Keselowski in the No. 2 Ford held off seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson to win the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on NASCAR’s schedule which actually turned out to be the longest race in Cup. Well, if you’re new to betting NASCAR, the Coca-Cola 600 is a solid place to start. It's the longest race in the NASCAR Cup Series, and a unique one, where it starts in the afternoon and bleeds.
Brad Keseleowski, driver of the No. 2 Ford for Team Penske, won his first Coca-Cola 600 early Monday morning in an overtime race that was determined in the final laps.
Today's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (5:30 p.m. ET on FOX) is NASCAR's longest race. Frequently there is a surprise winner, but odds are one of these six drivers could be standing in. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is back in action following its all-star race last week and the drivers remain at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. Kyle Busch won this race last May, leading 377 of the 400 laps, and he is a +325 favorite to become the first back-to-back winner at Charlotte since Kasey Kahne in 2006. The Coca-Cola 600 is historically held on Memorial Day weekend every year. It’s always a race full of patriotism, partying, and downright good racing. It’s a tough race that tests the endurance of both the drivers and their equipment. Running 600 miles is not an easy feat, especially in the summer heat.
Keselowski finished three-tenths of a second ahead of Jimmie Johnson, who came in second place until failing his post-race inspection. Chase Elliott, who had a large lead until a caution with two laps to go, crossed the finish line third.
CHASE ELLIOTT FOILED AGAIN
Just four days after Elliott ended a race in fury over an incident with Kyle Busch, he nearly returned to the track in redemption. Nearly.
With two laps to go and Elliott in the lead, Hendrick teammate William Byron spun out, forcing a caution and an overtime race. Elliot pitted for tires before the restart, placing him behind Keselowski and Johnson.
With under 50 laps to go, Keselowski moved into a first place position off a critical restart after a caution flag was thrown for Joey Gase, who spun off Turn 4 at the back of the field. Elliott’s No. 9 Chevy pushed past Keselowski and held the lead for the next 30 laps.
Elliott led 38 laps of the 405-lap race.
A TRUEX-BOWMAN DUEL …
Epitomized the Toyota-Chevy, JGR-Hendrick battle, and defined the evening.
Hendrick Chevrolet drivers made a statement early. Three of the team’s four drivers dominated the qualifying round with a top-10 starting spot, then the one driver who started in 12th place, Alex Bowman, dominated the first two stages of the race.
Bowman led 338 of the 600 miles, winning Stage Nos. 1 and 2 handily, and finishing second in Stage 3. He was passed by reigning Coca-Cola 600 champion Martin Truex Jr. on Lap 225 after a cat-and-mouse chase that continued for 400 laps.
Truex Jr. finished in second behind Bowman in the first two stages, and finished fifth in Stage 3, which was won by Joey Logano.
Meanwhile, Truex’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Erik Jones remained sprinkled throughout the top 10 in the first three stages, as did Hendrick drivers Chase Elliott, William Byron and Jimmie Johnson.
ROOKIES REMAIN STRONG
Cup rookie Tyler Reddick continued to impress with his second top-10 finish of 2020. He finished in ninth place following a seventh place finish last Sunday at Darlington and a 13th place spot on Wednesday at the same speedway.
Reddick demonstrated he could handle the endurance test at Charlotte as well. The No. 8 driver started fifth, and raced his way into fourth place for Stage 1 points and flirted with the top-10 through the night.
Rookie Christopher Bell also made an appearance in the top-10. Bell finished 10th.
STRUGGLES AT CHARLOTTE
Hamlin’s dreams of his first Coke 600 win were dashed before the race began. The No. 11 driver lost a ballast under his car while running pace laps just minutes before the green flag waved, forcing Hamlin to pit as other drivers started the race. Hamin entered eight laps down and remained in last place for all 600 miles.
Hamlin did not finish in dead-last, however. No. 43 driver Bubba Wallace was forced out of the race due to a mechanical issue less than halfway through Stage 2. He returned in the third stage with a penalty and finished in the bottom three.
Like Wallace, No. 14 driver Clint Bowyer suffered a blow early. Bowyer hit the wall just before the end of Stage 1, forcing Bowyer’s car to smoke and sending the driver to the care center, from which he was quickly released.
Hamlin’s error will cost him more than Bowyer’s and Wallace’s, however. According to the NASCAR rule book, “loss or separation of added ballast from the vehicle will result in a four-race suspension of the crew chief, car chief and head engineer.” The ballast is the weight teams add to cars to meet the minimum weight requirement.
Before the race, Hamlin told FOX Sports he had multiple face masks at the ready in his car.
“I have different emotions stored away depending on how tonight goes,” Hamlin said.
After tonight, Hamlin will need to pull out the frown. Keselowski will be the one smiling.
NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 results
Pos. | Driver | Car No. | Time behind |
1 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Winner |
2 | Chase Elliott | 9 | 0.674 |
3 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | 1.218 |
4 | Kyle Busch | 18 | 1.465 |
5 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | 1.625 |
6 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | 1.817 |
7 | Kurt Busch | 1 | 1.823 |
8 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | 1.894 |
9 | Christopher Bell | 95 | 2.272 |
10 | Chris Buescher | 17 | 2.402 |
11 | Erik Jones | 20 | 2.403 |
12 | Cole Custer | 41 | 2.821 |
13 | Joey Logano | 22 | 3.023 |
14 | Austin Dillon | 3 | 3.217 |
15 | Aric Almirola | 10 | 3.492 |
16 | John Hunter Nemechek | 38 | 3.558 |
17 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | 3.869 |
18 | Michael McDowell | 34 | 3.908 |
19 | Alex Bowman | 88 | 3.939 |
20 | William Byron | 24 | 1 lap |
21 | Ross Chastain | 77 | 2 laps |
22 | Ryan Preece | 37 | 2 laps |
23 | Corey LaJoie | 32 | 2 laps |
24 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | 3 laps |
25 | Ty Dillon | 13 | 4 laps |
26 | Matt Kenseth | 42 | 4 laps |
27 | Ryan Newman | 6 | 5 laps |
28 | Daniel Duarez | 96 | 6 laps |
29 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 7 laps |
30 | Brennan Poole | 15 | 7 laps |
31 | Gray Gaulding | 27 | 8 laps |
32 | BJ McLeod | 78 | 12 laps |
33 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | 14 laps |
34 | Timmy Hill | 66 | 15 laps |
35 | Quin Houff | 00 | 15 laps |
36 | Joey Gase | 51 | 20 laps |
37 | JJ Yeley | 38 | 154 laps |
38 | Bubba Wallace | 43 | 241 laps |
39 | Clint Bowyer | 14 | 309 laps |
40 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | DQ |
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© Provided by CBS Interactive Inc.Brad Keselowski celebrates Saturday's victory at Daytona after receiving a U.S. flag from a crew member.
Sunday's 2020 Coca-Cola 600 promises plenty of excitement for NASCAR fans everywhere, as 40 drivers get set to battle at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Last year, Martin Truex Jr. led for 116 laps and finished on top of the Charlotte NASCAR leaderboard, recording his second Coca-Cola 600 victory since 2016. Truex Jr. will now look to defend his NASCAR at Charlotte title starting at 6 p.m. ET.
Truex Jr. is going off at 6-1 in the latest 2020 Coca-Cola 600 odds from William Hill. Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick (4-1), Kyle Busch (6-1), Chase Elliott (8-1) and Denny Hamlin (17-2) round out the top five favorites in the 2020 NASCAR at Charlotte odds. Before locking in any 2020 Coca-Cola 600 picks, be sure to see the latest 2020 NASCAR at Charlotte predictions and projected leaderboard from SportsLine's proven projection model.
Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary NASCAR prediction model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results.
The model began the 2020 NASCAR season by picking Denny Hamlin to win his second consecutive Daytona 500 at 10-1. It got off to a hot start on its NASCAR picks following the coronavirus hiatus as well, calling seven of the top 10 drivers at The Real Heroes 400 and Toyota 500 at Darlington. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model simulated the NASCAR at Charlotte 2020 race on Sunday, May 24 10,000 times. Head here to see the complete projected leaderboard.
For Sunday, the model is high on Kurt Busch, even though he's a massive 25-1 long shot in the latest Charlotte NASCAR odds. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. Busch is getting strong value at a racetrack he's had plenty of success in recent years. In fact, Busch has finished in the top 10 in six of his last eight starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Busch also enters Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 2020 having finished sixth or better in three of his last four starts this season. In the first Darlington race, he sped to a third place finish after starting in 22nd. The 41-year-old, who claimed the checkered flag at Charlotte a decade ago after leading 252 laps, will be eager to get back into the winner's circle. He has the potential to deliver a heavy payout with 25-1 odds and an unquestionably fast car.
And a massive shocker: Kevin Harvick, the top Vegas favorite at 4-1, stumbles and doesn't even crack the top three. Harvick has a strong track history at Charlotte, winning in 2011, 2013 and 2014, but he hasn't been as successful recently. In fact, he has just one top-five finish at Charlotte since 2016.
An accident took him out of contention in this event in 2018, while engine failure cost him the Charlotte fall race in 2016. He's shown plenty of speed in qualifying, starting in the top five in four of his last five runs at Charlotte, but has failed to finish the job in recent years, making him one of the NASCAR at Charlotte favorites to avoid.
The model is also targeting two other drivers with NASCAR at Charlotte odds of 22-1 or longer to make a serious run at the checkered flag. Anyone who backs these drivers could hit it big.
So who wins the Coca-Cola 600 2020? And which long shots stun NASCAR? Check out the latest odds below and then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2020 NASCAR at Charlotte leaderboard, all from the model that has crushed its NASCAR picks and nailed the Daytona 500.
Kevin Harvick 4-1
Kyle Busch 6-1
Martin Truex Jr. 6-1
Chase Elliott 8-1
Denny Hamlin 17-2
Brad Keselowski 10-1
Joey Logano 10-1
Alex Bowman 12-1
William Byron 20-1
Ryan Blaney 22-1
Jimmie Johnson 22-1
Clint Bowyer 25-1
Kurt Busch 25-1
Erik Jones 30-1
Matt Kenseth 30-1
Aric Almirola 50-1
Matt DiBenedetto 60-1
Tyler Reddick 75-1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 100-1
Christopher Bell 125-1
Cole Custer 125-1
Austin Dillon 125-1
Ryan Newman 125-1
Chris Buescher 200-1
Ross Chastain 300-1
Ty Dillon 500-1
John Hunter Nemechek 500-1
Daniel Suarez 500-1
Bubba Wallace 500-1
Ryan Preece 750-1
Michael McDowell 1000-1
Joey Gase 2500-1
Timmy Hill 2500-1
Quin Houff 2500-1
Corey LaJoie 2500-1
B.J. McLeod 2500-1
Brennan Poole 2500-1
Garrett Smithley 2500-1
J.J. Yeley 2500-1