This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Location: Concord, N.C.
Course: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Format: 1.5-mile quad-oval
Laps: 134
NASCAR Trucks North Carolina Education Lottery 200 Race Preview
Chandler Smith topped the competition last week at North Wilkesboro to score his second victory of the season, leading just one lap in a race that was otherwise dominated by Corey Heim. The race looked as though it would be Heim's fourth victory of the season, but contact on the last lap between he and Layne Riggs opened the door for Smith to power through to the win. Heim led 162 or 255 laps but left with just a 17th-place finish. This week, he will be looking for redemption. Heim's quest to come out on top at Charlotte Motor Speedway runs deeper than last week's missed opportunity, too. A year ago, Heim was one of the dominant contenders for the win, leading 72 of 134 laps and sweeping the stage wins, but trouble on pit road left him scrambling back up the order in the final miles. He made it up to second position at the finish, but three loose lug nuts found in post-race inspection cost him the finish and dropped him to last place. This year is a fresh page, but Heim may be coming with even more purpose this week. The question is whether or not anyone in the garage can challenge him.
Key Stats at Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Number of races: 22
- Winners from pole: 4
- Winners from top-5 starters: 11
- Winners from top-10 starters: 16
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 1
- Fastest race: 128.947 mph
Previous 10 Charlotte Winners
2024 - Nick Sanchez
2023 - Ben Rhodes
2022 - Ross Chastain
2021 - John Hunter Nemechek
2020 - Chase Elliott
2019 - Kyle Busch
2018 - Johnny Sauter
2017 - Kyle Busch
2016 - Matt Crafton
2015 - Kasey Kahne
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series tackles the high banks and high speeds of Charlotte Motor Speedway this week. Charlotte's 1.5-mile quad-oval layout offers a wide surface and steep banking that enables passing via multiple grooves, but the sheer speed of the track tends to amplify the differences between trucks. Those teams that qualify at the front gobble up that valuable track position and can use the clean air in the race to distance themselves from the pretenders. Teams that don't have the early speed often find themselves losing ground quickly and anxious to make adjustments at the first opportunity. Opportunities to stop for adjustments must be taken advantage of, and any moves in the wrong direction can be detrimental. While Charlotte offers multiple grooves for drivers to use, clean air and track position are still some of the biggest advantages. Fantasy players should pay close attention to starting position. Those drivers starting inside the top 15 will likely have the best opportunity to win.
RotoWire NASCAR Truck Series DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Corey Heim - $12,000
Kyle Busch - $11,500
Layne Riggs - $10,000
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Chandler Smith - $9,800
Ross Chastain - $9,500
Ty Majeski - $9,200
Daniel Hemric - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Grant Enfinger - $8,800
Tyler Ankrum - $8,500
Kaden Honeycutt - $8,300
Brandon Jones - $8,000
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Ben Rhodes - $7,500
Rajah Caruth - $7,100
Stewart Friesen - $6,900
Connor Mosack - $6,500
NASCAR Truck Series DFS Picks for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Corey Heim - $12,000
Ross Chastain - $9,500
Ben Rhodes - $7,500
Rajah Caruth - $7,100
Tanner Gray - $7,000
Stewart Friesen - $6,900
There may be an extra edge propelling Corey Heim forward this week at Charlotte. After losing this race last season and also missing out on the win a week ago at North Wilkesboro, Heim will be pushing hard to set the record straight this week. He led 72 laps from the front row in this race last year and has two 1.5-mile oval wins already this season. There hasn't been anyone better than him yet this season, and with the extra motivation driving him, Heim could be tough to beat this week.
Ross Chastain may give him a challenge, though. The Cup Series driver will make his second series appearance of the season this week. Last time out, Chastain started seventh and finished sixth at Homestead, another 1.5-mile oval. Chastain finished eighth in the Cup race at this track last season and won in a truck for Niece Motorsports in 2022, which was his last time racing in this series at Charlotte.
Ben Rhodes is another veteran to keep an eye on. Rhodes is just six points out of the playoff positions and finished 11th or better in three of the last five races. Last week's stop at North Wilkesboro wasn't the best, but Rhodes will be anxious get things back on track this week. At Charlotte, he won in 2023 and has not finished worse than 10th since 2016.
The 1.5-mile ovals have been good venues for Rajah Caruth this year. He finished seventh at Las Vegas and third at Texas. Caruth is currently 13th in points and trying to turn around a two-race run of finishes outside of the top 10. Having qualified fourth in both of his prior Charlotte starts, Caruth just needs to put a full race together to better his average finish at the track of 13.5, which isn't bad this far down the price list to begin with.
Tanner Gray is also a bit of a bargain. He is currently 14th in points and finished 11th and fifth in two of the last three races. At Charlotte, Gray has been a monster qualifier. He started from pole the last two races and inside the top six four of his five tries. He finished 17th in this race last year and has a best result at the track of sixth. Like Caruth, just putting a full race distance together this week should better his average Charlotte finish of 18.4.
That leaves room for Stewart Friesen to close out the roster. The veteran driver appears to have moved past a rough patch of results and sits 10th in points after finishing 14th and fifth in the last two races. From eight Charlotte tries, Friesen claims five top-10s and his best finish was second last season. Charlotte's 1.5-mile fast oval is a track Friesen can continue his upward trend.
NASCAR Truck Series Best Bets for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 12:00 PM ET Friday
Race Winner - Corey Heim +175, Ross Chastain +600
Top-Five Finish - Layne Riggs +110
It is no surprise that Corey Heim is the favorite to win this week's race. Despite missing out on wins the last two races, Heim was still in contention and led at least 50 laps in each of those races. In fact, Heim has led laps in every race this season and hasn't led fewer than 16 in a race since February. He and the team are firing on all cylinders, and they should be even more fired up this week. After being disqualified from a runner-up finish in this race last season and getting knocked out of contention just last week, Heim should be more motivated than ever to right the wrongs and get himself back into Victory Lane this weekend. He will face stiff competition to do so, though. Ross Chastain will make his second series start of the season this week. His prior outing was a sixth-place finish at another 1.5-mile oval, too. That competitiveness is what wagerers should expect from him again this week, and his odds are more favorable than Kyle Busch's.
Another driver on the path of success is Layne Riggs. He finished second on track at Kansas two weeks ago but was disqualified after failing post-race inspection. That led to an inspired charge a week later at North Wilkesboro where he finished second and helped teammate Chandler Smith win through late contact with Heim. Riggs and Heim now have a score to settle, but both are expected to be contenders at Charlotte. After a runner-up finish last week and stage finishes of fifth and sixth in last year's Charlotte race, Riggs is likely to have a chance at a top-three this week. Positive odds for him to do so, while low, are a relatively confident bet to take.
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