NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Bank of America 400 at Charlotte

While we could use the old cliche that Lady Luck was on Chase Briscoe's side at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, luck had nothing to do with it. When you have a hard-charging Kyle Larson in your rear view mirror and beat him, luck has nothing to do with it. That's pure skill. Chase swept won stages and led a race-high 175 of the 267 laps. The victory is his second win of the year, first at Las Vegas and his seventh NASCAR Cup Series win. 

While Chase hasn't been stellar at Charlotte with only two Top 5s, two Top 10s, and one pole, earning him an average finish of 18.167, 16th-best among active Cup Series drivers, Martin Truex Jr. was, so James Small has a pretty good notebook. Can Chase keep his momentum going? Stay tuned.

 

This Week's Pick Strategy:
The last time we raced on the oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Fall race was 2017 and that was in a much different car. I will be looking at several data points while picking my roster this week. I will begin with drivers who performed well on both the oval and Roval and then I will cross reference with drivers who have multiple Top 5s here. From there, I will take a look at drivers who are masters at 1.5 mile tracks. Like last week I believe throwing in one or two non-Chase drivers will pay off in qualifying points. Also, I will not let numbers alone be the determining factor. 

Active NASCAR Cup Series Drivers with Most Top 10s at Charlotte Motor Speedway

 

Active NASCAR Cup Series Drivers with Most Top 5s at Charlotte Motor Speedway

 

 SOURCE: NASCAR Media

 

Active Drivers with Most Top 10s on the Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte Oval)

2022-2026 (5 Races)

All with 4 -  William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin - 3

 

Active Drivers with Most Top 5s  

2022-2026 (5 Races)

All with 3 - William Byron, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Denny Hamlin

Both with 2 - Brad Keselowski and Chase Briscoe

 

Most Recent Pole Winner at Charlotte
Coca-Cola 600, May 24, 2026: Canceled due to inclement weather.

 

Most Recent Race Winner at Charlotte: Daniel Suarez

Likely Suspects: My Charlotte elite drivers include. Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick this week is William Byron. My next picks are Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, and Joey Logano. I will complete my roster with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Daniel Suarez.

My Final Four: Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Points to Ponder:

• Denny Hamlin (2013, 2017, 2023) leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in poles at Charlotte Motor Speedway with three. 
• Brad Keslowski leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway with two victories (2013, 2020). 
• A Top 5 starting position has accounted for 54% of the Cup Series wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway with 21 wins.
• Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin lead all active drivers in runner-up finishes at Charlotte with three each. 
• Denny Hamlin leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers with 13 Top 5 finishes at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He also leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Top 10s with 22 and in laps led with 543.
• Tyler Reddick (eight starts) leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Charlotte with a 9.5.

If you are playing Driver Group Game, remember to make your initial picks by Saturday, October 10th at 11 a.m. ET  and your final picks by 3 p.m. ET on race day, Sunday, October 11th.

Please note: Cup Series practice and qualifying has been move up two hours due to expected inclement weather from Hurricane Isaias. Practice is now set for 11 a.m. ET, followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 12:05 p.m.

Enjoy the race!

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 19 years. She launched NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.