After another wild weekend of racing at Talladega Superspeedway we head to the Charlotte “Roval” at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. Last weekend at Talladega we got what we asked for from the superspeedway; tight packed racing, crazy crashes and an unpredictable finish. As the race concluded Denny Hamlin was able to pass Matt DiBenedetto just before the finish line to win the YellaWood 500 in a photo finish. Hamlin had a rather safe race where he was able to avoid damage by hanging back and biding his time and waiting for his moment to strike. Patience was key to Denny Hamlin’s win at Talladega. Check out the last few laps from Talladega here (https://youtu.be/ClM_eFXn3UE). With Talladega boasting a history of wrecks, this past Sunday saw the most with a track record 13 cautions. With Talladega now in the rearview mirror the round of eight playoff picture is starting to come together. Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin are through to the next round; each having a win. The field afterwards has Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliot and Brad Keselowski sitting comfortably going into the round of eight with the most playoff points to their names.
Today’s free pick is going to be Alex Bowman ($11,000 FD, $9,000 DK). In seven races at road courses since the start of the 2017 season Bowman has an average finish of 9.86. In those seven races he has two top five finishes and three top ten finishes. What excites me about Bowman this week is that in his last nine races on road courses he has not placed any lower than 14th. Bowman who is currently into the round of eight on points will need to have a good day at Charlotte to secure his spot in the next round. Bowman will start in the fifth position this weekend.
Starting at $5 per week subscribers can expect to find high value plays that are well priced on DraftKings and FanDuel. We have DFS Potential Dominators, DFS Place Differential Options and who to avoid for the upcoming Bank of America 400.
The only certainty with the Charlotte Roval in recent years has been that nothing is certain. This weekend’s race will be the cutoff for the next round of the playoffs which means playoff drivers on the outside looking in will be racing for their lives. Kyle Busch ($10,300 FD, $ 9,500 DK) andAustin Dillon ($6,400 FD, $7,200 DK) are both just 21 points behind eighth place driver Joey Logano ($11,800 FD, $9,300 DK). Some drivers still in the hunt for the next round are Clint Bowyer ($11,300 FD, $ 8,800 DK) and Aric Almirola ($9,500 FD, $ 7,800 DK). Both Bowyer and Almirola would likely need a win to move on. Bowyer is currently 37 points below the cutoff and has finished third and fourth at the Charlotte Roval in the previous two races. A win by Bowyer would really shake up the current playoff picture.
What is going to be important this week is to nail the top lap leaders, pick the top 10 drivers that you think will hold position or move up for the win, and finally some place differential options who can move up the field throughout the race.
Potential Dominators
Chase Elliot: Coming into Charlotte Chase Elliot ($13,500 FD, $10,600 DK) comes with a big price, however, it is warranted. Since 2017 Elliot has raced at road courses nine times. In those nine races he has four wins, five top five finishes, and seven top 10 finishes. He has also led the most laps with 213. Although closely behind him in laps led is Martin Truex Jr. ($13,200 FD, $10,300 DK)with 191. After these two drivers the next best is 93 laps led by Kevin Harvick ($13,000 FD, $9,900 DK). These three drivers are expensive on FanDuel this weekend and if I were to pick one it would be Chase Elliot. Elliot has been excellent at the Roval specifically and in the two races he has finished first and sixth. With his excellent finishes and 35 laps led at the Charlotte Roval, I will be building my lineups around having Chase as its centre piece.
Clint Bowyer: It is simple, Clint Bowyer ($11,300 FD, $8,800 DK) has been excellent in the last two races at the Charlotte Roval where he has placed third and fourth. Bowyer has a unique competitive advantage this weekend to go alongside his last two stellar performances at this track. His advantage is that he needs to win to move on to the next round. Bowyer will be aggressive this weekend to climb to the front of the pack and secure a win. Since 2017 at road courses Bowyer has raced nine times. In those nine races he has five top five finishes, and six top ten finishes. Bowyer on road courses since 2017 has not finished less then 20th. His average start of 12.3 is boasted by his average finish of 7.22, the best on road courses by all drivers since 2017.
DFS Place Differential Options
Matt DiBenedetto: Coming into Charlotte Matt DiBenedetto ($9,300 FD, $7,900 DK) has raced on short tracks nine times since 2017. In those nine races he has placed top five once and top 10 twice. DiBenedetto will start this race in the 20th spot. His average start on road courses is 24th place. DiBenedetto has shown that he can gain track position with his average finish of 16.67. DiBenedetto offers place differential appeal this weekend. Specifically, at the Charlotte Roval he has started two races with an average start of 23rd, in those two races he finished 11th and 13th.
DFS Picks to Avoid
Erik Jones: My pick to avoid for this weeks Bank of America 400 is Erik Jones ($8,000 FD, $8,200 DK). In the last two races at the Charlotte Roval Erik Jones has an average start of 13.5. His average finish, however, is 35th. You could string it up to bad luck as in both races he did not finish. On road courses since 2017 Jones has raced nine times where he has two top five finishes and five top ten finishes. Jones has also only led one lap on road courses the last three years. Overall Jones has not placed well at the Charlotte Roval and I am going to leave him out of my lineups this week.
MY TOP-FIVE OVERALL AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE
- Chase Elliot
- Clint Bowyer
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Alex Bowman
- Kevin Harvick
