NASCAR DFS Picks for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on May 28, 2021

As we head into Charlotte Race week, we will have to look at drivers’ stats and history from other road courses as we build our lineup this week. Another great part about this weekend is we are back to practice and qualifying. This week we are going to focus on finding value by looking at previous top contenders at this speedway. There are quite a few value drivers that you can insert into your lineup. Let’s now take a deep dive into who I think you can insert into your lineup for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Below is a lineup that we believe can provide the best value for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on 05/28/2021 (DraftKings Values)

Austin Hill ($10,400)

Still looking for this first win of the year; Austin Hill comes into this race on a bit of a hot streak. Ever since the Truck Series left Daytona Hill has finished top 10 in every race but Darlington, where he finished 13^th. So far in the 2021 season Hill has three top five finishes, six top 10 finishes and surprisingly only 12 laps led. Hill was a dominant racer in the 2019 and 2020 seasons where he had six wins, 18 top five finishes, 30 top 10 finishes and led 557 laps. Hill comes into this week with race with three races at Charlotte over the last three years where he has two top 10 finishes. No matter where Hill starts this weekend, there is no way in my mind that he cannot have another top 10 finish at the speedway. 

Johnny Sauter ($8,200)

2021 has been a very up and down year for Johnny Sauter so far. It seems like every other race he is racing well. Now with saying that Sauter put together three straight top 10 finishes at Richmond, Kansas, and Darlington a couple of weeks ago. In his last three races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sauter has one win, one top-five finish, two top 10 finishes and has led 75 laps. His win at Charlotte is his last win in the Truck Series. Of course, Sauter has not been able to return to the success he had from 2016-2018 where he had 13 wins, 39 top-five finishes, 55 top 10 finishes, and led 1,170 laps in 69 races. In that three year stretch he was good, and well he still is. Sauter is still the sole owner of fifth place in Truck Series wins with 24. From a DFS perspective Sauter provides some good value this week. I would expect Sauter to start in the middle of the pack after qualifying, which gives him potential to compete for a top 10 or even top-five spot early. Charlotte has been a good track for him in the past and I think he repeats his success here this week.

Austin Wayne Self ($6,000)

Austin Wayne Self was finally able to put it all together at Darlington where he had his best finish of the year of ninth place. This was Self’s second top 10 of the year after he finished in 10th at the Bristol Dirt Track. Wayne Self put together another good performance last week at the Circuit of Americas where he turned a 29^th place start into a 16^th place finish. Wayne Self is likely to start in the back of the pack again this week which will put him in line to rack up point differential points if he can work his way into a top 15 or better finish, something he has done four times already this year.

Below is a lineup that we believe can provide the best value for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on 05/28/2021 (DraftKings Values)

Sheldon Creed ($10,700)

This pick is in the realm of a no-brainer to me. Sheldon Creed has for the most part been a sure thing all year. Creed has been one of the best drivers in the Truck Series this year where he has one win, four top five finishes, five top 10 finishes, and has led 125 laps. Last year at Charlotte Creed left with a fifth-place finish while leading no laps. I believe Creed is going to want to win this one and get his second win of the year. Creed will be out for blood. Creed was able to finally get his first win of the year at Darlington. I am sure 2021 has not quite been up to his standards yet as the reigning Truck Series Champion. I think this is a great race for Creed to get himself back into victory lane and join John H Nemechek and Ben Rhodes in the two-win club.

Todd Gilliland ($8,400)

In his fourth season full-time with the NASCAR Truck Series, Todd Gilliland has been off to a good start, currently in fifth place. In nine races he has finished 31st, fourth, 13th, 17th, fourth, sixth, sixth, 15^th, and first last week at Circuit of Americas. It was exciting to see Gilliland get his second career win last week. Gilliland has been good as of late, as you can see by his four top 10 finishes over three of the last five races. Overall, not bad. Gilliland has raced at Charlotte three times in the last three years where he has two top 10 finishes and has led 7 laps. Again, that is pretty good, Gilliland has consistently the last two years raced to many top 15 performances. He has been constantly getting better and could be just around the corner from getting his third win of his career. In 2020 Gilliland finished with four top-five finishes, 10 top 10 finishes, and 98 laps led. A downgrade from his 2019 production but we all know 2020 was a difficult season for many reasons. Gilliland will look to add another top 10 finish to further bolster his claim to being a top five driver in the Truck Series.

Carson Hocevar ($6,100)

As an 18-year-old Carson Hocevar is having an excellent 2021 as a full-time driver. His first year being full time. So far, he has two top five finishes at Daytona and Darlington, another top 10 finish at Circuit of Americas, and has finished top 20 in six of nine races this year. Hocevar is really putting it all together this year and is starting to show that he can be a successful driver. With the reintroduction of qualifying this week I would expect hat Hocevar starts near the middle to rear of the pack to start so he could be a very good point differential play. 

Now go win your matchup and let us know how you did. Or if I picked every driver that will be in that lap 72 crash, I encourage you to let me hear it. Either way come find us on Twitter (@FantasyDFSX).