Written by Greg Atkins
CONCORD, N.C. – It’s good to be home.
For the second straight weekend, Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts NASCAR’s finest drivers and race teams.
Whereas last weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series All-Star was a sprint, this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 (6:00 EDT on FOX), conversely, presents a marathon.
Air temperatures will be in the mid-90s and track/in-car temperatures will be considerably hotter than that. Dehydration will be on the minds of every single driver and team competing in the 400 laps, 600 miles, event.
The Coca-Cola 600 has the special distinction of being one of the sport’s four crown jewel races along with the Daytona 500, Southern 500, and Brickyard 400.
Crown jewels are always special to the drivers and teams. Wins in these events come with an added sense of pride and accomplishment. A driver’s career can be defined by their performances in these events.
Kyle Busch won this race last year in dominant fashion. He led 377 of 400 laps en route to his first career points win at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval.
Busch was exceptionally fast in the two practice sessions on Saturday. In final practice, he owned the fastest 10, 15, and 20 lap averages. In a race that will likely be won on the long run, that could potentially be race-winning speed for Busch’s No. 18 Toyota Camry.
His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, and Martin Truex, Jr., also showed considerable speed in practice. Hamlin, Jones, and Truex turned the fourth, fifth, and seventh best ten-lap averages, respectively.
The Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet ZL1 Camaro’s also showed tremendous speed in Saturday’s practices. Austin Dillon and Daniel Hemric boasted the second and third fastest ten-lap averages.
Stewart-Haas Racing has performed well this year despite not yet reaching victory lane. Daniel Suárez sported the best single-lap time in both Saturday practice sessions and had the sixth fastest ten-lap average. Kevin Harvick was quick in the All-Star Race last week and although that race featured a different rules package, Harvick has the second-most Coca-Cola 600 victories among active drivers.
Over the past few weeks, Hendrick Motorsports has, arguably, brought the fastest cars to the track each week and this race has been kind to first-time winners. There have been seven first-time winners in the race’s history, including four since 2000. William Byron and Alex Bowman will look to parlay their recent upticks in performance into their first career victories. Chase Elliott will be going for his first crown jewel and Jimmie Johnson will look to extend his series-best (among active drivers) four Coca-Cola 600 victories.
Team Penske has the second-most victories among race teams this season and their most recent victory came at Kansas, the last 1.5-mile track the series visited. Penske did not put on a dominant performance that evening, but they were up front when it mattered most and they scored the win. Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were not especially fast during practice, but it would be a mistake to dismiss their chances of winning on Sunday night.
Prediction: All in all, it is difficult to go against Joe Gibbs Racing, especially Kyle Busch, given the speed the team showed in practice. Although that session was contested in conditions that will be much different than what the race will feature, it is hard to bet against that race team considering Toyota’s recent history at this track.
2019 Coca-Cola 600 Starting Lineup
- William Byron
- Aric Almirola
- Kyle Busch
- Austin Dillon
- Kevin Harvick
- Daniel Suárez
- Joey Logano
- Clint Bowyer
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
- Daniel Hemric
- Kurt Busch
- Chase Elliott
- Alex Bowman
- Martin Truex, Jr.
- Jimmie Johnson
- Erik Jones
- Paul Menard
- Ryan Newman
- Ryan Blaney
- Denny Hamlin
- Brad Keselowski
- Chris Buescher
- Michael McDowell
- Ryan Preece
- Kyle Larson
- Matt Tifft
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Ty Dillon
- Bubba Wallace
- Corey LaJoie
- David Ragan
- Landon Cassill
- Bayley Currey
- Parker Kligerman
- Ross Chastain
- BJ McLeod
- Reed Sorenson
- Cody Ware
- Quin Houff
- Joey Gase