Perhaps the best four-day time of year is upon us. Blue cans of Busch Light, red flames from a bonfire and white flowers on the graves of those who lost their lives, keeping our great country free.
It’s Memorial Day weekend!
Everything comes to mind for racing fans on Sunday as we have an all day affair. It begins shortly after we wake up to the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, the crown jewel of the Formula 1 circuit. Shortly after lunchtime, the stage is set for IndyCar as they welcome their Super Bowl, the Indianapolis 500.
NASCAR then serves our last drink, hosting the longest race of the year, the Coca-Cola 600, from Charlotte, North Carolina – the home of the premier stock car racing series.
That’s exactly what the slightly degenerate doctor ordered. We hit it hard last weekend in North Wilkesboro, NC, cashing in a Josh Berry (+400) ticket in the NASCAR All-Star Open and Kyle Larson (+650) in the NASAR All-Star Race .
This means that we put pieces on all three circuits. But before we get to the Sunday night games, here are the NASCAR datasets I considered when betting:
- Las Vegas 2023 (finishes, overall speed* and finish speed*)
- Kansas 2023 (finishes, overall speed* and end-of-race speed* standings)
- Charlotte 2022 (finishes, overall speed standings, *end of race speed* and green flag speed*)
- Driver Track History
- Recent performances and current ranking
*via ifantasyrace.com
With the stage set and coolers filled, let’s find out our best bets for the 2023 Coca-Cola 600.
Coca-Cola 600 2023: NASCAR at Charlotte Odds, picks and predictions
All betting recommendations are for 1u unless otherwise stated.
Top 5: Martin Truex Jr. (+125 via Barstool Sportsbook)
Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 19 team seemed to have something figured out. They won Dover, led Kansas 79 laps and topped Darlington early, leading 145 laps.
The Bass-Pro-backed team is in the top three in the combined total speed standings at Las Vegas and Kansas, our two comp tracks. Additionally, Truex Jr. has been No. 1 in total speed rankings on all 1.5-mile high-speed tracks since the start of 2022. The New Jersey native has a 19% T5 rating and a T10 rating of 42% in Charlotte, giving me confidence will come Sunday.
Top 10: Harrison Burton (+1800 via Caesars Sportsbook)
Speaking of finding something, after qualifying well and having a top-10 car all day, Harrison Burton finished sixth at Darlington. It was a much needed performance from the 22-year-old after a dismal start to the season.
Burton finished 11th in this race last year. Although he didn’t have the best speed, he got faster as the race progressed. The sample size is small, but it also has track time in Charlotte in the Xfinity series. In his two lower series starts since 2020, Burton has scored a T10 in both, including a third-place finish in his last outing.
For the price of a sizable free kick, I’m going to take that long shot on Burton, hoping he can win the attrition war and find himself in the top 10 after 600 miles.
Special: Ford to win (+525 via Caesars Sportsbook)
After losing Ford for the past few weeks, I support the Pony’s because that number is just too big with their driver lineup. The Fords usually come to play when the stage is the biggest, and there’s no bigger stage than the Coca-Cola 600. Here are the drivers who might In fact win to redeem this ticket:
- #2 Austin Cindric | In a high-end Penske car, but in the middle of a terrible season
- #4 Kevin Harvick | Three wins and four second places here
- #6 Brad Keselowski | Double winner with a rate of 43.5 T10
- No. 10 Aric Almirola | Better on 1.5-mile high-speed tracks than for credit
- #12 Ryan Blaney | Seventh best overall speed ranking on 1.5-mile high-speed tracks since 2022
- No. 14 Chase Briscoe | Sixth best average (13.5) in Charlotte among active pilots
- No. 17 Chris Buescher | 30% T10 rate here
- #21 Harrison Burton | See above
- No. 22 Joey Logano | Fourth best average (12.8) in Charlotte among active pilots
- No. 34 Michael McDowell | Finished eighth in this race last year
- #38 Zane Smith | Two T5s in his last three Truck Series races in Charlotte
- #41 Ryan Preece | There are worse pilots in worse equipment
Other bets on my card:
Seth Woolcock is a featured writer for BettingPros. For more sports betting and fantasy sports analysis from Seth, check out In-Between Media and follow @Entre_SethFF.
