Come Sunday, it’s one of the iconic races of the NASCAR schedule in the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway. The upcoming track data is a bit skewed from last season’s dominating performance from Martin Truex Jr. and him leading 394 of 400 laps. The race is the longest race of the season and one of the toughest to set the car up for with the transition from day to night at a very temperamental track. It is a 1.5-mile Quad-Oval track, like a few others on the circuit, the difference is that it is one of the wider track on the schedule.
Track Breakdown
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Avg. | Difference | Laps Led | Laps Led | ||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Rating | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 8.3 | 5.5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 523 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 120.2 | 2.8 | 130.75 | 32.69 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 9.5 | 20.75 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 162 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 1 | 105.2 | -11.25 | 40.5 | 10.13 |
| Joey Logano | 4.3 | 14.75 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 248 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 106.9 | -10.45 | 62 | 15.50 |
| Denny Hamlin | 5.8 | 11.5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 105 | 0 | 4 | 30 | 1 | 109.4 | -5.7 | 26.25 | 6.56 |
| Matt Kenseth | 11.5 | 13.75 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 103 | 2 | 2 | 42 | 1 | 93.9 | -2.25 | 25.75 | 6.44 |
| Kevin Harvick | 7 | 12.75 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 1 | 106.4 | -5.75 | 9.5 | 2.38 |
| Kurt Busch | 14 | 7.25 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 118 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 102.3 | 6.75 | 29.5 | 7.38 |
| Brad Keselowski | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 98.4 | 4 | 0.75 | 0.19 |
| Ryan Newman | 16 | 8.75 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 85.9 | 7.25 | 0.25 | 0.06 |
| Kyle Larson | 22.3 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 0 | 84.7 | 6.3 | 0.75 | 0.19 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 17.3 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 0 | 88.2 | 2.3 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kasey Kahne | 23.5 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 43 | 1 | 67 | 3.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jamie McMurray | 22.8 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 19 | 0 | 73.8 | 7.8 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kyle Busch | 9.8 | 17.5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 33 | 1 | 95.3 | -7.7 | 1.25 | 0.31 |
| Austin Dillon | 18 | 16.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 32 | 1 | 84 | 1.25 | 0.25 | 0.06 |
| Chase Elliott | 14.3 | 19.67 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 103 | 0 | 8 | 33 | 1 | 90.6 | -5.37 | 25.75 | 8.58 |
| Clint Bowyer | 26 | 17.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 23 | 0 | 64.4 | 8.25 | 0.75 | 0.19 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 18 | 21.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 37 | 0 | 68.2 | -3.25 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Paul Menard | 22 | 25.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 36 | 1 | 66.3 | -3.25 | 0.5 | 0.13 |
| Danica Patrick | 19 | 18.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 22 | 0 | 61.7 | 0.75 | 0 | 0.00 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 17 | 24.5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 37 | 1 | 68.8 | -7.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ryan Blaney | 17 | 26.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 42 | 1 | 71 | -9.75 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Trevor Bayne | 24.3 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 27 | 0 | 55.5 | 1.3 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Chris Buescher | 24 | 26.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 37 | 0 | 50.4 | -2.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Landon Cassill | 32.8 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 39 | 0 | 46.2 | 5.8 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Michael McDowell | 27.8 | 27.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 34 | 0 | 46.6 | 0.55 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Regan Smith | 33 | 24.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 28 | 0 | 47.3 | 8.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 35 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 34 | 0 | 37.5 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Cole Whitt | 37 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 38 | 1 | 34.3 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jeffrey Earnhardt | 38.5 | 32.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 39 | 0 | 29.5 | 6 | 0 | 0.00 |
| David Ragan | 23.8 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 41 | 2 | 53.6 | -9.2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Josh Wise | 38.3 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 38 | 0 | 30 | 4.3 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Reed Sorenson | 40.3 | 34.33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 40 | 1 | 29.4 | 5.97 | 0 | 0.00 |
| J.J. Yeley | 38 | 35.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 38 | 1 | 32.5 | 2.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Daniel Suarez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Eric Jones | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Derrike Cope | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Corey LaJoie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Carl Long | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Gray Gaulding | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Timmy Hill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Top-15 Drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway Historically
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Difference | Laps Led | Laps Led | ||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Jimmie Johnson | 7.9 | 12.58 | 31 | 8 | 15 | 19 | 23 | 1,895 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 5 | -4.68 | 473.75 | 15.28 |
| Kasey Kahne | 12.2 | 12.77 | 26 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 1,106 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 2 | -0.57 | 276.5 | 10.63 |
| Kevin Harvick | 16.2 | 15.41 | 32 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 22 | 334 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 2 | 0.79 | 83.5 | 2.61 |
| Matt Kenseth | 16.7 | 13.66 | 35 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 28 | 704 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 6 | 3.04 | 176 | 5.03 |
| Jamie McMurray | 22.6 | 16.38 | 29 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 279 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 3 | 6.22 | 69.75 | 2.41 |
| Kurt Busch | 19.7 | 17.91 | 33 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 623 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 4 | 1.79 | 155.75 | 4.72 |
| Joey Logano | 12.3 | 11.19 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 251 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 1.11 | 62.75 | 3.92 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 17.3 | 16.22 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 532 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 0 | 1.08 | 133 | 5.78 |
| Brad Keselowski | 16.9 | 13.4 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 217 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 3.5 | 54.25 | 3.62 |
| Clint Bowyer | 17.7 | 17.23 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 119 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 1 | 0.47 | 29.75 | 1.35 |
| Kyle Busch | 12.8 | 15.46 | 26 | 0 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 908 | 2 | 2 | 39 | 6 | -2.66 | 227 | 8.73 |
| Denny Hamlin | 11.4 | 13.13 | 23 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 292 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 2 | -1.73 | 73 | 3.17 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 15.5 | 19.03 | 33 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 21 | 360 | 1 | 3 | 42 | 4 | -3.53 | 90 | 2.73 |
| Ryan Newman | 9.2 | 17.31 | 32 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 21 | 278 | 9 | 2 | 43 | 5 | -8.11 | 69.5 | 2.17 |
| David Ragan | 24.5 | 25.55 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 41 | 4 | -1.05 | 3.25 | 0.16 |
Top-15 Drivers at 1.5-Mile Tracks
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Difference | Laps Led | Laps Led | |||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Rating | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Jimmie Johnson | 14.6 | 12.57 | 28 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 22 | 736 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 2 | 101.9 | 2.03 | 184 | 6.57 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 7.8 | 8.57 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 27 | 1,486 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 113.7 | -0.77 | 371.5 | 13.27 |
| Kyle Busch | 10.7 | 8.79 | 24 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 561 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 106.2 | 1.91 | 140.25 | 5.84 |
| Brad Keselowski | 6.1 | 8.57 | 28 | 3 | 11 | 24 | 26 | 1,039 | 4 | 1 | 38 | 2 | 107.2 | -2.47 | 259.75 | 9.28 |
| Joey Logano | 5.6 | 10.68 | 28 | 2 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 901 | 2 | 1 | 40 | 3 | 105.9 | -5.08 | 225.25 | 8.04 |
| Kevin Harvick | 7.3 | 9.07 | 28 | 2 | 15 | 23 | 25 | 1,584 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 2 | 115.6 | -1.77 | 396 | 14.14 |
| Denny Hamlin | 9.4 | 15.43 | 28 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 225 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 4 | 90.8 | -6.03 | 56.25 | 2.01 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 17.4 | 12.59 | 22 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 0 | 90.1 | 4.81 | 1.75 | 0.08 |
| Matt Kenseth | 11.4 | 11.37 | 27 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 23 | 477 | 3 | 2 | 42 | 2 | 97.4 | 0.03 | 119.25 | 4.42 |
| Kyle Larson | 15.4 | 16.75 | 28 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 197 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 2 | 89.2 | -1.35 | 49.25 | 1.76 |
| Kurt Busch | 9.7 | 10.73 | 26 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 24 | 334 | 3 | 3 | 34 | 1 | 94.6 | -1.03 | 83.5 | 3.21 |
| Chase Elliott | 13.7 | 16.44 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 186 | 0 | 3 | 41 | 3 | 92.7 | -2.74 | 46.5 | 2.58 |
| Ryan Newman | 13.1 | 14.71 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 22 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 2 | 82.2 | -1.61 | 7.25 | 0.26 |
| Kasey Kahne | 18.3 | 16.11 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 43 | 2 | 79.9 | 2.19 | 2 | 0.07 |
| Ryan Blaney | 13.3 | 19.79 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 244 | 1 | 4 | 43 | 3 | 78.5 | -6.49 | 61 | 2.54 |
Drivers to watch this week:
Martin Truex Jr.: Truex is the obvious choice to talk about this week following his near perfect race at Charlotte a year ago. He led 394 of the 400 laps to get his breakout win in a breakout season. .jpg)
Aside from that however, he has two other top-fives, two top-10s and 129 laps led in the other three races here. Not shockingly, he is the most expensive driver again, but if he has it all working again, he could be the dominator the lineup needs.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has gotten his mojo back the last few weeks and now he comes to a track that he has won on eight times in 31 races and has led nearly 1,900 laps. He has a win and two top-fives in the last four races here. If Hendrick can put the same car out there that they had towards the end of the All-Star Race, Johnson can be a threat once again on Sunday evening.
Kurt Busch: Kurt hasn’t had the best lock since winning at Daytona to start the year but now comes a track he’s had success on recently. Busch has one of the best positional differential in the field at +6.75 with a top-five and four top-10s in the last four races with 118 laps led. The consistency is good to see out of the 41-car but he is still a dicey proposition for a cash lineup, unless he runs very well in practice and qualifying.
Ryan Newman: Newman is a name not often discussed in DFS NASCAR since he hasn’t exactly been worth paying for in the last couple of years, see one win in four years. This week it’s different though as he has the fourth best average finish in the field over the last four races, including a top-five and three top-10s. He won’t help on laps led as he has run up front just one time in that span. He is a good candidate for a GPP lineup this week given his consistency at the track but inconsistency on the season.
Kasey Kahne: Kahne, like Newman, hasn’t been talked about much recently, in a positive light that is. However now comes Charlotte, a track he has won on four times previously, in 26 races, along with 10 top-fives, 14 top-10s and 1,106 laps led. Those totals make him the second best driver on the track this week behind J.J. Kahne will have to show the winning form in practice and qualifying to make him worth playing in a cash lineup, but he is very much in play for both lineups this week.