Fantasy Fastlane: Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger versus the field at Charlotte Roval

Thinking of the best fantasy lineup for the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval can cause headaches. Many playoff drivers will elect to earn stage points through the first two stages and start the final stage deep in the field. Drivers who are solely chasing the victory will flip the stages to be up front when the pay window opens. Ultimately, it nets out to where drivers score similar points. The highest points totaled in each of the last two Charlotte road course events were 48. In 2022, it was 40 by the winner.

New to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can play along. With 36 cars and 36 races on the 2025 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.

MUST START:

Shane van Gisbergen | View stats

Trackhouse Racing, No. 88 Chevrolet

Odds: 19-20

Van Gisbergen is aiming to become the second driver in series history to win five straight road-course races (Jeff Gordon). The New Zealander has led 52% of laps turned at road courses in 2025 and ran inside the top five 84.5% of the time while cracking the top 10 for 94.7% of laps, according to Racing Insights. The battle for the win runs through SVG.

MUST START:

AJ Allmendinger | View stats

Kaulig Racing, No. 16 Chevrolet

Odds: 16-1

Kaulig’s road-course program is behind in 2025 compared to previous seasons. But don’t let that fool you when it comes to Allmendinger at Charlotte. In five starts here, he has four finishes of seventh or better, bookmarked by a 2023 victory. All three Next Gen races have ended with results of sixth or better.

MUST START:

Christopher Bell | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 Toyota

Odds: 10-1

Outside of SVG, Bell has been best in class at road courses in 2025. He scored the victory at Circuit of The Americas and has three runner-up finishes in the last six road courses dating back to this race last year. Bell is a former winner at the Charlotte Roval (2022) and has earned the second-most points at road courses this season (175). If you’re tight on uses for the No. 20 car, which is the case here, it might be best to save him for another upcoming race (ahem Las Vegas).

MUST START:

Chase Elliott | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet

Odds: 15-1

With Elliott punching his ticket to the Round of 8 via his victory at Kansas Speedway last weekend, the No. 9 car has some flexibility this weekend. Elliott is one of two multi-time winners at the Charlotte Roval (Kyle Larson) and leads the league with an average finish of 7.71. He’s also earned the most points through seven races here (295).

SLEEPER PICK:

Joey Logano | View stats

Team Penske, No. 22 Ford

Odds: 35-1

With a 13-point buffer for the final transfer spot entering the Roval, it’s apparent that Logano will be chasing stage points this weekend. The three-time Cup champion flies under the radar here, but statistically, it’s his best road course on the schedule with a series-high six top-10 finishes in seven starts. He ranks second in points tabulated at the road course (266) and has the third-best average finish of 8.57.

SLEEPER PICK:

Alex Bowman | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 48 Chevrolet

Odds: 30-1

Bowman has become a skilled road-course competitor in recent years, which includes five top-10 finishes in six Charlotte road course starts (didn’t compete in 2022). Last year’s disqualification put a damper on his average finish, dropping to 11.67, which is still good enough for eighth in the series. Overall, he has seven top 10s in the last 13 road-course events.

SLEEPER PICK:

Ty Gibbs | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 54 Toyota

Odds: 25-1

Gibbs is a formidable road-course competitor, ranking in the top 10 on Speed, Long-Run Speed, Passing and Restarts in 2025, per Racing Insights. The No. 54 car has run inside the top 10 in nearly 52% of all laps on road courses in 2025, fifth-best in the series. He finished fourth here in 2023.

STAY AWAY FROM:

Michael McDowell | View stats

Spire Motorsports, No. 71 Chevrolet

Odds: 30-1

Deservingly so, McDowell gets a ton of credit for his road-course prowess. Unfortunately, the Roval is his worst on the circuit, scoring a best finish of 12th in seven attempts. You can never rule him out on road courses, with top fives at Mexico City and Sonoma Raceway in 2025.

STAY AWAY FROM:

Denny Hamlin | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota

Odds: 60-1

Hamlin had a big points day at Kansas, putting him a healthy 48 points above the cutline entering this weekend. He might need every one of those, particularly if there’s a winner from below the cutline, as he’s struggled mightily on road courses in the Next Gen car. He cracked the top five at the Chicago Street Race in July, but he has only one additional top 10 in 21 total Next Gen starts on road courses (Watkins Glen 2023). His lone top 10 here came in 2021, placing fifth.

STAY AWAY FROM:

Daniel Suárez | View stats

Trackhouse Racing, No. 99 Chevrolet

Odds: 50-1

When the Next Gen car was introduced in 2022, few drivers adapted better to road courses than Suárez, winning the second road-course race of that season at Sonoma. However, the No. 99 team has had rough days at the Charlotte road course, including a loss of power steering in 2022. Suárez has three straight finishes of 30th or worse here, and his average finish of 33rd is the worst among drivers with multiple starts in the Next Gen era.

FEATURED MATCHUP:

Shane van Gisbergen vs. AJ Allmendinger

Before SVG’s emergence as arguably the greatest driver to ever compete on a road course in NASCAR, Allmendinger was among the drivers to beat when turning left and right. He’s to be respected at the Roval with an 11.2 average finish, his second-best of any active track. But SVG has been on otherworldly this year and is the surefire bet entering the weekend.

FEATURED MATCHUP:

Denny Hamlin vs. Bubba Wallace

With bad blood from last week, don’t expect Wallace to lay over for his boss anytime soon. Neither are particularly great here, but the advantage should go to the No. 23 car. In a must-win situation to advance to the Round of 8, he should have track position to begin the final stage, where he has a pair of top 10s in the last three Charlotte Roval events.

FEATURED MATCHUP:

Chase Briscoe vs. Ross Chastain

This might be the toughest battle of the weekend. In Briscoe’s introductory year at JGR, he’s been a force on road courses, finishing runner-up at Sonoma and three finishes of seventh or better. Entering 13 points below the cutline, Chastain needs a plethora of points to advance to the Round of 8. That’s going to be a tough task, given Logano’s track record here. Give me Briscoe, who has run inside the top 10 in 64.7% of laps -- trailing only SVG and Bell -- at road courses this season.

FEATURED MATCHUP:

Austin Cindric vs. Tyler Reddick

With how much success Cindric had at road courses rising the ranks of NASCAR, this should be a tougher matchup than it is. Both drivers are in must-win situations and could be in a position to do so on Sunday. Cindric has had better days at road courses than in 2025, where he’s netted 69 points, 11th worst in the playoff field. Reddick is a former winner here and should be contending again.

MY LINEUP: Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick.

GARAGE: Joey Logano.

36 for 36: With consecutive 50-plus point efforts from Logano and Hamlin, my picks have skyrocketed me through the standings. It gets tougher this weekend, though, as you don’t want to use one of the powerhouse drivers given the points spread is rather low throughout the field. That leaves me with picking between Austin Dillon, Riley Herbst and Todd Gilliland. The easy choice there is Gilliland, who has top 10s in three of the last nine road courses and has improved his finishing position in all three Roval attempts.