Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Coca-Cola 600 are synonymous with Memorial Day weekend and that’s the case again this year. Before we dive into the player pool I’d like to extend heartfelt appreciation for all of those that gave their lives for this country that we remember this weekend, especially so that we can enjoy things like NASCAR and barbecues. Now, let’s delve into this track and field.

The 600 miles of this race is the longest distance run all year and is an exhaustive test of driver, equipment, and crew alike in ever-changing track conditions as well. We’ve heard it mentioned a lot this weekend but Charlotte is perhaps the most temperature-dependent track NASCAR races at and conditions such as grip or what line works when change multiple times a race based on ambient and track temperatures. Friday’s practice was held in similar conditions to the beginning of the race but as the sun goes down and the track cools off, the grip level will rise and cars will also change in balance and handling. The teams that can stay ahead of those changes will be in the front of the field as the laps wind down.

We have seen only one driver lead more than 100 laps in each of the five Coke 600s. Now that has ranged from leading 116 all the way to 392 but it still holds that while in three of the last five there have been 2-3 drivers to lead 50 or more, only one hit the century mark in the 400-lap affair. This is also a race where there are a lot of pit stops (Brad Keselowski won with nine last year when everyone else made 10) and that can lead to a lot of strategy calls and shuffling of the order as well.

For more strategy talk, take a look at the Track Breakdown write-up and the podcast.

Average Points By Starting Spot

The charts below show the average points scored for each site by starting spot over the last five Coca-Cola 600s regardless of the drivers in those starting spots. It’s meant to be a strategy tool rather than a hard-and-fast rule as to which spots outscore others.

Stacks

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