Coca Cola 600 Race Picks

Coca Cola 600 Race Picks

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Betting Preview
Date and Time: Sunday May 25th, 2014. 6:16PM Eastern
Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway
TV: FOX
By: NASCAR Wagers, NASCAR Handicapping Service

Yesterday, Sprint Cup Series rookie Kyle Larson earned his 2nd career Nationwide Series victory by winning the History 300 at Charlotte. Luckily we backed Larson, who was listed at 7.5 to 1, and swept a pair of head to head match-ups to earn a respectable size payday. Today our focus will turn to the Sprint Cup Series with the 55th running of the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway which will close the curtains on the biggest weekend in motorsports.

Drivers and teams took part in two practice sessions on Saturday in final tune-ups for tonight’s 600 mile marathon that will see the green flag drop at approximately 6:16pm (EST). Carl Edwards topped the charts in the first practice Saturday morning while Kyle Busch posted the fastest lap in Happy Hour at 188.64mph. As we mentioned earlier, Jeff Gordon sat out in final practice as he was being treated for back spasms. Gordon actually posted the fastest 10 lap average in the morning session but emerged from the car in considerable pain. The #24 team’s 1.5 mile campaign has been really strong this season but it will be interesting to see if Gordon is effected by his lingering back issues.

At the end of Saturday’s practice session, it clearly looks like the #48 of Jimmie Johnson and the #4 of Kevin Harvick have the two fastest cars. Johnson, who will start from the pole tomorrow night, posted the best 10 lap consecutive average in Happy Hour followed by Kevin Harvick. Both drivers have been extremely fast throughout the week. Of course Harvick has been strong everywhere this season and Charlotte Motor Speedway is Johnson’s best track by a landslide. Both drivers are currently listed at 5 to 1 odds as heavy favorites for tonight’s event.

A couple of drivers that stood out in practices this week that may be a surprise include Martin Truex Jr and Danica Patrick. I think this could be the first time we have mentioned Danica all season but something has flipped inside the #10 GoDaddy machine. After Patrick’s 7th place finish at Kansas, she has qualified 4th for tonight’s race and posted some very respectable lap times throughout both of Saturday’s practices. Patrick was listed at 1000 to 1 odds at 5Dimes this morning so we had to post a little bit. After all crazier things have happened.

Martin Truex Jr was another driver that surprised in Saturday’s practices. Truex Jr showed solid speed and it will be interesting to see if the #78 team can stay on top of the changes with the car as the track changes throughout the night to keep Truex towards the front. By the end of tonight’s race, Charlotte Motor Speedway will be a different animal than when tonight’s green flag waves. Therefore we have to put our faith in teams that can stay on top of their changes throughout the nights and also drivers that can run the high lane at Charlotte. We fully expect the upper groove to come into play the later the Coca Cola 600 progresses. Take a look at our final picks for tonight’s Coca Cola 600.

Coca Cola 600 Race Picks

Kevin Harvick +525 (1.5 units): Harvick has been very strong throughout the week, arguably had the best car at the All-Star Race before a botched pit-stop caused him to finish 2nd. #4 car 2nd fastest average in final practice, starts 12th, running chassis that was dominating at Texas before blowing an engine.

Denny Hamlin +2150 (1 unit): Hamlin was our newsletter pick this week as he has posted 3 top 5 in his last 4 starts at Charlotte in points races. Car has not shown much speed this week, but hopefully the #11 team has made the correct changes.

Matt Kenseth +1150 (1 unit): Kenseth has shown several times this season they are superb on long green runs. #20 car closed strong in the final stages of the All-Star Race to finish 3rd. Car has not shown a ton of speed this week but did not last week leading up to the All-Star Race. Race trim setup should be solid.

Danica Patrick +100000 ($5): At ridiculous odds we could not help but lay $5 on Patrick with the chance of winning $5,000! Patrick has been very fast all week, ranking in top 5 in each 10 lap average on Saturday, running new chassis and starts 4th.

Coca Cola 600 Longshot Parlay

Hendrick’s MS car wins Coca Cola 600 +175
Martin Truex Jr +115 over Jamie McMurray
Greg Biffle +155 over Denny Hamlin
To win: +1400