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The Coca-Cola 600 is an annual race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is a race that is part of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. This 600-mile long race is the longest in the NASCAR schedule and was first held in 1960 as the first ever race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
This year’s race is the 60th edition of the Coca-Cola 600 and it will be held on May 26, 2019, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is the 13th race in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series. After 12 rounds of racing, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch are on top of the leaderboard.
This is the updated driver standings in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series:
| Rank | Name | Points | Wins | Top 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joey Logano | 478 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 469 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick | 440 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Chase Elliott | 423 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Brad Keselowski | 421 | 3 | 5 |
| 6 | Denny Hamlin | 404 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | Martin Truex Jr. | 396 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | Kurt Busch | 387 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | Clint Bowyer | 357 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Ryan Blaney | 340 | 0 | 4 |
Defending race winner Kyle Busch is the betting favorite to win the race again this year. Busch has won already three races this season and will be looking to add a fourth in Charlotte.
Here are the odds to win the Coca-Cola 600. Odds were taken from TobBet.eu as of 5/22/19:
| Driver | Odds |
|---|---|
| Kyle Busch | +225 |
| Martin Truex | Jr. +500 |
| Kevin Harvick | +550 |
| Brad Keselowski | +600 |
| Joey Logano | +600 |
| Chase Elliott | +800 |
| Ryan Blaney | +1200 |
| Denny Hamlin | +1200 |
| Kyle Larson | +1800 |
| Clint Bowyer | +2000 |
| Kurt Busch | +2000 |
| Aric Almirola | +2500 |
| Jimmie Johnson | +2500 |
| Field (Any other driver) | +2500 |
Who Are The Favorites?
Kyle Busch is the betting favorite to win the Coca-Cola 600 and is second in the Drivers standings with 469 points and tied for first with three races won this season. The 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion will be looking to bounce back after what happened last week in Kansas and he will have the perfect race track to give him that redemption.
Busch has a lot of history going for him at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Not only is he the defending race champion of the Coca-Cola 600, but he was also the runner-up of this race in 2017. Busch has also not finished lower than sixth place in 8 out of his last 15 starts in Charlotte. He also owns six wins in this track while racing for the NASCAR Xfinity Series and another eight wins here in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series. With that kind of track record, it’s not wrong to expect a win from Kyle Busch this week.
Martin Truex Jr. has won two out of the last four races of the season. And when it comes to the Coca-Cola 600, he won the race in 2016 and is averaging a 2.75 finish in his last four trips to the Coca-Cola 600. Truex has not finished lower than 5th in six out of his last eight races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Truex currently ranks 7th in the Drivers standings with 396 points.
Kevin Harvick is a two-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600, having won the race in 2011 and 2013. Harvick has finished 3rd place or better in half of his last 10 races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. He’s gone this long without a victory in a season once in the last six years so you have to think he is due for a win already. Harvick has followed up a non-Top 10 finish with a Top 5 finish in the last three occasions. He could be ripe for something big this week.
Brad Keselowski has three wins this season, tied with Kyle Busch for the top spot. He’s finished in the Top 10 of the Coca-Cola 600 in five out of his last seven starts, including three Top 5 finishes. Keselowski is coming off a win in the last race of the season in Kansas so he has good form and momentum heading to Charlotte. Keselowski is 5th in the Drivers standings with 421 points.
Joey Logano is the current leader in the Drivers standings with a total of 478 points with 6 Top 5 finishes this season. He’s not had much success though at the Coca-Cola 600 with only three Top 10 finishes in his 11 tries there.
Who Wins?
There are a couple of points I’d like to make here. First is that when you talk about familiarity and mastery of the course, I think Kyle Busch would be the best choice to back here because of his history at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. When it comes to form, I think Martin Truex with two wins in the last four races is in great form and he’s also had a good history here at Charlotte. With Truex doubling the plus money on Kyle Busch, I’d take my chance with Martin Truex Jr.
I also like Denny Hamlin as a dark horse pick because Hamlin has not finished lower than fifth in five out of his last seven races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. He is also averaging a 5th place finish in his last four trips to the Coca-Cola 600. Hamlin’s struggled in the last few races but maybe the week off resets him and he gets his third win of the season in Charlotte.
Prediction: Martin Truex Jr. is my pick and would suggest going with Denny Hamlin as a dark horse pick to win the race.
