NASCAR Cup Series Charlotte Roval DFS Picks

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Charlotte Roval this weekend for the final race of the Round of 12, where four more drivers will be eliminated from playoff contention. This hybrid road course has delivered drama every year since its debut, with late-race chaos and pit strategy often determining the outcome. There are just 109 laps in this race, so DFS lineups won’t be built around lap leaders as much as place differential and finishing position. Look for drivers who have excelled on road courses this season like Sonoma, COTA, and Watkins Glen as the top plays, especially if they’re starting deeper in the field.

Potential Dominators

Shane Van Gisbergen

Ty Gibbs

Michael McDowell

The last road course on the schedule this season is this weekend so this is the last race of the year where we will see Shane Van Gisbergen as the heavy favorite coming into the weekend. SVG has been dominant on road courses this year and I would expect that to continue again this week. He starts in second and should have the best chance to lead the most laps and win the race. Another driver that looked really good in practice was Ty Gibbs as he was able to come close to the pace that SVG had for the most part in the session. He starts in third so he doesn’t have much place differential potential, but I think he will run really well this week and be a contender throughout the race, especially if SVG has problems. McDowell is one of the Premier Road course racers in the series, I don’t expect him to lead laps, but he may be able to get some fastest laps and be a good value at his lower salary.

Place Differential Plays

Chase Elliott

AJ Allmendinger

Alex Bowman

Carson Hocevar

Chase Elliott is locked into the next round with his win last weekend and is usually pretty good on road courses. He starts back in 15th so he has some room to move forward and should have top 10 potential in the race. He also doesn’t have to worry about stage points so he can race on the optimal strategy. Allmendinger is another one of the top road racers in NASCAR and should be running in the top 10 throughout the race with upside for more. He should be solid value play. Bowman starts more towards the back in 25th compared to a lot of the other top drivers, so he has a lot of place to differential potential. I would expect him to make his way through the field and should be a great place differential option for this weekend. Hocevar starts back in 27th as well and had some good lap times in practice and has had some good runs on road courses in his career. I think he will move forward and should be a great option this weekend as well.

Cheap Options

Todd Gilliland

Zane Smith

John Hunter Nemechek

Riley Herbst

When it comes to cheap options at the Roval it mostly depends on drivers getting track position by the end of the race and staying out of trouble. Gilliland has a lot of place differential potential starting back in 31st and has been a solid road racer in his career. He should be a good cheap option to use this weekend. Zane Smith starts a little closer to the front in 24th but he had good speed and practice and should find his way forward throughout the race. Nemechek starts farther in the back, but has some good runs on this season and I would expect him to move forward and have top 20 potential in the race. Herbst is a riskier flier play this week as he starts up in 23rd but he is a much improved road racer and I would not be surprised to see him run in the top 15 if he stays out of trouble. He is a good cheap tournament play that comes with some risk.