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The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads to Charlotte on Friday night for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. Last year, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar combined to lead 109 of the 143 laps, but it was Ross Chastain who managed to come away with the victory.
Last week, the series went to North Wilkesboro, where Cup Series star Kyle Larson led 138 of the 252 laps and won. Ty Majeski in second was the highest-finishing Truck Series driver. A crash by Zane Smith knocked him out of the points lead, with Corey Heim taking the lead in the standings after leading 75 laps and finishing sixth.
Here at RotoBaller, we want to help you make informed decisions about your DFS lineups, which is why I'll be breaking down the slates for the Craftsman Truck Series. Let's look at some NASCAR Truck Series DFS lineup picks for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on DraftKings. Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Truck Series including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station. This slate locks on 5/26/2023 at 8:48 p.m. ET.
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Corey Heim - $10,400
Starting 3rd
Heim has been the best driver in the Truck Series over the past month, posting four consecutive finishes of eighth or better and leading double-digit laps in all four of those races, including 66 or more in three of them.
Starting third on Friday night, Heim won't have far to go to get to the lead, especially when one of the cars on the front row, Tanner Gray, probably isn't really a threat to stay up there.
This season on intermediate tracks, Heim has run well, finishing fourth at Vegas, seventh at Texas, and second at Kansas. He hasn't been quite as good as he has been at some other tracks, leading just 13 laps across those three races, but I don't think that should be held against him, because before Martinsville he hadn't led any laps all season. Heim has turned a corner.
Matt Crafton - $9,100
Starting 24th
Some nice place differential upside here for Crafton, who starts 24th. While he's slipped a little bit from where his production used to be—his average finish this season of 13.5 is his worst since 2007—he's still a really solid driver who has finished 12th or better in four of the past five races.
He also has a good track record here at Charlotte, winning twice and posting 13 top 10s in 20 starts. In fact, these intermediate tracks in general have been good to Crafton throughout his career. Of the 15 wins he's gotten in the Truck Series, 10 have come on mile-and-a-half tracks.
Nick Sanchez - $8,300
Starting 36th
The most obvious play of this race is Nick Sanchez, as he wasn't able to turn a lap in qualifying and will start 36th.
Sanchez hasn't always put full races together this year, with just three top 10s despite an average starting position of 9.3. But one of those top 10s came at Kansas, and he led 168 laps at Texas earlier in the season before crashing out at the end of the race. He should rocket through this field on Friday night.
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Chase Purdy - $8,100
Starting 13th
Purdy has shown speed all season, with an average starting position of 11.8, but the finishes haven't always been there. He has five top 10s through 10 races, which really makes it curious that his average finish is only 17.2.
But those top 10s have come at tracks that compare well to Charlotte. Eighth at Vegas. Second at Texas. 33rd at Kansas after a crash, but he started third and ran as high as second during that race. This is the kind of track where I'll trust Purdy.
Tyler Ankrum - $7,400
Starting 35th
Ankrum is basically Sanchez-light this week. He starts one spot ahead of him after also not running a qualifying lap, so there's technically a point less available there when it comes to place differential, and he's unlikely to have the same speed as Sanchez so the ceiling isn't as high, but Ankrum has run solid this year, with an average finish of 18.9 and three top 10s.
Of those top 10s, one came at Kansas, another intermediate track. And he also was 15th at Vegas earlier this season as well. I don't think Ankrum moves through the field as quickly as Sanchez, but he can be there at the end to fight for a top 15.
Tyler Hill - $6,400
Starting 29th
Hill is set to make just his second start of the season this week, with his first coming at Kansas. His performance there makes him an appealing value option this week, as he started 30th in that race and finished 22nd, which was good for 28 DraftKings points.
This truck won't have a ton of speed, but Hill is someone who knows how to bring a truck home in one piece and how to gain spots because of that. He's made 32 Truck Series starts since 2019, with an average starting spot of 27.3 over that span. His average finish? 21.9. A reliable driver who can gain plus-eight or plus-nine in place differential at $6,400? I'll take it.
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