NASCAR

NASCAR Daily Fantasy Helper: Coca-Cola 600

Kevin Harvick will start 39th on Sunday night for the Coca-Cola 600, which makes him a lock for NASCAR DFS cash-game rosters. Which other drivers should we target in NASCAR's longest race?

On what is perennially the biggest day in motorsports with Formula 1 running in Monaco early Sunday morning and the Indianapolis 500 midday, the action wraps up at night with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series running the Coca-Cola 600. NASCAR's longest race will start before sunset and run well into the night in Charlotte, NC. Last week's All-Star Race was also in NASCAR's backyard, so the teams are refreshed and ready to fight for one of the crown jewels on NASCAR's circuit.

Last week's All-Star Race featured non-stop action with its zany aero package and reduced horsepower. Kevin Harvick got the win there, but the cars are back to their regular configuration as they get back to points racing. We have everything you need here at numberFire to get you ready for the longest night in racing. Our track preview and driver preview set the stage for this weekend's race, and our Heat Check Podcast has you covered for lineup building strategies to find value for the big guns on Sunday night.

Now that qualifying is complete, as well as the first and second practices, it's time to discuss which drivers we should be targeting on FanDuel.

High-Priced Drivers

Kevin Harvick ($13,500): Kevin Harvick is dominating 1.5-mile tracks at a level similar to what we saw last year with Martin Truex Jr. However, Harvick, his crew chief Rodney Childers, and the rest of the No. 4 team made it a mission to reclaim that crown this year, and they've done just that with four wins and a second-place finish. He's starting 39th after failing pre-qualifying inspection three times, and for daily fantasy, it makes Harvick a free space. A 30-position place differential -- which would be a 9th-place finish for Harvick -- accrues as many FanDuel points as 150 laps led. Add in that Harvick may find the front before the end of Stage 1, he's a must-have asset in all formats again.

Martin Truex Jr. ($12,500): In 2016, Truex Jr. had the most dominant win in the history of NASCAR in the Coca-Cola 600. He led 588 miles of the 600, by far the most in the sport's history. In this day and age of competition, that's unheard of. Truex dominated again last year, leading 233 laps of 400, but he failed to win after Austin Dillon stayed out on fuel mileage. It didn't take long for Truex to avenge his defeat at Charlotte as he won the fall race here last year en route to his 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title. Truex has yet to show that dominant speed consistently in 2018, but coming back to one of his favorite tracks and starting 15th, he could be the foil Harvick's plan to dominate Sunday.

Mid-Priced Drivers

Clint Bowyer ($10,600): A mistake in qualifying has Clint Bowyer deep in the field in 28th, which feels like a repeat of Kansas two weeks ago. Unfortunately for Clint, he showed speed but was caught up in a late crash in that race. He'll look for a better outcome in the Coca-Cola 600, and this is a great price for Bowyer, who has shown as much speed on 1.5-mile tracks as anyone not named Harvick this year. A successful run at this price for Bowyer requires only a top-10 finish, which would already be his eighth of the year. He was sixth-fastest in final practice and ninth in the 10-lap averages, so speed is on the menu again for Bowyer.

Chase Elliott ($10,200): It feels like this is the case for Hendrick Motorsports every week, but they once again look like they're just a touch off when it comes to speed this weekend. Despite this being the case, Chase Elliott has posted several nice finishes this season as he's tied with Bowyer with 7 top-10s despite not having nearly as much speed. Thankfully, Elliott's upside will come from starting deep in the field, as well, in 22nd. Elliott was also 4th in the 10-lap average in final practice, which shows improvement throughout the weekend. He has been able to overcome the Chevrolets' lack of speed several times this year, and another solid outing could be a great compliment to Harvick, Truex, or potentially both.

In a tournament, it may pay off tremendously to get a bit riskier in this tier. That could include rolling the dice on the speedy Erik Jones ($10,000), who will start fourth.

Low-Priced Drivers

A.J. Allmendinger ($8,000): A.J. Allmendinger had a great All-Star weekend, winning the Monster Energy Open and competing in the main show before slapping the wall in Stage 2. Maybe the 47 team carries momentum into this weekend even with the aero package being completely different. However, unfortunately for Allemdinger, he repeated his 2018 qualifying trend. That said, for daily fantasy, the worse the starting spot, the more we're on Allmendinger this weekend. He's got a higher price tag than Bubba Wallace ($7,700) or William Byron ($7,800), who might finish better, but Allmendinger is tremendous, high-floor salary relief for cash.

Alex Bowman ($7,400): Maybe you've noticed a trend here with another driver starting near the back. Bowman "The Showman" was another Hendrick car that struggled in qualifying and will be starting 27th. In such a long, grueling race, where part failures are more common and wrecks tend to happen, the safer floor should work to your benefit in cash. Bowman -- last week's Stage 1 winner -- has shown decent speed on 1.5-mile tracks this year, finishing 16th at Las Vegas and 18th at Kansas, so starting 27th, the same type of result would be a tremendous value at this salary.

In the riskier department in this pricing tier, you could take a stab at qualifying surprise Chris Buescher ($6,500), who will roll off 18th and bring plenty of salary relief to those looking to pay for Harvick.



Austin Swaim is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austin Swaim also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username ASwaim3. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.