11 hours agoZane Smith's rookie season has admittedly been very rocky, as he has no top-10s, no laps led, and the worst speed percentile amongst full-timers at 21.96, not to mention that his teammates, Corey LaJoie and fellow rookie Carson Hocevar, outrun him nearly every race weekend. However, Charlotte might be one of Smith's best opportunities to turn it around. He got a surprise 10th-place finish for Front Row Motorsports in last year's Coca-Cola 600, where he scored his only top-10 and laps led in the Cup Series to date. Smith also ran in the top five for about 40 laps early in Stage 3 at Texas this year, so that is encouraging. LaJoie and Hocevar did both outqualify Smith this weekend, who will start 25th, but they're all solid longshots for top-10s. Although Zane is unlikely to reprise his own top-10 tonight, he's likelier to do so than his current odds of 18-to-1 imply.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
11 hours agoJohn Hunter Nemechek qualified 26th for this weekend's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Although he did outqualify his teammate, Erik Jones, don't expect either of the Legacy Motor Club cars to do much in the race. Jones is likely still feeling the brunt of his injury from Talladega, while Nemechek has been mediocre for the entire season as he still struggles to learn the Next Gen car (just like his predecessor Noah Gragson did in the same ride). Additionally, intermediate tracks have not been one of Nemechek's stronger suits in the Cup Series, as he hasn't particularly had a strong run on them all season. While Nemechek has won at Charlotte before in the Craftsman Truck Series, it seems likely that Nemechek won't build up speed on intermediates until he's figured out this chassis, which might take him another year, as it did for Gragson. With that being said, at only $6,000 on DraftKings, Nemechek makes for an interesting low-dollar DFS option on Sunday, especially since he finished 13th at Kansas earlier this month.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
11 hours agoCorey LaJoie has faced more criticism than any other NASCAR driver this year because he's been consistently outrun by his rookie teammate, Carson Hocevar, but that's more likely a result of fans underrating Hocevar than overrating LaJoie. LaJoie's performance has still been a lot closer to Hocevar's than Zane Smith's by nearly all metrics. LaJoie starts 21st for this weekend's Coca-Cola 600 and qualified faster than his teammates, but Hocevar starts 20th because he ranked better in a slower-qualifying group. LaJoie responded to his critics at Darlington with a 16th-place result in probably his smoothest drive of the season. Expect something similar at Charlotte, where LaJoie has a better average finish than on any non-drafting track he has visited ten or more times. With four top-20 finishes in his last six Charlotte starts, LaJoie is likely to score one of his best runs of the season tonight if he can keep it clean.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
11 hours agoAlthough Brad Keselowski has won twice at Charlotte, he probably isn't one of the favorites for tonight's Coca-Cola 600 despite winning the last points race at Darlington and finishing second at Texas in the last high-banked intermediate race. Keselowski has struggled in qualifying all year and qualified 30th this weekend, matching his worst starting position on an oval this season. He's generally lacked speed on most intermediates except for Texas since becoming an owner-driver in the Next Gen era. Additionally, although his consistency in performance seems to have improved compared to the last two years, he's on pace to lead significantly fewer laps, and despite his wins, Charlotte isn't one of his best tracks, as his only previous Coke 600 win came in 2020 when Alan Gustafson notoriously botched a late race pit call for Chase Elliott. Keselowski should finish much better than he starts, but probably won't break the top five. He's a good Place Differential play on DraftKings because of his deep starting position.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
11 hours agoTrackhouse Racing has struggled to maintain its speed this year, as Ross Chastain has factored for the lead significantly less often than in 2022 and 2023 while his teammate, Daniel Suárez, has had an even more staggering decline. However, Charlotte is one of the likeliest tracks where Chastain could turn it around. He's been significantly stronger on 1.5-mile intermediate tracks than all other track types this season having earned 78 of his 108 laps led on those tracks. Furthermore, he qualified seventh for tonight's Coca-Cola 600 and he typically does better on the rare occasions he qualifies up front. If Chastain is going to win anywhere before the playoffs, this might be one of his best shots.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
11 hours agoAfter blowing a tire in practice, Chris Buescher elected to not set a qualifying time for this weekend's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte because he would have to start in the back after switching to a backup car anyway; he will be starting 39th in tonight's race. Although Charlotte isn't one of Buescher's absolute best tracks, he has improved there in recent years with all four of his top-10 finishes coming in his last six races. However, he has never finished better than sixth, never led until last year, and his flip in the 2022 race has overshadowed all of his good performances for most people. Buescher's recent hot streak and run of consistency at Charlotte in recent years suggests he may still be fast, but most likely, the minimal amount of time his team had to prepare his backup car could lead to a mediocre run. In DraftKings, though, Buescher is a slam-dunk Place Differential play because of his starting position.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
6 days agoJoey Logano put on a dominating effort at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday night, leading 199 of the 200 laps in the All-Star race and taking home the $1 million prize. This win is a nice shot in the arm for the No. 22 Penske Racing team, as Logano is currently in the midst of one of the worst seasons in his career. Through the first 13 races of 2024, Logano has an average finish of 18.8 and just one top-five result. His average finish hasn't been that bad since the 2011 season. With that being said, the All-Star race is still an exhibition event, so it didn't lock Logano into the playoffs this year. The dominating win was also overshadowed by the post-race fight between Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Yahoo! Sports
6 days agoDenny Hamlin continues to remain one of the best short-track performers of the season, as he finished second in the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro. This was the best finish of his Cup career at North Wilkesboro. Starting from the 11th position, Hamlin methodically worked through the field, prevailing against others during long green flag runs. Hamlin's pit crew also helped him gain a few positions until he was behind Joey Logano. Despite having a slightly faster car by the end, Hamlin could not pass Logano for the win, losing by 0.636 seconds. Although he was the most expensive driver for DFS this week, Hamlin was worth the high salary as he ended the All-Star race as the second-highest point scorer overall. With the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte being the next race, Hamlin should be one of the top favorites to consider as he won the event in 2022 and has three finishes of seventh or better in the last four Cup events there.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
6 days agoTeam Penske driver Ryan Blaney ended the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the fifth position after a hard-fought day. Blaney had plenty of work to do during the race as he started from the 17th position. Over the course of the race, through pit strategy, great moves during restarts, and with a car with better speeds than most, Blaney was as high as second place before fading back to fifth. This marks the second time Blaney scored a top-10 finish in the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro and the first time he placed in the Top 5 at the site. DFS players who rostered him were satisfied with Blaney's performance this week as he ended as the third-highest scorer on both DraftKings and FanDuel. As the Cup Series heads to Charlotte, Blaney should be one to watch as the defending winner of the Coca-Cola 600.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
6 days agoRicky Stenhouse Jr crashed in yesterday's NASCAR All-Star Race after two laps and finished last, triggering a post-race fight with Kyle Busch that overshadowed the entire race. On the opening lap, Stenhouse poked his nose between sixth-row starters, Denny Hamlin and Busch, to make a three-wide pass down the middle, but it forced Busch into the upper groove and he lightly scraped the wall. Busch was none too happy and wrecked Stenhouse in retaliation on the following lap, causing enough damage to take him out of the race. In response, Stenhouse parked in Busch's pit stall before throwing a punch after the race ended. The fight eventually also involved crew members for the No. 8 and No. 47 teams and Stenhouse's father. It is unclear whether Stenhouse will be suspended for the incident. Whatever happens, it is likely the only thing most fans will remember about this race.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
6 days agoKyle Busch had a mediocre run in last night's NASCAR All-Star Race, starting 14th and finishing 10th, but that's not what people will remember. On lap 1, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. made a three-wide pass on Denny Hamlin and Busch down the middle, forcing Busch into the wall. Rowdy decided to retaliate, sending Stenhouse into the wall on the following lap. Stenhouse confronted Busch after the race and punched him. Although they fought briefly, Busch seemed weirdly nonchalant about it and was down on himself as much as Stenhouse, replying, "I suck just as bad as you". Clearly, Busch is upset about his inability to figure out the Next Gen car, particularly after NASCAR offered fewer practice sessions for the drivers. Busch has a history of being unable to handle his emotions and underachieving as a result, which does not bode well for the rest of the season.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
6 days agoAfter finishing second in the All-Star Open, Bubba Wallace advanced to the main event of All-Star weekend, where he finished in sixth place. While the 2024 All-Star race will largely be remembered for Joey Logano leading 199 of 200 laps, Wallace's efforts should not be ignored. After starting 19th, the 23XI star finished with a plus-13 in place differential, which earned him 51 DraftKings points and a spot in the winning lineup on the site's featured contest. Interestingly, despite Logano's dominant performance, Wallace was the one the driver that the No. 22 could not get around in Sunday's race. In the closing laps before a mandatory caution on Lap 100, Wallace and Logano battled each other hard as Wallace fought to remain on the lead lap. With Logano unable to put Wallace a lap down, the No. 23 was able to maintain track position, which served him well entering the mandatory caution. Up next for the Cup Series is a trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR's longest race of the year.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: Jayski.com
6 days agoAfter starting 15th, Chase Elliott finished eighth in Sunday's All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Overall, it was an uneventful race for the second-generation Cup driver as Joey Logano dominated the race from start to finish. Despite it being a lackluster day for most drivers, Elliott did manage to score 43.90 points for the 31.58% that rostered him on DraftKings, which was the seventh-highest score of any driver on the slate. While fans of the Hendrick Motorsports star were certainly hoping for a better finish, there should be some comfort in knowing that he did move up seven spots on a track that was very hard to pass on. Nevertheless, with the All-Star race now behind us, the Cup Series will turn its attention to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: Jayski.com
6 days agoChristopher Bell battled for the lead for quite a while at North Wilkesboro. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver started third and clashed several times with Denny Hamlin and particularly, Joey Logano. Bell never cleared Logano for the lead and after being forced three-wide several times, the No. 20 car ran into problems. The car kept slowing down. With times in the 19-19.2 second range, Bell lost positions and speed off the corners in bunches. Some of that could be attributed to the run-in with Logano on Lap 115. Some of that was the Toyota fading in speed performance.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
6 days agoChris Buescher never could get past Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano in the final quarter of the NASCAR All-Star Race. The RFK Racing driver did end up third at North Wilkesboro after starting fifth on Sunday night. It was one of those races that had more action down the standings than up it. Buescher moved up, down, and around. Over the final ten laps, the No. 17 Ford kept losing time to Joey Logano (around 0.1 seconds per lap). Any chance of winning the race or even moving up further was put to rest. On the 0.625-mile track, speed off the turns was not an asset Buescher had to work with in the end.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
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