May 25, 2025
RFK Racing team owner and driver Brad Keselowski will start in the 35th position for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Keselowski has the lowest starting position of all three RFK drivers in the field this week. In 25 races at Charlotte, Keselowski has 21 top-20 finishes, including 11 inside the top 10 and two wins. With 12 races finished so far this year, Keselowski has three top-20 finishes and has acquired positive Place Differential seven times. In practice, Keselowski ranked 29th in overall lap averages but displayed top-10 speeds in all other categories, including first in 25 consecutive lap averages. Considering his great practice speeds and incredibly high upside, Keselowski is one of the best DFS options to consider for all formats this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
May 25, 2025
Chris Buescher of RFK Racing will start Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway from the fourth position. Buescher was the top Ford driver from qualifying and will start higher than all other drivers from the manufacturer. In 12 races at Charlotte, Buescher has four top-10 finishes, which he scored in the last seven Cup events at the site. Through 12 races so far in the 2025 season, Buescher has six top-10 finishes, including two at 1.5-mile intermediate tracks and an average finish of 15.5. In practice, Buescher ranked 20th in overall lap averages while ranking 16th in 15 and 20 consecutive lap averages. Buescher is a driver who should only be considered for tournament lineups this week due to his relatively high salary of $8,600 on DraftKings and low upside, despite having equipment capable of maintaining a top-10 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
May 25, 2025
RFK Racing's Ryan Preece will start 28th for this week's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Preece still has never been able to qualify inside the top 20 throughout his entire Cup career at Charlotte, and that will not change this week. In seven races at the site, Preece has one top-20 finish, but he did score positive Place Differential four times overall. After 12 races so far this season, Preece has seven top-20 finishes, including three at 1.5-mile intermediate tracks similar to Charlotte. In practice, Preece ranked 30th in overall lap averages and ranked as high as 23rd in 20 consecutive lap averages. Preece has high upside and has been strong at intermediate ovals all season, making him a fantastic DFS option to consider for Sunday's race.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
May 25, 2025
Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing will start in the 18th position for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This will mark the lowest starting position for Berry in his Cup Series career at Charlotte. In his only prior start at the site, Berry started 13th, led seven laps, and then finished in the 10th position. In 12 races so far this year, Berry has one win, five top-20 finishes, and an average finish of 21.2. In practice, Berry ranked 28th in overall lap averages and 36th in five consecutive lap averages. Although Berry's practice speeds aren't encouraging, he is in solid overall equipment and has been fast at 1.5-mile Intermediate tracks this year. Berry is a driver who should not be underestimated for DFS lineups, especially with his salary being around $7,800 on DraftKings.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
May 25, 2025
Spire Motorsports driver Michael McDowell will start Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 from the 15th position. McDowell has qualified inside the top 15 in every Cup race dating back to Martinsville in March. In 25 Cup starts at Charlotte, McDowell has seven top-20 finishes, including three of the last four Cup events at the site. Through 12 races so far this year, McDowell has seven top-20 finishes and an average finish of 19.1. In practice, McDowell ranked fifth in overall lap averages and 11th in 10 consecutive lap averages. Due to his lower upside compared to most, McDowell is best suited for tournament lineups only, despite his solid practice speeds that show how he has a car capable of competing for a top-10 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
May
25,
2025
Chase
Briscoe
(somewhat
surprisingly)
won
the
pole
for
this
weekend's
Coca-Cola
600
at
Charlotte
Motor
Speedway,
edging
out
Kyle
Larson
by
two
one-hundredths
of
a
second
in
qualifying
on
Saturday
afternoon.
This
is
Briscoe's
second
Crown
Jewel
pole
of
the
season
read more...
May
25,
2025
Christopher
Bell
will
have
a
new
spotter
to
work
with
this
weekend
in
the
Coca-Cola
600,
as
longtime
spotter
Stevie
Reeves
unexpectedly
quit
after
a
very
successful
start
to
the
2025
season.
When
asked
about
the
situation
by
the
media
at
read more...
May 25, 2025
Ryan Blaney will have some work to do to get to the front of the field in Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600, as the Team Penske driver qualified back in 21st for this weekend's race with a time of 30.029 seconds. That was nearly a half of a second off of the pole-setting time of Chase Briscoe, who completed his lap at 29.532 seconds. Blaney should have plenty of race speed, though, as the No. 12 Ford has been one of the strongest on the 1.5-mile intermediate tracks this season. Blaney finished third at both Kansas and Texas earlier this month--which are also low-wear, 1.5-mile tracks like Charlotte--and had one of the fastest cars at Las Vegas back in March before wrecking out. Blaney won the 2023 Coca-Cola 600 but his other two Next Gen starts in this race have ended in incidents. Still, at $10,200 on DraftKings and with the intermediate speed that Ford has had this season, he's a strong DFS play on Sunday and should be a factor.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
May 25, 2025
Xfinity Series regular Connor Zilisch qualified for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and will start the race from the 33rd position. This will mark Zilisch's second-ever Cup Series start and his first one on an oval track. Zilisch participated in his first race at Charlotte in the Xfinity Series this past weekend after returning from a back injury. He led three laps and finished second to William Byron, but was one of the favorites to win. In 12 races completed this season, Zilisch has one win, four top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 15.6. In practice, Zilisch ranked 31st in overall lap averages and was among the slower drivers in most categories. The young No. 87 Chevrolet driver does not have much experience, but for DFS, Zilisch has plenty of upside and should be expected to move up a few positions due to his equipment, which makes him playable in all formats, but is favored for cash as a safer option available.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
May 25, 2025
Spire Motorsports driver Justin Haley will roll off 13th for this year's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This is the first time that Haley will start inside the top 15 in his Cup career at Charlotte. In four previous races at the site, Haley collected neutral or positive Place Differential three times and has one top-15 finish. With 12 races completed this season, Haley has six top-20 finishes, including three inside the top 15 at 1.5-mile Intermediate oval tracks similar to Charlotte. In practice, Haley ranked 36th in overall lap averages, but displayed top-10 speeds in all other categories except single and 20 consecutive lap averages. Haley's history at Charlotte and his practice speed point to a top-15 finish, but he still carries lower upside than most around his $5,600 salary range on DraftKings. The No. 7 Chevrolet driver is favored as a GPP option for this week's race.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
May 25, 2025
Trackhouse Racing's Shane Van Gisbergen will start 30th for this week's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This is a new career-best starting position for Van Gisbergen at Charlotte. In his only previous race at the site back in 2024, Van Gisbergen started 36th and finished in the 28th position while driving for Kaulig Racing. After 12 races so far this season, SVG has three top-20 finishes, including the last race at Kansas, which is a similar type of track to Charlotte this week. In practice, Van Gisbergen ranked 11th in overall lap averages and displayed top-10 speeds in multiple categories, including second in 25 consecutive lap averages. Considering his high upside and how his team has been one of the better ones at gaining positions during a race, the further it goes, SVG is a great value option for all formats this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
May 25, 2025
In case you missed the on-track activity at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, here's a quick recap: Ross Chastain was the fastest car on the long run in practice, but blew a tire halfway through the session and hit the wall, requiring the No. 1 team to pull out the backup car. They weren't able to make it on-track for qualifying, and now Ross will have to start from dead last (40th-place) in the Coca-Cola 600. For DFS players, this means one thing: chalk pick. Even at a high price of $9,000 on DraftKings, Chastain is the obvious Place Differential play on this weekend's slate. His primary car was super fast in practice, and his backup car will likely have similar speed. Charlotte Motor Speedway is also a pretty good race track for Chastain, and he finished eighth here last season. There's a strategy angle for going underweight on him in tournaments, but Chastain is a fantastic DFS pick all around on Sunday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Motorsport
May 25, 2025
Cody Ware of Rick Ware Racing will be starting 36th for this week's race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Coca-Cola 600. Ware's starting position for this week's race is the lowest of his Cup career at the site since 2019. In three previous starts at Charlotte, Ware has an average finish of 28.7 with only one top-20 finish. Through the first 12 races this season, Ware has six finishes of 30th or better and an average finish of 30.8. He is also the lowest in the regular season standings of all full-time drivers and ranked 37th in overall lap averages in practice. Ware may be one of the cheapest drivers for DFS this week on DraftKings at $4,800, but he does not carry the speed to be competitive past his starting position. He is only usable in cash games, but even then, there are better alternatives available this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
May 25, 2025
Chase Elliott was definitely one of the best drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Gen-6 car, where he led over 100 laps as a rookie, won the second 2020 race, and would have won that year's Coca-Cola 600 if Alan Gustafson hadn't pitted him before an overtime restart. With the Next Gen car, his performance has been more muted. Although he led 86 laps in the 2022 event before crashing, he was a lot faster that year than any other year with this car. Still, he's usually a solid bet for a top ten, which coupled with his 22nd-place starting position means there is likely some DFS value, but too many other drivers who are worthy of consideration are starting worse and are therefore better choices for DFS play. The main advantage for starting Elliott would be that fewer people might pick him than some of the obvious choices, which definitely makes him a valid option.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
May 25, 2025
It's hard to know what to make of Tyler Reddick's 2025 season. After showing frequent blinding speed in the early years of the Next Gen car, he seemed to trade that in for consistency in 2024. This year he seems to have neither the speed nor the consistency nor the passing ability of previous seasons, but he has probably run better in the races than his finishes imply. He seems to be barely faster than his teammate Bubba Wallace right now, but he did vastly outqualify him yesterday, qualifying 12th to Wallace's 32nd. He's generally renowned for his intermediate prowess and he's gotten a top 15, lead lap finish in all six of his Charlotte starts even if he hasn't really factored for the win. He does seem like a potentially likely dominator since he's starting better than most of the other big stars, so he's definitely strongly worthy of DFS consideration, but his strangely mediocre run at Kansas last week gives one pause.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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