Editor’s Note: Keep tabs on this page for lineup advice after qualifying, including changes you should consider.
While plenty remains unknown at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend, one thing appears familiar: Toyota’s strength on intermediate tracks. NASCAR’s home track hasn’t hosted a fall race on the oval in nearly a decade, but Toyota dominated before rain shortened May’s Coca-Cola 600 and flexed its muscle again last weekend at Las Vegas. Kyle Larson’s postseason surge, however, could pose the biggest threat yet to the manufacturer’s recent reign.
Returning to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can come play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced in 2024 where strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2026 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.
MUST START
Driver: Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19 Toyota
Selections remaining: 2
Comment: There might not be a better driver than Briscoe currently in the Cup Series at intermediate tracks. The No. 19 team has won two of the last three races at 1.5-mile venues, including a dominant performance in Sin City. He was out front late the week before at Kansas Speedway before smacking the wall multiple times.
Driver: Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota
Selections remaining: 2
Comment: With a scorching start to the 2026 season, Hamlin shouldn’t be reprimanded for how The Chase presented by Mobil 1 has begun for the No. 11 team. Before a Lap 77 spin at Las Vegas, he had a streak of eight straight races at 1.5-mile tracks with finishes of fourth or better. That included a third-place effort in May at Charlotte after leading 75 circuits.
Driver: Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, No. 45 Toyota
Selections remaining: 2
Comment: Reddick recovered from an early alternator issue at Las Vegas to finish third, reminding everyone how solid the No. 45 team is at intermediates. Charlotte fits Reddick’s wheelhouse, as he led a race-high 119 laps in May. In eight starts at the Charlotte oval, he has an average finish of 9.5, which trails only Hall of Famer Rex White among drivers who have made multiple starts in NASCAR’s backyard.
DRIVERS TO AVOID
Driver: Joey Logano, Team Penske, No. 22 Ford
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: Penske has made strides at intermediates, scoring two top fives in the last two races. Logano, however, hasn’t joined the party, with his last 1.5-mile top five coming in his 2025 Texas win. He finished eighth in May at Charlotte, but he didn’t finish better than 14th in his previous five visits.
Driver: Daniel Suárez, Spire Motorsports, No. 7 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Suárez’s crew chief Ryan Sparks threw a Hail Mary attempt in May to win the crown-jewel race. Suárez fended off a Toyota brigade and was assisted by multiple cautions before Mother Nature prematurely ended the race. The victory is Suárez’s only finish better than 15th in the last 10 Charlotte races.
SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK
Driver: Austin Cindric, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: History would tell you to stay far away from Cindric at Charlotte. In five starts, he has an average finish of 30.8, his worst among all Cup tracks. However, the fifth-year driver is amid consecutive top fives for the first time in his career, both coming at 1.5-mile venues.
Driver: Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, No. 97 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: The road-course ace has led Trackhouse at intermediate tracks in 2026, scoring his best 1.5-mile finish at Las Vegas in ninth. In May, SVG had an average running position of 7.8 and spent 328 of 373 laps planted inside the top 10.
FEATURED MATCHUPS
Ryan Blaney vs. Joey Logano
Pick: Blaney
Comment: With a 20.1 average finish in 16 starts, Charlotte is Blaney’s worst track on the schedule, statistically. The outlier is a dominant performance in the 2023 Coca-Cola 600, leading 163 circuits. Logano is good, not great in NASCAR’s hub, but given recent performances at 1.5-mile tracks, Blaney gets the edge.
Kyle Larson vs. Tyler Reddick
Pick: Reddick
Comment: Reddick has defined consistency at Charlotte, while Larson has top 10s in less than 50% of his starts. With just one start remaining with the No. 5 team the rest of the way, I’m staying clear of Larson this weekend.
Bubba Wallace vs. Carson Hocevar
Pick: Wallace
Comment: Neither driver has finished races off in the Queen City. Hocevar was in contention to win the 2025 Coca-Cola 600 until his engine expired. Wallace has been plenty fast at the quad-oval, with Toyota being the overwhelming favorite entering the weekend. Give me Wallace, even though his 23.0 average finish at Charlotte is his worst among 1.5-mile tracks.
Christopher Bell vs. Denny Hamlin
Pick: Hamlin
Comment: It’s rare to see Hamlin make a mistake, but his Vegas spin proved costly. Meanwhile, Bell had his own mechanical gremlins, losing power steering. Both JGR drivers need an upswing performance at Charlotte. While Bell has been ultra-consistent at CMS, Hamlin has five finishes of seventh or better in the last seven Charlotte races, banking 22 top 10s in 35 starts.
MY LINEUP
Starting five: Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric.
Garage: William Byron.
36 FOR 36
Pick: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Hyak Motorsports, No. 47 Chevrolet
Comment: With only five races remaining in the 2026 season, it’s time to get creative with these picks. Ever since Stenhouse made his Cup debut at Charlotte with Wood Brothers Racing in 2011, he’s had a knack for the track. Dating back to 2017, the two-time O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion has 10 top-15 finishes in 12 Charlotte starts, including finishes of 11th and 12th in two attempts with the rebranded Hyak.