May 31, 2026, 10:39 AM ET

Denny Hamlin was the early week favorite to win this weekend's Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, and nothing changed after practice on Saturday, as all sportsbooks still point to the No. 11 Toyota as the one to beat this weekend. And really, it makes a lot of sense. Hamlin has been head-and-shoulders above everyone else when it comes to speed on intermediate tracks this season, and here at Nashville, Denny has been amazing despite not having a win. Over the last four races at this track, Hamlin has led at least 70 laps each time, and he has third-place finishes in two of the last three events here. This weekend, Hamlin starts on the pole and is the most likely driver to dominate this race. At $11.0K on DraftKings, he's the most expensive driver on the slate, but he also has very high dominator potential and race-winning upside. --Jordan McAbee
Source: Jayski

May 31, 2026, 10:35 AM ET

While most DFS players will be (rightfully) eyeing the Toyotas for Sunday evening's Cracker Barrel 400, those looking to be contrarian shouldn't forget about Ryan Blaney. The Team Penske driver is the defending race winner at Nashville Superspeedway, and the No. 12 Ford was one of the best cars at Bristol earlier this season as well. Bristol is a concrete oval as well. In additon to putting a beatdown on the field in this race last season, Blaney also finished sixth in the 2024 Nashville race and third in 2022. His practice speeds weren't mind-blowingly good here on Saturday, but they were respectable, as Blaney ended up 12th-best when it came to 20-lap average. In DFS, Blaney makes for an interesting tournament option on Sunday evening, as he's $10.0K on DraftKings and has a little Place Differential upside starting seventh. --Jordan McAbee
Source: ifantasyrace

May 31, 2026, 10:30 AM ET

Ty Gibbs' track record at Nashville Superspeedway isn't the best (no finish better than 14th), but that doesn't mean you should avoid the Joe Gibbs Racing driver in this weekend's Cracker Barrel 400. The No. 54 Toyota has been one of the best on intermediate tracks this season, and Gibbs had a great practice session on Saturday afternoon in "Music City," ranking best in both 10- and 30-lap average. This season on the intermediate race tracks, Gibbs has the sixth-best average speed, and let's not forget that he won at Bristol earlier this season, which is another concrete race track. When it comes to DFS on Sunday evening, Gibbs is a very interesting play at $9.0K on DraftKings, as he could be an alternate dominator when it's all said and done. In large-field tournaments, he could end up being a solid pivot option when it's all said and done.--Jordan McAbee
Source: Fox Sports

May 31, 2026, 10:25 AM ET

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season has been a struggle for Joey Logano, as the Team Penske driver currently sits 18th in the points standings and has had six finishes outside of the top 30 so far through the first 13 races of the year. Could that turn around this weekend at Nashville, though? Thanks to the starting lineup being set by the metric, Logano will start Sunday evening's Cracker Barrel 400 from ninth-place, so he will have a good starting spot to work with. Additionally, Nashville Superspeedway has been a strong race track for Logano, has he has one win here and four top-10 finishes in five career starts. When it comes to DFS this weekend, Logano ($8.2K on DraftKings) is a very interesting play, as he's likely to be overlooked by the masses on Sunday evening. Don't be afraid to be a little overweight on Joey Logano in daily fantasy this weekend, he's definitely a tournament/pivot option this weekend. --Jordan McAbee
Source: Driver Averages

May 31, 2026, 10:20 AM ET

It has been a rough start to the season for Ross Chastain. With 13 races in the book and just 13 more to go before the Chase cutoff, Ross sits 23rd in poitns and has just two top-10 finishes thus far--both of which came at superspeedway races. Other than that, Chastain hasn't finished better than 15th in any other race this season. Simply put, he needs a good run at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend, and that may just happen. Although he will start from way back in 35th-place on Sunday evening, Chastain had one of the best cars in practice on Saturday, ranking best in 15-, 20-, and 25-lap average. Will he finally be able to put a full race together, though? That is something the No. 1 team admittedly struggled with this season. DFS-wise, Chastian is an excellent Place Differential pick this weekend, as he has just one finish worse than 11th in five career starts at Nashville Superspeedway.--Jordan McAbee
Source: Speedway Digest

May 25, 2026, 1:13 PM ET

Daniel Suarez won this year's Coca-Cola 600 with some late-race strategies that paid off well at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Suarez started the race from 14th after qualifying was canceled due to rain, and starting positions were set by a metric from the NASCAR rulebook. Early on in the first stage, Suarez made an unscheduled pit stop and fell a lap down until getting a caution a few laps later. Suarez spent the rest of the stage recovering from his loss in track position, but ended it in 12th and fell short of earning stage points. In the second stage, Suarez continued to challenge for a top-10 running position, but ended up pitting an extra time due to a vibration in his car. As a result, he lost more track position and ended the stage in 30th. He then spent the third stage trying to recover more track position, but only made it up to 21st. In the final stage, Suarez continued to gain more positions, but in the late part of the stage, his team made a call to take two tires instead of four and started at the front as he beat everyone out on pit road. Then, through two consecutive restarts, Suarez got a push from Kyle Larson and held off Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick while the race was called early for rain on lap 372. Suarez scored his third career Cup Series win and his first with Spire Motorsports in 2026. With his victory, Suarez now moves up to 10th in the regular season standings after 13 races.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

May 25, 2026, 1:12 PM ET

Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing finished as the runner-up in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Bell started the race from 17th and was improving to a top-10 running position until midway through the stage, when he had an equipment interference penalty on pit road. The No. 20 Toyota driver could not recover from this penalty in the first stage and ended up 31st without any stage points. In the second stage, Bell made his recovery and took advantage of pitting late into the stage for fresher tires than the leaders. This allowed him to make it back up to sixth by the end of the stage for his first batch of stage points. Bell repeated the strategy in the third stage, and it paid off even more, as he went on to win the third stage by passing his teammate Denny Hamlin a few laps before the end of the stage. In the final stage, Bell continued to run inside the top five through most of the stage, but failed to take the lead from Daniel Suarez in the closing laps before the race was called early due to weather. Bell ended up in second for his best finish of the season and now moves to eighth in the regular season standings after 13 Cup races.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

May 25, 2026, 1:11 PM ET

Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin ended the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in third place. Hamlin began the race from 11th and then spent the first stage passing cars until he made it to the top five. The first stage ended with Hamlin in third while Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe stayed ahead of the driver of the No. 11 Toyota. In the second stage, Hamlin got by Briscoe mid-way through the second stage and ended up winning it with a commanding lead over Ty Gibbs. Hamlin continued to run inside the top five through most of the rest of the race, falling short of winning the third stage to Christopher Bell after losing the lead to him before the end of the stage. In the final stage, Hamlin came close to winning the race in the late stages, but cautions kept him from passing Daniel Suarez for the win, and instead left him finishing third. With his sixth top-5 finish of the season, Hamlin is now second in the regular-season standings, 122 points behind Tyler Reddick.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

May 25, 2026, 1:10 PM ET

Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing placed fourth at the end of this year's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Reddick was the polesitter for the event and started first after qualifying was canceled due to rain. The No. 45 Toyota driver held the lead through the first half of the first stage until a lap 53 crash caused him to head to pit road, where he lost the lead. Although he charged back through the field against other drivers on two tires, he was overtaken by Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe and finished the first stage in third. Reddick continued to run well throughout the entire race, finishing the second stage in fourth, while in the third stage, he reacquired the lead and held it until he wore his tires out and lost positions. He ended the third stage in sixth and finished the race in fourth after failing to pass Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and eventual race winner Daniel Suarez in the closing laps. With his 10th top-10 finish of the year, Reddick now holds a lead of 122 points in the regular season standings over Hamlin.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

May 25, 2026, 1:08 PM ET

Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports finished in fifth for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Larson began the race from 18th and showcased that he was one of the fastest cars early in the race. In the first stage, Larson climbed from 18th to the top-5 until a couple of early cautions shuffled the field around for pit stops. The No. 5 Chevrolet driver took advantage of the restarts and walked away with winning the first stage. For the rest of the race, Larson consistently ran inside the top five for most of the race, finishing fifth at the end of both the second and third stages. In the final stage, Larson continued to compete for the win, but never held the lead again. Larson ended the race with his best finish since his 2021 victory at Charlotte and now moves up to sixth in the regular season standings. --Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

May 24, 2026, 2:04 PM ET

Denny Hamlin is the favorite to win this year's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and that shouldn't be too surprising for any NASCAR fan. The No. 11 Toyota has been the strongest car on 1.5-mile tracks this season, and it hasn't really been that close. Hamlin has also been strong here at Charlotte, with 53 laps led in last year's race to go along with a win in the 2022 Coca-Cola 600. As far as DFS goes, Hamlin makes for an excellent fantasy pick this weekend, as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has some Place Differential upside (he starts 11th) along with the dominator and race-winning potential. Even at $11,500 on DraftKings, Hamlin is a good pick, as there is no reason to think that the speed won't be there for the No. 11 Toyota on Sunday night.--Jordan McAbee
Source: ifantasyrace

May 24, 2026, 2:00 PM ET

Tyler Reddick will lead the field to the green on Sunday evening for the Coca-Cola 600, as the Cup Series points leader got the best starting position this weekend after qualifying was rained out and the field was set by the metric. Reddick is no stranger to running up front at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and should be a contender on Sunday night. He has the best average finish (10.3) at this track among all drivers in the series, and has finished ninth or better in four of the last five races here. At similar tracks this year, Reddick has a 13th-place finish at Vegas, a win at Kansas, and a fourth-place result at Texas. As far as DFS goes, Reddick is the leading candidate to be the early dominator of the Coca-Cola 600 due to his starting position, and makes a solid fantasy play even with his high salary ($11,000 on DraftKings).--Jordan McAbee
Source: ESPN

May 24, 2026, 1:56 PM ET

Keep an eye on Christopher Bell in this weekend's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is in a bit of a slump right now, with five straight finishes of 17th or worse, but there is hope for the No. 20 team this weekend. First, Bell is a previous Coke 600 winner, taking home the trophy in the rain-shortened 2024 running. Second, CBell has been super fast on the intermediate tracks this season, posting a fourth-place finish at Las Vgeas, and leading a bunch at both Kansas and Texas before running into issues. There's no doubt that it's hard for fantasy players to trust Christopher Bell right now, but this is a perfect "buy low, sell high" scenario. At $10,000 on DraftKings, Bell makes for an excellent tournament option in DFS contests this weekend. He starts 17th, so there is Place Differential upside to go along with race-winning upside as well. --Jordan McAbee
Source: Catchfence

May 24, 2026, 1:35 PM ET

Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports is starting in the 18th position for this week's NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Coca-Cola 600. Larson was given the starting position after qualifying was canceled due to rain on Saturday. In 15 Cup starts at Charlotte, Larson has one win, six top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 19.0. With 12 Cup races completed for the 2026 season, Larson has six top-10 finishes and an average finish of 17.3. In practice, the No. 5 Chevrolet driver ranked 29th in 10 consecutive lap averages. Despite his slow practice speeds, Larson has led laps in each of his last four appearances at Charlotte and typically shows plenty of speed in the middle of the race. With his starting position and equipment, he is a driver worth rostering in all formats who can finish in the top 10.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: DriverAverages.com

May 24, 2026, 1:24 PM ET

Team Penske's Ryan Blaney will start in the sixth position for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway this week. Blaney obtained the starting position after qualifying was canceled on Saturday due to the weather. In 15 Cup starts at Charlotte, Blaney has one win and four top-10 finishes. After 12 Cup races so far this year, Blaney has one win, seven top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 12.9. In practice for this week's Cup race, Blaney ranked 20th in 10 consecutive lap averages and seventh in 15 consecutive lap averages. The No. 12 Ford driver does not offer much DFS upside for fantasy players this week due to his high starting position inside the top 10. Considering his practice speeds, track history, and low upside, Blaney is only playable in tournament DFS contests, but even then, there are alternatives with more upside and cap flexibility.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: DriverAverages.com