NFL Previews 
MLB Previews 
NBA Previews 
NHL Previews 
Soccer Previews 
The NASCAR Cup Series kicks off summer with the annual running of the Coca-Cola 600 this Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It should be a great follow-up to last week’s exciting All-Star race at Texas. That event saw a large number of cars taken out of the race early including most of the favorites. This week the same familiar names are topping a tight odds list starting with Kyle Larson at +550.
The 600 is an endurance race that starts in the early evening and sunlight and ends several hours later under the lights. That puts the cars and track through several changes as temperatures begin to fade which keeps crew chiefs on their toes. That is something to be more aware of this time around due to the new Cup Series cars.
This is their first test in an endurance event. You can expect teams to be extra careful when doing tire changes. The number of cars losing tires during races with the new one-lugnut design will demand some added attention.
Heading into the 600 race weekend last season the odds list was topped by Martin Truex Jr. This time around he’s at +1000. Truex led a ton of laps during the 2021 race but it was won by Brad Keselowski who comes in at +8000 after a somewhat disappointing start to 2022. He’s in his first year being an owner-driver with his new team; RFK Racing.
Here are the favorite drivers to win the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway:
Kyle Larson +550
Kyle Busch +600
Chase Elliott +700
Martin Truex Jr +1000
All four drivers above have won races in the Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway. And, all four of the listed drivers have won a NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
2022 Coca-Cola 600 Preview
Date: Sunday, May 29, 2022, 6:30 pm EST
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Type: Quad Oval, asphalt, 1.5 miles, 4 turns.
Race Distance: 600 miles, 400 laps
Defending Track Winner: Kyle Larson
TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN
2022 Coca-Cola 600 Predictions
Martin Truex Jr +1000
If you like playing safe with the favorite then this is a great race to go with Martin Truex Jr. He has won three times at Charlotte including two Coca-Cola 600s. One of those, in 2015, he led 392 of 400 laps! Truex has some of the best numbers among active Cup Series drivers at Charlotte and should always be considered a threat at this track. He probably also wants to put his last visit to the speedway behind him as he uncharacteristically finished a disappointing 29th.
Ryan Blaney +1200
Penske Racing has looked stronger over the last few weeks and that includes the All-Star Race where Blaney pulled out the win. A week before it was Joey Logano, also of Team Penske, getting his second win of the season. Blaney finished two of his last four races at the Charlotte tri-oval in the 3rd spot. The win at the All-Star race could show that Ford is beginning to dial in the new Cup Series car.
Kurt Busch +1600
Kurt Busch won his first race of 2022 a few weeks ago at Kansas. It was also the first win for his new 23X1 Racing team where he’s teammates with Bubba Wallace. Busch has never won at Charlotte but he’s been racking up top-five and top-ten finishes at the track. His last race at Charlotte started impressively as he worked towards the front after starting 12th but a blown engine ended his day after less than 200 laps.
Others to Consider: Ross Chastain comes in at +1400 along with two other drivers. Chastain has won twice this season with one of those wins coming on another high-banked superspeedway which was Talladega. Bubba Wallace may be a long shot at +7000. But he is a good speedway driver and seems to make his way back and forth through the pack on this size track. He could be at the right place at the end of this weekend.
2022 Coca-Cola 600 Betting Lines
Kyle Larson +550
Kyle Busch +600
Chase Elliott +700
Martin Truex Jr +1000
William Byron +1200
Ryan Blaney +1200
Denny Hamlin +1200
Tyler Reddick +1400
Ross Chastain +1400
Alex Bowman +1400
Kurt Busch +1600
Joey Logano +1800
Christopher Bell +2500
Kevin Harvick +2800
Daniel Suarez +4000
Austin Dillon +4500
Austin Cindric +4500
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +5000
Chase Briscoe +5000
Erik Jones +6600
Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. +7000
Brad Keselowski +8000
Aric Almirola +8000
Chris Buescher +10000
Justin Haley +30000
Cole Custer +30000
Ty Dillon +50000
Noah Gragson +50000
Harrison Burton +50000
Todd Gilliland +100000
Ryan Preece +100000
Michael McDowell +100000
Kaz Grala +100000
Josh Bilicki +100000
Corey Lajoie +100000
Cody Ware +100000
BJ McLeod +100000
