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There's something about the annual Coca-Cola 600 that gets the juices flowing. Whether it's because typically its the third leg in a day filled with motor sports (just two this year, joining the Indianapolis 500 (Monaco Grad Prix was last week)), racing in NASCAR's backyard or because it's a race filled with remembrance of those who have served our country.
Nonetheless, for the first time in over a year, there was a true indicator of what drivers may shine during the 600-mile marathon. On Friday (May 28), the series had a 50-minute practice session, and unlike the Daytona 500, Bristol dirt race or practicing in the rain last weekend at Circuit of the Americas, Charlotte Motor Speedway is more of a typical racetrack where outlying factors don't play as big of a factor. Just ask Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and others who have dominated the Coca-Cola 600 in recent years.
Based on practice, it looks like you want to feature Team Chevy for the bulk of your lineups. And that didn't change in qualifying, posting nine of the top-12 speed. But let's see who else stands out at Charlotte.
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Kyle Larson
(DraftKings $11,300 | FanDuel $14,000 | DK SportsBook +600)
Kyle Larson has dominated at mile-and-a-half tracks this season, leading 509 laps. However, the No. 5 Chevrolet has just one victory to show for it (back in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway).
In practice, Larson once again showed he's going to likely have the car to beat. The No. 5 car was third quickest on single-car speed, but quickest on the five and 10-lap average. That bodes well for a race that typically sees a lot of long, green flag runs.
And get this, during qualifying on Saturday, Larson won the pole. That means he's going to have clean air early and likely dominate.... again. Make no bones about it, he's going to be strong come Sunday night.
Chase Elliott
(DraftKings $10,500 | FanDuel $13,000 | DK SportsBook +700)
I think you're going to start to see a theme with this lineup, and that's Hendrick Motorsports. The company tied Petty Enterprises last week for most wins by a team in NASCAR history (268) and is focused on breaking it across the street from the team's headquarters. After all, CMS is literally in Hendrick's backyard.
When it comes to Elliott, he's got a 13.0 average finish in nine starts on the Charlotte oval. However, he's placed inside the top five in four of the last five at CMS, and really should be on a streak of two consecutive wins. Flashback to last year's Coke 600, it was the No. 9 Chevrolet leading late until a caution flew and crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road. That backfired as the team lost out to Brad Keselowski. The team bounced back to win three nights later.
After winning five times during his championship season in 2020, Elliott broke through last weekend, albeit in a rain-shortened race. Like Larson, the No. 9 car starts up front (third), meaning he could see clean air early and lead a bunch of laps.
Kyle Busch
(DraftKings $10,200 | FanDuel $13,500 | DK SportsBook +800)
Because Busch is lining up 20th to take the green flag, I'm surprised he doesn't cost more (on DraftKings). For a driver of his caliber to be starting mid pack, typically means you're using a chunk of change to score him. Not this time.
Because of that, Busch adds a lot of great value as there's room to work with. The No. 18 Toyota also won the last mile-and-a-half race at Kansas Speedway, and was running up front for the majority of the event.
Typically, Busch is a challenger for the win at Charlotte, as he has 14 top-five finishes in 32 starts on the oval. And it was just three years ago, he led 377 of 400 laps in the Coca-Cola 600.
William Byron
(DraftKings $9,200 | FanDuel $10,500 | DK SportsBook +1400)
With as strong of a season William Byron has had, he's due for another win. And he told me a few weeks back, he and crew chief Rudy Fugle were putting an extra emphasis on Charlotte, as it's his home racetrack.
That added significance showed during practice and qualifying, with the No. 24 Chevrolet near the top of the boards. In practice, Byron was ninth for a single lap, but sat second (only to Laron) on the 10-lap average. In qualifying, he slotted into fourth position. That adds a little cause for concern because there's a lot of room to fall in the finishing order, however, I'm sold on this team this season. Championship contender.
Byron has just four starts on the Charlotte oval, with a best finish of ninth in last year's Coke 600. There's a good chance he improves on that Sunday, as he has 12 consecutive finishes of 11th or better this season (11 top 10s).
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Tyler Reddick
(DraftKings $8,200 | FanDuel $8,700| DK SportsBook +8000)
Told you I was big on Chevrolet this weekend. But Charlotte is a track that fits Tyler Reddick's driving style, should the top groove come in. And in Saturday's Xfinity Series race, the two-time Xfinity champion was doing all he could to work it in.
Starting 15th, Reddick has some room to work with. In fact, at 80-1 odds, he might be a good driver to put a couple of dollars down on, because as we've seen in the past, a lot of drivers get their first Cup wins in the Coca-Cola 600. Plus, the No. 8 team has been running strong, with six top-finished in the last eight races.
Reddick only has two starts on the Charlotte oval at the Cup level, with a best finish of eighth in last year's 600-mile race.
Austin Dillon
(DraftKings $7,700 | FanDuel $8,500 | DK SportsBook +6600)
The last driver to get their first Cup triumph in the Coke 600? Yup. It was Austin Dillon in 2017, who stretched his fuel mileage to the checkered flag.
Many people looked at that as a fluke victory, though the No. 3 Chevrolet was running inside the top 10 the entire evening. And truly over the course of his Cup career, it's been feast or famine at the track, with just three top 10s in 12 starts.
But this year, Dillon has been the model of consistency, despite having five top-10 finishes. He is, however, on track to tie his record of most top 10s in a single season (13 in 2016). At Charlotte, Dillon starts sixth, but laid down the quickest lap in practice. Take that for what it's worth.
Chris Buescher
(DraftKings $6,700 | FanDuel $6,500 | DK SportsBook +25000)
When are we going to start taking Chris Buescher and Roush Fenway Racing seriously? Like Dillon, the No. 17 team has rode the consistence wave all season, having a trio of top-1o finishes, two of which have come at 1.5-mile tracks (Atlanta and Kansas).
In recent years, Buescher has proven to be strong in the Coca-Cola 600, having back-to-back top-10 finishes in the race over the last two years. In 2019, he finished an impressive sixth while running for JTG Daugherty Racing.
This time around, Buescher will have to come from 27th position, which could be good for you. For value picks, the No. 17 is a solid one, despite showing mediocre speed all weekend.
Chase Briscoe
(DraftKings $6,200| FanDuel $6,000 | DK SportsBook +25000)
Over the past month, it seems like Chase Briscoe is starting to get the hang of the Cup Series. He ran up front at Darlington Raceway, and scored his first top-10 finish last Sunday at COTA. But Charlotte is a place he's never ran particularly well at.
Because of that, he ran Saturday's Xfinity race for BJ McLeod Motorsports (in a Stewart-Haas Racing chassis) and led 60 circuits. It looked like he was on par for a top-five run until Ty Gibbs took the air off the left rear of the No. 99 Ford and it spun down the backstretch. Great save!
With that added seat time, I'm curious to see how that translates over to the Cup race. The No. 14 Ford starts 21st and was 20th on the 10-lap average in Friday's practice.
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