keep track of this throughout the season to see how well we are doing. This week’s selection:

Thanks for reading, and good luck this weekend! Be sure to join me in the LineStar NASCAR chat!

Be sure to download the Coca-Cola 600 and find me on Twitter. Good Luck!Noco