Race Weekend Central

Daily Fantasy NASCAR Hot-Starts: Bank of America 500

DraftKings’ daily fantasy NASCAR heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend for the Bank of America 500. This is the first event in Round 2 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. The green flag flies Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET on NBC.

The DraftKings strategy for intermediate tracks is all about finding dominators for your roster. A dominator is a driver who will run up front, lead laps, and generate fast laps for extra bonuses.

Alternatively, for the middle to back end of lineups, it’s crucial to find a someone that performed poorly in qualifying and could work their way up the field for those coveted position differential points.

Here are two must-start drivers on DraftKings for Sunday’s race.

This week’s fantasy forecast is brought to you by DraftKings, the No. 1 platform for Daily Fantasy Sports. You can jump in on all of the daily fantasy NASCAR action at Charlotte this weekend by signing up at this link for a free entry into one of this weekend’s contests. All you have to do is make a $5 deposit to get started!

Kevin Harvick ($10,200)
Starting Position: 3rd

Harvick was third fastest in practice Friday afternoon, and then was the top driver through the first two rounds of qualifying later that evening. He was .030 seconds slower than eventual pole sitter Denny Hamlin in the final round.

Harvick has great Charlotte history. He has only two finishes outside the top 10 at Charlotte since 2010. Over that span, he notched all three of his career wins at the track. He also averaged an eighth place finish over those 15 races. In the race back in May he led 45 laps and finish eighth.

He has the speed to be a dominator contender this weekend. He is priced cheaper than the two normal candidates (Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.), and will be starting on the second row.

Erik Jones ($7,900)
Starting Position: 38th

Jones will be starting almost dead last on Sunday. He was unable to pass inspection in time to make a qualifying attempt Friday night, and as a result he will start 38th. That is the biggest reason he is a hot-start this weekend. The potential for positive position differential points is far too good to pass up. A top-20 finish will gain a minimum of 18 points, but we can expect even better.

Erik has been a consistent top 15 driver throughout the season, but as of late he has shown the ability to run up front with the big dogs. Over the past nine race he has seven top-10 finishes, including podium finishes at both Michigan and Bristol. In his first ever cup race at Charlotte back in May, he finished seventh.

It will be a tough task to fight from the back to the front, but the race is 500 miles and 334 laps. He will have plenty of time, including the stage ending cautions that will allow for pit strategy to move him forward.

For an expanded preview, including seven additional drivers to keep an eye on at Charlotte, check out the Bank of America 500 Daily Fantasy NASCAR Forecast Powered by DraftKings.

Post-Qualifying Optimal Lineup Example:

About the author

Corey Brewer made the move to Frontstretch to follow his dream of covering the sport of NASCAR. He is a die-hard motorsports fan and an avid player of daily fantasy sports.

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