2021 Coca-Cola 600 betting preview, presented by BetMGM

Posted on May 29, 2021June 4, 2021 by Staff Report

This article is brought to you by BetMGM.

NASCAR’s longest race is here, folks. The original intention in 1960 was to have the Coca-Cola 600 run on Memorial Day weekend, and by Year 2 (1961) that tradition was in place — giving racing fans a stock-car alternative to the Indy 500 each May.

Some of the all-time greats have raced well at the Charlotte track — also known as The Beast of the Southeast. Jimmie Johnson won eight NASCAR Cup Series races there, and Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip each won six times.

Who will be the most dominant this time around? Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex, Jr. each have three Cup wins at Charlotte, and Brad Keselowski has two.

While the veterans will be there, it could be a young upstart who nabs the checkered flag late Sunday night. That seems to be a 2021 trend, where the young guns are slowly beginning to supplant the old guard as the top consistent drivers.

Whoever gets to hold the Bruton Smith Trophy, they’ll have earned it after the marathon of all races — 400 laps for 600 miles. And that’s if they don’t go to overtime for some bonus restarts.

THE FAVORITE

Kyle Larson (+350)

Larson has led the most laps in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series with 778, and he is second with seven top-five finishes. He’s currently third in the season standings, right behind William Byron (by 12 points) and Denny Hamlin (who is 110 points ahead but has no wins yet).

For his career on intermediate-length tracks like Charlotte, Larson has reached the top 10 more than half the time (65 of 118 career starts) and the top five in more than a third of the races (43 of 118).

Couple all of the above with the fact that he’s won at Charlotte in the Xfinity Series and in the 2019 All-Star Race, and there are plenty of reasons why he tops the odds this week.

OTHERS: Kyle Busch (+700) has won 18 Charlotte races in the top three circuits of NASCAR, and he has the most top-five finishes there among current Cup Series drivers (14). Oh, and he won the 2017 All-Star Race, too. … Martin Truex, Jr. (+650) has three career wins in the Cup Series at Charlotte, and he has three wins this year (Phoenix Raceway, Martinsville Speedway and Darlington Raceway).

THE DARK-HORSE THREAT

Brad Keselowski (+1200)

The defending Coca-Cola 600 champion, Keselowski has two career Cup Series wins and four Xfinity Series victories at the track. Also, 10 of his 21 career Cup starts here have resulted in top-10 finishes.

He has two top-five finishes on intermediate tracks this year. One can imagine he’d like to reach up and snag a certain flag and do some burnouts late Sunday. It would give a spark to a season in which he’d love to run better. (He’s ninth in the standings.)

OTHERS: Ryan Blaney (+1000) is intriguing. He’s a past winner at Charlotte in the Xfinity Series (2017), and last year he posted two third-place finishes when racing here. A win at Atlanta earlier this year shows he can win on an intermediate track, and he’s currently seventh in the season standings.

THE INTRIGUING LONG SHOT

Tyler Reddick (+5000)

Between the Xfinity Series and Cup Series, this young up-and-coming driver has five career starts, one win and three top-10 finishes at Charlotte. Aside from that, he’s posted six top 10s in the past eight races and his best finish this year (second) came at a 1.5-mile track (Homestead-Miami Speedway).

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Staff Report

See where your favorite driver will pit for the NASCAR Cup Series’ annual Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina on Sunday (6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on May 29, 2021May 29, 2021 by Staff Report

Kyle Larson topped the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying leaderboard Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, snagging the first starting position for the annual Coca-Cola 600.

The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet posted a 180.282-mph lap around the 1.5-mile track in Concord, North Carolina. Larson knocked teammate Chase Elliott off the top spot, and then Ricky Stenhouse Jr. from JTG Daugherty Racing pushed Elliott down another peg.

RELATED: Lineup | Practice recap | Charlotte schedule

“It definitely helps confidence,” said Larson, who seeks his second Cup Series victory of the season. “I feel like we were pretty fast in race trim yesterday and now getting the pole and starting up front is going to be really important. It looked like a pretty tough track to pass on last year. And too, with an added stage, there’s more opportunity to gain points and gain another Playoff point for the end of the season. So, starting from the front is definitely important. I hope we can have a great day and tomorrow night and keep up with the race track and how it’s changing and lead the whole race is my goal.”

Stenhouse’s No. 47 Chevy clocked a 180.24-mph circuit for second best. Elliott’s No. 9 came in at 180.186 mph for third.

William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports) and Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) were fourth and fifth, respectively. The top four spots were swept by Chevrolet drivers.

Austin Dillon, whose No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet topped Friday’s practice leaderboard, qualified sixth. Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr., Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain rounded out the top 10 in order.

The Coca-Cola 600 is Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Posted on May 29, 2021May 29, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

CONCORD, N.C. — New spotter, no sweat for Chase Elliott.

After Eddie D’Hondt’s indefinite suspension from NASCAR earlier this week, Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team were tasked with a quick-turn find for the open position in time for the Charlotte Motor Speedway race weekend.

Elliott chose to keep it in the family, picking cousin Trey Poole to fill the role for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“He’s been around our team for a long time,” Elliott said Friday night after NASCAR Cup Series practice. “Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) likes how he goes about spotting in the road-course races that he’s done. Having some history racing I think is a good thing in a spotter to have. It’s just different being in the car versus just watching, so he has some experience. He’s been watching this stuff forever, so he knows how it works.”

Poole has raced Legend cars in his past driving days and helped the team for several years on road courses where more than one spotter is a necessity. Elliott has won all five races Poole has assisted as an additional set of eyes.

Elliott noted asking his father, NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bill Elliott, to fill the void was a passing thought. But between other obligations and doubts he would even want to accept the job, Elliott chose to go the Poole route.

Poole already has one race under his belt this weekend after spotting for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Austin Hill and the No. 16 Hattori Racing team Friday night. Hill earned a ninth-place finish.

Elliott was happy to see Poole get a full race at Charlotte in the books before he takes over the reins Sunday night and had planned on talking to Poole after the Truck Series race to prepare.

“The biggest things are helping me with the things I can’t see,” Elliott said. “That I’m not hearing or I can’t figure out on my own. A lot of a spotting job is just keeping the logistics in order throughout a race. When pit road opens. When we’re coming to one to go. The timing of all that stuff is important.”

Although it’s not Poole’s first go-around in the Cup Series, Elliott acknowledges it’ll be a different ball game for him. But the relationship they have puts them a step ahead.

“Obviously, he knows me very well,” Elliott said. “He just fits into our group and he knows everybody. That goes a long way when you’re trying to fill a role quickly like that.

“He doesn’t have to talk much to do a good job and I think that’s the bottom line.”

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Steve Luvender

There’s a certain old-school cool factor when it comes to a racer’s nickname. Now, you can finally create your own NASCAR-style bad-boy name thanks to our handy new generator. Don’t forget to share your favorites and be sure to watch “Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR” at 4 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1!

Posted on May 28, 2021May 29, 2021 by Reid Spencer

With his third victory of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, John Hunter Nemechek reaffirmed Kyle Busch Motorsports’ mastery of 1.5-mile intermediate tracks Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Nemechek held off Sunoco rookie Carson Hocevar over a closing 10-lap green-flag run after a violent crash at the entrance to the tri-oval stripped the body off Johnny Sauter’s No. 13 Toyota and slowed the race for nine caution laps.

The victory was Nemechek’s first at Charlotte and the ninth of his career. It came after the driver of the No. 4 KBM Toyota clipped the wall early in Friday’s practice and ran just 10 circuits in the session.

“Hats off to all my guys, (crew chief) Eric Phillips , all my guys, everyone who works on this thing — everyone at KBM, the chassis shop, the fab shop… (owner) Kyle (Busch) for this opportunity,” said Nemechek, who beat a fast-closing Hocevar to the finish line by .419 seconds. “I’m so blessed to be in this spot.

“Hopefully, we can have some fun and celebrate tonight.”

Nemechek can celebrate his organization’s dominance of the intermediate speedways. With his earlier victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Busch’s wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway, Kyle Busch Motorsports has swept all four 1.5-milers so far this season.

Nemechek also collected the last of three $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonuses, awarded to the winners of the designated races. He also extended his series lead to 44 points over second-place Ben Rhodes.

For his part, Hocevar apologized to his Niece Motorsports team for the inexperience that prevented him from running down Nemechek at the end.

“I’ve never been in that position too many times, but I let it slip away,” said Hocevar, who nevertheless posted a career-best finish. “We’re chipping away at it.”

Rhodes ran third, followed by Stewart Friesen and Todd Gilliland, last Saturday’s winner at Circuit of The Americas. Chandler Smith, Ty Majeski, Derek Kraus, Austin Hill and Zane Smith completed the top 10.

Nemechek had a comfortable lead with 19 laps left when the No. 14 truck of Trey Hutchens III slowed to a crawl out of Turn 4 on Lap 115 of 134. Drew Dollar took evasive action, but Sauter, screened from a view of Hutchens’ Chevrolet by Dollar’s truck, plowed into the stalled vehicle and destroyed both trucks. Debris from the wreck knocked the roof camera on Nemechek’s truck out of commission.

Reigning series champion Sheldon Creed handily won Stage 1 but was eliminated in a three-wide wreck with Gilliland and Chase Purdy in Turn 4 on Lap 55.

Zane Smith took the green-checkered flag at the end of Stage 2, but a penalty for a crewman over the wall too soon sent him to the back for a Lap 69 restart and ruined his winning chances.

Next up for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is the SpeedyCash.com 220 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 12.

Notes: Post-race inspection was completed with no issues, confirming Nemechek as the winner. NASCAR officials indicated his No. 4 KBM truck as well as the No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet of Hocevar and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford of Gilliland will go to the NASCAR R&D Center for further inspection and engine dyno.

Posted on May 28, 2021May 29, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

CONCORD, N.C. — Brad Keselowski deflected reports Friday night that he’s set to leave Team Penske for a driver-ownership role at Roush Fenway Racing for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Keselowski was asked about next season after Cup Series practice for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His Team Penske No. 2 Ford ranked 22nd in the session.

JAYSKI: Details on Keselowski to Roush Fenway rumors

“I can’t talk about that, but I appreciate you asking,” Keselowski said. “When I can, I’ll tell you.”

Keselowski maintains his focus is still on winning a championship in 2021 after finishing second to Chase Elliott in the drivers’ standings last year.

“I think I’m in a spot where I’m just head down, finished second last year in points and won four races and looking for one more spot,” Keselowski said. “… My team is pretty tough. They’ve got a really good mental toughness and they’re in a good spot.”

Keselowski, 37, is currently in his 11th season driving the No. 2 Ford for team owner Roger Penske. Keselowski has earned one championship in 2012 and 35 race victories to date.

When asked for a timetable on when an announcement can be expected, Keselowski said: “As soon as I’m allowed to.”

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Staff Report

Austin Dillon set the pace Friday evening in the NASCAR Cup Series’ lone practice for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Dillon powered the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to a best lap of 180.935 mph on the 1.5-mile track, leading a sweep of the first four spots by Chevrolet drivers. He’s a former Coca-Cola 600 winner, having captured NASCAR’s longest race for his first Cup Series win in 2017.

RELATED: Practice results | Weekend schedule

Alex Bowman was the second fastest at 180.838 mph in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy. Kyle Larson took third on the speed chart with Erik Jones and Joey Logano rounding out the top five in order as the field tuned up for Sunday’s 600-miler (6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The 50-minute session marked the second consecutive week of practice for NASCAR’s top division, which has streamlined at-track time during the COVID-19 pandemic. The session was part of the fourth of a planned eight race weekends for the Cup Series where practice and qualifying are scheduled to be held.

Busch Pole Qualifying is scheduled Saturday at 11:05 a.m. ET.

Posted on May 28, 2021May 30, 2021 by Marcus DiNitto

It’s all about Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing as the NASCAR Cup Series stops at Charlotte Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, as drivers from those garages occupy the top five spots on the oddsboard, before a significant drop to the next tier of betting entries.

The two teams have separated themselves from the pack, putting distance between themselves and even Team Penske. Hendrick’s Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, and Gibbs’ Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch are not only the top five betting choices this Sunday, but they also have the five shortest prices at BetMGM to claim the 2021 Cup championship.

RELATED: Odds presented by BetMGM | BetCenter

Larson is priced as the betting market’s consensus early favorite for the Memorial Day weekend race, listed at 5/1 odds (+500, or bet $100 to win $500) as of Friday morning at BetMGM. The Coke 600 (Sun., 6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) marks the fifth Cup race on 1.5-mile tracks this season, and the No. 5 Chevrolet has been stellar through the first four. Larson finished fourth at Homestead, first in Last Vegas and second in Atlanta, and he led 132 laps in Kansas before late-race weirdness shuffled him back to 19th.

Truex is the +550 second choice. While his three wins this season have come on shorter layouts using the 750-horsepower, low-downforce package (teams bring the 550-hp, high-downforce package to Charlotte), he has not finished outside the top nine on the four 1.5s. Over the past four seasons, his 107.6 average driver rating and 8.07 average finish on intermediate tracks rank second and third in the Series, respectively.

There’s a pricing discrepancy among oddsmakers when it comes to Elliott, as SuperBook USA, a respected Las Vegas shop, opened the No. 9 at 6/1, odds equal to Kyle Busch and Truex. At BetMGM and Barstool Sportsbook, Elliott is the 7/1 fourth choice, priced longer than Truex and Busch (+650). A $1 difference may not seem like much to a casual sports bettor, but this type of edge has major impact on determining long-term betting success.

Denny Hamlin still leads the Series in points by a wide margin but has fallen off in recent weeks. After eight top-five finishes through the first nine races, Hamlin has just one over the last five and has finished outside the top 10 three times during that stretch. His stats at Charlotte and on 1.5s overall are solid but far from spectacular. We’ll be looking elsewhere in the outright market, but if you like the No. 11 this week, the +750 at Barstool is on the high end of the market.

While Kyle Busch has been wildly inconsistent this season, his success on 1.5-mile layouts gets the betting market’s respect. He has six wins on intermediate tracks since 2018, including this season at Kansas, and his 7.74 average is tops in Cup.

And what of the Penske drivers? Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano each have a win this season (Blaney’s came at the 1.5-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway), and all three reside in the top nine in points. While they’re typically in the mix every week, there’s a clear dropoff, at least this week in the betting market’s opinion, between the top five drivers and this trio. The Nos. 2, 12 and 22 are all priced at double-digit odds at BetMGM, with Blaney at 10/1, Kes at 11/1 and Logano 14/1.

Kevin Harvick, meanwhile, remains the outlier from the Hendrick/Gibbs/Penske triumvirate, but he continues his slide in bookmakers’ eyes. The No. 4 has been lengthened at the SuperBook from a 10/1 opener to 12/1, a number few would have predicted before this season for Harvick at any track. Interestingly, he has accumulated excellent stats on intermediate tracks overall — his 111.8 rating since 2018 is best in the Series and his 8.05 average finish is second to Busch. However, even at double-digital odds, it’ll take a leap of faith to back Harvick to win Sunday.

Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Sean Montgomery

A highly anticipated weekend of racing caps off with Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway at 6 p.m. ET (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Before you tune in to the race, check out the details and story lines to watch during the iconic crown jewel.

KEY TIMES, ON-TRACK SESSIONS

An eventful weekend for the Cup Series kicks off on Friday at 7 p.m. ET with the first and only practice session (FS1), followed by qualifying on Saturday at 11:05 a.m. ET (FS1, PRN).

NASCAR RaceDay begins the Sunday pre-race coverage on FS1 at 4:30 p.m. ET before switching over to FOX an hour later. For radio listeners, PRN coverage starts at 5 p.m. ET.

The green flag for Sunday’s 600-mile marathon is scheduled to wave at 6:23 p.m. ET. For this week’s entire slate of racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway, check out the full weekend schedule.

600 MILES OF REMEMBRANCE

This Memorial Day weekend, NASCAR continues the established NASCAR Salutes tradition of honoring fallen soldiers of the U.S. military with the 600 Miles of Remembrance. During the race, each Cup Series car will feature a unique front-windshield banner that bears the name of one of the soldiers. See the car number and their respective hero being honored at Charlotte.

TICKETS, FAN TIPS

Tickets for general grandstand seating and camping options for attendance this weekend can still be purchased by visiting the Charlotte Motor Speedway event site. Fans who have already purchased tickets are encouraged to stay up-to-date on fan tips and procedures before race day.

WHO’S FAVORED FOR SUNDAY?

The list of favorites to win the 2021 Coca-Cola 600 boasts many familiar faces at the top of the chart, with Kyle Larson leading the field at 5-1. Two-time Coca-Cola 600 winner Martin Truex Jr. (11-2) is joined by a pair of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates in Kyle Busch (13-2) and Denny Hamlin (15-2). Fan-favorite and Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott (7-1) also cracks the top five and presents good value.

What are the odds that your favorite driver reaches Victory Lane this weekend? Check out the complete list of BetMGM Coca-Cola 600 odds.

RELATED: All-time Coca-Cola 600 winners

CHARLOTTE HISTORY, 600 INSIGHTS

— First raced on in June 1960, Charlotte Motor Speedway is the oldest of the current 1.5-mile tracks on the Cup Series Schedule. (Atlanta Motor Speedway held a race one month later.)

— The Coca-Cola 600 is the only race on the schedule with four stages instead of three: Stage 1 at Lap 100, Stage 2 at Lap 200, Stage 3 at Lap 300 and the Final Stage at Lap 400.

— Three of the last five Coca-Cola 600s were won by current Joe Gibbs Racing drivers and two of the last three were won by drivers starting outside the top 10.

— After Brad Keselowski reached Victory Lane in the 2020 Coca-Cola 600, it marked the first 600 win for Ford since Mark Martin won in 2002.

Source: Racing Insights

RULES PACKAGE

The NASCAR rules package for intermediate-sized tracks will be in effect with a tapered spacer used to achieve a target of 550 horsepower. The cars will use aero ducts in addition to other aerodynamic devices to increase downforce.

GOODYEAR TIRE TRIBUTE

As done in years past, Cup teams will run sets of Goodyear “Honor and Remember” Speedway Radials — a special tire marked with a gold star and the slogan in white letters on a red banner. Each team has three sets for practice, one set for qualifying and 13 sets for the race (12 new sets, plus one set transferred from practice or qualifying).

For a race carrying from the early evening into the night, managing tire temperature is important for teams throughout the lengthy race.

“The temperature-sensitive nature of the track surface at Charlotte — as well as starting the race in daylight and ending at night — poses a great challenge for teams as drivers need to convey how the track is changing and crew chiefs need to make changes to stay ahead of those conditions,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “With 13 sets of tires, and the race divided into four stages instead of the ‘normal’ three, teams will constantly be trying to keep up with, or ahead of, the changing conditions.”

FANTASY LIVE

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts. It’s not too late to join in on the competition.

The 2021 Fantasy Live points leaders are Denny Hamlin (597), William Byron (499) and Kyle Larson (483).

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

New for this season, NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.