With 400 laps and 600 miles to get to the front of the field, it would stand to reason that starting at the rear of the field in Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 isn't a death sentence. However, that isn't always the case. Drivers tend to be patient and conservative in the first half of the event, leading to long green flags and the potential to get lapped by the frontrunners. Yes, Kevin Harvick did win last year's race after starting 28th, but only two of the last eight Coca-Cola 600s have been won by drivers starting outside the top 20. During the same stretch, five drivers have won the event from a top-10 starting spot, including for from a top-five spot.

Given the numbers, the Richard Petty Motorsports duo of Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose do deserve some consideration from fantasy owners this weekend. Almirola has quietly been cracking the top 20 lately, and he could parlay his first-ever Cup Series pole into another solid run. Meanwhile, Ambrose could be a threat to win Sunday night. He finished sixth and fifth and Charlotte last season and was seventh last weekend in the All-Star Race. In fact, former RPM driver A.J. Allmendinger cracked the top 10 in both races at Charlotte last season, as well. The organization runs well at the 1.5-mile track, and starting up front only increase the likelihood that Almirola and Ambrose will run well.

Of course, there is a good chance everyone is racing for second place Sunday night. After winning the All-Star Race for the third time in his career, Jimmie Johnson qualified third for the Coca-Cola 600. He has already won the event three times and has six regular season wins at Charlotte. Johnson was the class of the field last weekend by a wide margin, and he should be out front early and often after securing a great starting spot.

Other drivers starting in the top 10 that fantasy owners will want to target include Greg Biffle, Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne. The point leader will start fourth Sunday night, and Biffle has been so consistent in 2012 that it's tough to bet against him at any track. Martin will start sixth, and smooth driving style is a perfect fit for the grueling, 600-mile race. Not to mention that he has finished 12th or better in four of the five races he has qualified in the top 10 this year. Last but not least, there's Kahne. He is surging up the standings thanks to five straight top-10 finishes, and his three wins at Charlotte since the start of the 2006 season are the most in the series.

Owners looking for a driver starting deeper in the field that could make a move to the front should look no further than Matt Kenseth. He qualified an unspectacular 20th, but the guy isn't exactly known for his qualifying prowess. For the year, he has a 15.5 average starting position but is second in the series with a 7.9 average finish. Kenseth is also tied for the series lead with six top-five finishes in 2012. More importantly, he led the most laps in last year's Coca-Cola 600 and won the fall event at the track.

Rk	Driver	Car No.	Make	Sponsor	Team	Starting Pos
1	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	Lowe's Home Improvement	Hendrick Motorsports	3
2	Matt Kenseth	17	Ford	Best Buy	Roush Fenway Racing	20
3	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	M&M's	Joe Gibbs Racing	17
4	Denny Hamlin	11	Toyota	FedEx	Joe Gibbs Racing	8
5	Kasey Kahne	5	Chevrolet	Farmers Insurance	Hendrick Motorsports	7
6	Greg Biffle	16	Ford	3M	Roush Fenway Racing	4
7	Carl Edwards	99	Ford	Subway	Roush Fenway Racing	28
8	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	Budweiser	Richard Childress Racing	14
9	Tony Stewart	14	Chevrolet	Office Depot	Stewart-Haas Racing	21
10	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	Chevrolet	Mountain Dew AMP Energy	Hendrick Motorsports	12
11	Mark Martin	55	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	Michael Waltrip Racing	6
12	A.J. Allmendinger	22	Dodge	Shell/Pennzoil	Penske Championship Racing	11
13	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	Drive to End Hunger	Hendrick Motorsports	23
14	Marcos Ambrose	9	Ford	Stanley Black & Decker	Richard Petty Motorsports	2
15	Martin Truex Jr.	56	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	Michael Waltrip Racing	15
16	Ryan Newman	39	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	Stewart-Haas Racing	16
17	Joey Logano	20	Toyota	Home Depot	Joe Gibbs Racing	19
18	Brad Keselowski	2	Dodge	Miller Lite	Penske Championship Racing	24
19	Regan Smith	78	Chevrolet	Furniture Row	Furniture Row Racing	10
20	Trevor Bayne	21	Ford	Motorcraft	Wood Brothers Racing	13
21	Clint Bowyer	15	Toyota	5 Hour Energy	Michael Waltrip Racing	5
22	Paul Menard	27	Chevrolet	Menard's	Richard Childress Racing	9
23	Aric Almirola	43	Ford	Medallion Financial	Richard Petty Motorsports	1
24	Jeff Burton	31	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	Richard Childress Racing	22
25	Jamie McMurray	1	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing	31
26	Juan Pablo Montoya	42	Chevrolet	Clorox	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing	29
27	Kurt Busch	51	Chevrolet	Tag Heuer	Phoenix Racing	42
28	David Ragan	34	Ford	Scorpion Truck Bed Liners	Front Row Motorsports	30
29	Bobby Labonte	47	Toyota	Kingsford	JTG Daugherty Racing	26
30	Casey Mears	13	Ford	GEICO	Germain Racing	25
31	Landon Cassill	83	Toyota	Burger King	BK Racing	18
32	Danica Patrick	10	Chevrolet	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Tommy Baldwin Racing	40
33	David Gilliland	38	Ford	MHP	Front Row Motorsports	39
34	Dave Blaney	36	Chevrolet	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Tommy Baldwin Racing	36
35	T.J. Bell	32	Ford	Green Smoke	FAS Lane Racing	41
36	Cole Whitt	74	Chevrolet	Turn One Racing	Turn One Racing	27
37	Stephen Leicht	33	Chevrolet	Little Joe's Auto	Richard Childress Racing	34
38	David Stremme	30	Toyota	Inception Motorsports	Inception Motorsports	35
39	Scott Speed	95	Ford	Jordon's Truck Sales	Leavine Family Racing	38
40	Josh Wise	26	Ford	Morristown Driver's Service	Front Row Motorsports	33
41	Travis Kvapil	93	Toyota	Burger King	BK Racing	37
42	Michael McDowell	98	Ford	Presgyterian Healthcare	Phil Parsons Racing	32
43	Joe Nemechek	87	Toyota	AM/FM Energy	NEMCO Motorsports	43