Fantasy NASCAR Report: Charlotte Edition

Here are my five drivers to watch this week going into the longest race of the NASCAR season, the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Tony Stewart

This guy has got to be having a ball after getting his first win as an owner for both himself and recently freed partner Gene Haas.

Six times in the 25-year history of the All-Star race, the winner has gone on to take the Coca-Cola 600 the following weekend. Stewart had a strong piece underneath him and will definitely take what he and teammate Newman learned into use on Sunday.

Matt Kenseth

Matt found himself in the right place at the right time after Newman, Busch, and Gordon locked each other on the front straight and were in place to win until Stewart came along with two laps to go.

Long races are Kenseth's strong point and, with a spotter like Mike Calinoff, look for Kenseth to have the best long-term strategy to put himself in a position just like he was in the middle of segment four.

Ryan Newman

It helps having a teammate like Stewart and unofficial teammates like those at Hendrick Motorsports, and it showed when Newman made a late race surge in segment four of the All-Star race.

Look for Newman to parlay that success this weekend and continue his ascent up the point standings toward locking himself solidly into the Chase.

Kyle Busch

We learned that, if the race comes down to a late race restart, Busch knows how to get up and go, giving him a distinct advantage should there be a late race caution or even a green-white-checker finish.

Busch has slipped down the point standings and will look to start a resurgence, earning him some Chase bonus points.

Underdog: AJ Allmendinger

AJ is slowly gaining confidence at Lowe's Motor Speedway with his recent performances in the All-Star Showdown race, having won it last season.

Although he currently owns an average finish of 27 at the 1.5 mile track, look for him to improve that and beat his current best finish there of 15th from the 2007 Bank of America 500.

Last Week: All-Star Race

Last week was a little bit different for me since I picked a few more drivers then usual.

One of my Showdown picks was able to transfer into the main event, but only because of the fan vote.

Showdown picks:

David Reutimann: Fourth

Joey Logano: Fifth

AJ Allmendinger: Seventh

Marcos Ambrose: 10th

Joe Nemechek: 20th

For the main event, I only picked three drivers. Had I picked five, I probably would have included Stewart.

Kyle Busch was in contention late for the win but contact with Jeff Gordon's machine relegated him to a seventh place finish. Mark Martin brought home my best finish with a sixth place at the conclusion.

Mark Martin: Sixth

Kyle Busch: Seventh

Jimmie Johnson: 13th