2013 Coca-Cola 600 Odds, Free Picks and Predictions – Coca-Cola 500 Favorites and Sleepers to Win on May 26, 2013 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina: On the same day that the IndyCar Series holds its biggest race of the season, it is no coincidence that the Sprint Cup Series holds the longest race of its season. While the Indianapolis 500 may have more history, NASCAR does manage do one-up the open-wheel competition by holding the Coca-Cola 600 under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 600-mile race is as much a test of patience and endurance as it is a test of speed, and it is not uncommon for the drivers that are fast when the green flag first waves to be a nonfactor when the checkered flag finally flies.
Last season was a perfect example of how adjusting to the changing track conditions throughout the night can ultimately decide the race. Greg Biffle dominated the early stages, leading a race-high 204 of the 400 laps. However, Kasey Kahne and the Joe Gibbs Racing duo of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin began to gain ground as darkness fell, and when the closing laps rolled around, all three drivers managed to overtake Biffle. In the end, Kahne proved to have the best car when it mattered most as he led 96 laps on his way to a comfortable win ahead of Hamlin and Busch.
2013 Coca-Cola 600 Odds, Free Picks and Predictions
The Favorites
While he hasn’t been as dominant at Charlotte in recent years as he was early in his career, Jimmie Johnson is still one of the best in the business at the 1.5-mile oval. After all, he is a six-time winner at the track, and at one time, he went four years without finishing worse than third. Last year, Johnson finished third at the track in the fall, and last weekend, he won the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte. By the way, Johnson has a 4.7 average finish in the Coca-Cola 600 the three previous years he won the All-Star Race so history says he should be in for a great run at one of his best tracks.
Defending race winner Kasey Kahne is no stranger to victory lane at Charlotte, especially in May. His four wins at the track since the start of the 2006 season are the most in the series, and three of those victories have come in the Coca-Cola 600. Overall, Kahne has a 12.4 average finish at Charlotte, including an impressive 4.3 average in his last three starts. His driving style and love of the high line seems to allow him to excel at the 600-mile event, and a fourth-career win in NASCAR’s longest event is a definite possibility this weekend.
The Dark Horses
Although he has never won at Charlotte in the Cup Series, Kyle Busch has been a fixture at the front of the field. He has finished eighth or better in 10 of his last 11 starts at the track, compiling a 6.5 average finish during the stretch. More importantly, Busch has eighth top-five finishes in those 11 starts, including three straight. It seems like only a matter of time before he finally gets to victory lane at Charlotte.
He has been inching closer and closer to a win at Charlotte recently, and Denny Hamlin has been as strong as any driver in the last five races at the 1.5-mile track. He has five top-10 finishes during stretch to go along with a 5.4 average finish. Throw in the fact that Hamlin finished second in both races at the track last year, and it is easy to see why bettors should be optimistic about his chances of picking up his first career Charlotte win this weekend.
While his 18.7 average finish at Charlotte isn’t spectacular, Martin Truex Jr. has been a different driver at 1.5-mile tracks the past couple of years. In addition to finishing 12th and 10th in two starts at Charlotte in 2012, he leads all drivers with nine top-10s and total points scored in the last 10 races at tracks with a 1.5-mile layout. No driver has been more consistent during the stretch, and if Truex is ever going to snap his winless drought, it figures to be at a track like Charlotte.
Sleeper Special
His last four starts at Charlotte haven’t ended well, but Jamie McMurray is a two-time winner at the track. His most-recent victory came in the fall of 2010, and the Coca-Cola 600 that same season, he finished second. Throw in the fact that McMurray won the Sprint Showdown and finished in the top 10 in the All-Star Race at Charlotte last weekend, and it isn’t out of the question that he delivers a surprise win at one of only two tracks where he has won multiple races.
Big Name to Avoid
His season-long slump is reason enough to avoid Tony Stewart this weekend, and it doesn’t help that he has been shaky at Charlotte lately. Since winning at the track in the fall of 2003, he hasn’t been back in the top five. Heck, he has only managed to crack the top 10 once in his last 10 starts at Charlotte, logging an unimpressive 16.0 average finish during the stretch. Those aren’t exactly typical numbers for the three-time series champ.
Be sure to check the NSAwins.com Betting Daily Blog all week for updated 2013 Coca-Cola 600 odds, free tips, free picks, predictions and articles from NASCAR expert tipster Brian Polking. NSAwins.com is your home for 2013 Coca-Cola 600 Betting Odds and Handicapping coverage!
Odds to win the 2013 Coca-Cola 600
101 Jimmie Johnson +600
102 Kyle Busch +600
103 Matt Kenseth +700
104 Kasey Kahne +900
105 Denny Hamlin +900
106 Carl Edwards +1200
107 Brad Keselowski +1200
108 Greg Biffle +1400
109 Jeff Gordon +1400
110 Clint Bowyer +1600
111 Martin Truex Jr +1600
112 Dale Earnhardt Jr +1600
113 Kevin Harvick +1800
114 Tony Stewart +2500
115 Kurt Busch +3000
116 Joey Logano +3000
117 Mark Martin +5000
118 Ryan Newman +6000
119 Jamie McMurray +6000
120 Ricky Stenhouse +6000
121 Juan Montoya +6000
122 Field +2500
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