Top, sleeper options to consider for NASCAR DFS at Charlotte on Tuesday

NASCAR has been back in action for a little over a week now, and Tuesday brings the return of its Truck Series. The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 is scheduled to run at 8 p.m. ET on FS1 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is the penultimate race of the extended week of racing in Charlotte as part of the truncated schedule.

The race did not use qualifying runs to determine the starting grid as NASCAR is looking to protect driver and crew health and safety during the Covid-19 pandemic. For this Truck Series race, the order was determined by a modified random draw. The top ten teams in owner points were randomly assigned spots in the top ten, then the same for teams 11-21, 22-32, and 33-40.

The draw resulted in Ben Rhodes holding the pole position for Tuesday’s race. He is joined by Tyler Ankrum on the front row, and they are followed by Tanner Gray and Matt Crafton. Kyle Busch is the favorite to win, sitting at -143, and he is starting the race in the 16th position. Chase Elliott is next in odds at +500, and is starting in the 26th position.

DFS is back for Truck Series racing, and it’s no surprise to see some of the Cup Series racers at the top of pricing sheet. Kyle Busch is running $15,000, with a February win at the Strat 200 under his belt. He’s followed by John H. Nemechek ($14,000) and Chase Elliott ($13,000), who are both making their 2020 Truck Series debuts.

It really is Busch and then everybody else thus far. Busch scored 105.5 points in his one race on the back of a win, 108 laps led, and 61 of the fastest laps. He’s going to be in a lot of lineups in this race having finished first or second in his last nine Truck Series races in Charlotte. After Busch, Todd Gilliland ($9,600) is next with 48 points per race for his two appearances this season.

With a $50,000 cap and six spots, you can spend an average of $8,333 per driver. Austin ($8,300) and Sheldon Creed ($8,100) fall just under that average. Natalie Decker at $4,600 is a lower priced option with some value. In her third season on the Truck Series, she’s third in DKFP per race, at 47.8. She finished fifth and 21st in her two races, and is starting 13th in Charlotte.