What Coca-Cola 600 starting grid tells us about DFS options

Qualifying is a wrap at the Coca-Cola 600, and Kurt Busch has claimed pole position. He will be joined by Jimmie Johnson on the front row, with Chase Elliott and Matt Kenseth in the second row. Last year’s Coca-Cola 600 pole-sitter, Aric Almirola, spun out during his qualifying run and will start in last place, next to Joey Gase.

Now that the starting order is set, fantasy sports fans can firm up their DFS lineups before Sunday’s race gets going at 6 p.m. Wrecks and pit lane performance will have the biggest impact on how the race turns out, but the starting grid can offer some insight as you decided which drivers to go with in DraftKings DFS contests.

This was the first time since NASCAR restarted the season that they’ve run qualifying laps. The first race had the starting grid decided first by a quasi-random draw, and the second race was based on an inversion of results in the first race. For the Coca-Cola 600, we got to see how drivers looked on the track. It was only a limited look, so we have to consider small sample size implications, but it’s still something to consider.

For example, Kevin Harvick was the second most expensive driver ($11,200), but he struggled to a 22nd starting position. The upside to that is you can pick up plenty of points if he makes his way toward the front of the pack.

Aric Almirola spun out on what he thought was a flat tire. He will start in the 40th and final position because of that. He claimed pole position last year and finished in ninth, so we know he can do some solid work on the track. He offers some intriguing value at $7,500, and you know he cannot lose points on position differential!

One driver to potentially avoid would be A.J. Dillon at $7,000. He’s starting in the sixth position, and while he won at Charlotte in 2017, he’s finished 23rd, 34th, 39th, 34th, and 16th in the five races since.

Here’s the full starting grid for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.