NASCAR: Coca-Cola 600 H2H/GPP Picks
For as long as I can remember, I’ve spent my Sundays watching racing with my Dad. He’s always been a huge NASCAR fan, and a racing fan in general. Being from the Daytona area, I’ve gotten to experience NASCAR in many different ways. I’ve been lucky enough to watch the last four races from the pit boxes, and the rush of being in the pits is absolutely amazing. My Dad’s love for NASCAR has certainly rubbed off on me, and I truly enjoy watching this sport.
Each week I’m going to bring you my favorite picks for head-to-head contests (Cash Games) and GPPs. These picks will be focused on DraftKings’ NASCAR games.
Cash Game Plays
Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson did the DFS community a favor on Friday afternoon and qualified 13th. For all you superstitious people out there, 13th means we get the pass differential points for Jimmie driving to the front. Johnson has the most wins (7) ever at Charlotte, and has really been dominant for most of his career. Since 2013, Johnson has led 20% of the laps at Charlotte, and has an average finish of 9.4 (17, 1, 4, 22, 3) over the last five races here. He’s my favorite to pick up the win this weekend, and will be the main focus in my cash game lineup.
Matt Kenseth – Kenseth lost a little value to me win he captured the pole on Friday afternoon, but I still like his chances to lead a good portion of this race. In 2013, Kenseth started third and went on to lead 112 of the 400 laps. He’s one of the best, if not the best, on Intermediate tracks over the last two to three seasons. This is the second pole of the season, and the best starting spot he’s ever had at Charlotte. Joe Gibbs Racing has been very good at Charlotte, but it’s been a few years since they’ve picked up a win here. Kenseth has a ton of upside for Sunday, and is by far one of the safest options for cash games.
Kasey Kahne – The first thing I did when DK announced NASCAR, was go to the lineups page and see what kind of price Kahne had for this race. Before qualifying, I had Kahne locked in my lineups, but now after qualifying 33rd, he’s almost a must play. Kahne has always run well at Charlotte, and has finished in the top ten in eight of the last 11 races. In 22 career races at Charlotte, he has an average finish of 11.45 with four wins and 13 top tens. Point per dollar, Kahne is by far my favorite pick of the weekend.
A.J. Allmendinger – For this bottom spot, you’re going to want to find a guy that can move up in the field and give you some positive points. Allmendinger provides some nice value with his 30th starting position. In 14 starts at Charlotte, Allmendinger has an average finish of 21.9, but is coming off a 12th place finish last fall. He’s had some bad luck this season, but is the cheap option I’ll be targeting for cash games this weekend.
GPP Plays
Kevin Harvick – Some would argue Harvick as the top overall pick instead of Johnson, and honestly that’s a very fair argument. I think a lot more people will be on Johnson because of his name, to be honest. Harvick has absolutely dominated at this track over the last four races, and has picked up two wins and hasn’t finished outside the top six. Like Johnson and Kenseth, Harvick has been dominating at Intermediate tracks over the past two to three seasons. Harvick is one of the top plays this weekend, and is my main focus in GPPs this weekend.
Jeff Gordon – Gordon is on his final full season with NASCAR, and this might be the last time we see him start the 600. He’s had his ups and downs at this track, but he does have five wins. He finished second last fall, and has three top-seven finishes in a row at Charlotte. He comes in with four top tens out of the last five races, and is really making a push in his last full season. For over a decade, Gordon has been a guy we can constantly count on at these Intermediate tracks.
Kyle Busch – Is new dad thing really something in DFS? Kyle Busch will let you know on Sunday, as his wife Samantha gave birth to their first child on Monday. This will be the first point race of the season for Kyle Busch after suffering an injury in a wreck at Daytona in the XFINITY Series. Busch is a boom or bust type driver, and one of the most aggressive drivers in NASCAR. He has finished fifth, ninth, and fifth in the last three races here, and I think a lot of people will stay away with it being his first race back. He’s the definition of a GPP play in NASCAR, and is a guy I’m really high on this weekend.
Matt Dibenedetto – A lot of people will be like, who is this guy? Dibenedetto has been around NASCAR since 2009, and has made a name for himself in the K&N Pro Series and the XFINITY Series. He had a terrible qualifying session on Friday, and will start 42nd on Sunday. Starting this far back in the field, I like his chances to have a positive fantasy day on Sunday. He’s been much better lately, and is a coming off two of his best finishes this season. His cheap price tag will allow you to fit in some of the top drivers together, and he’s one of my favorite punt plays this weekend.
Thanks for reading my first NASCAR article, any and all feedback is welcome, and if you’d like to see some other stuff moving forward just ask. If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comment section below, or hit me up @Stevietpfl on Twitter.