Nascar Coca Cola 600 Betting Preview

[Qbins Missile Crisis]

NASCAR: Coca-Cola 600

Point series racing resumes this weekend with the annual running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

This track was site of last weekend’s Nextel All-Star Challenge won by Kasey Kahne. Place your bets, grab a beverage and sit down for an exciting night of racing.



This 400-lap marathon is also challenging for the crew chiefs, who must find the winning setup in the face of ever-changing track conditions in a race which begins in the late afternoon sun and ends under the lights.

Jimmie Johnson is commonly acknowledged as the King of Lowe’s, but he hasn’t won here since 2005. Still, if you analyze nearly any of the common statistics, one number stands out for this race and that’s the number on Johnson’s car, No. 48.

In all, Johnson has won five of the last 10 events here and will be hungry to make Sunday’s race a kick start to a stagnant season by his standards. The defending two-time series champ has won just once in 2008.

In terms of actual statistics at Lowe’s, he leads the active circuit in average finish (6.8), wins (5), Top 5 Percentage (8 in 13 starts), and laps led (1134). In fact, in that last category, he actually passed Mark Martin for the top spot in the October ’07 event, despite making 33 less starts at the track.

Other drivers to keep an eye on for this weekend based upon the numbers are Jeff Gordon, with five wins himself, Bobby Labonte, who is third in average finish at 12.8, and Martin, a four time Concord winner with 16 Top 5’s to his credit.

Of course, handicapping of the 600 wouldn’t be complete without checking a list of the drivers who are hot now. That group includes Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards. Busch and Edwards are tied for the series lead with three wins apiece in 2008, with Busch having scored finishes of 1st, 2nd, and 1st in his last three races.

Edwards boasts five Top 10 finishes in six prior Lowe’s starts, so this could be the year it comes together for him to claim a first checkered flag. Two of Edwards’ three wins have come at Texas and Las Vegas, tracks with similar racing as you’ll see Sunday. Meanwhile, Hamlin is on quite a roll himself, having secured six Top 7 finishes in his last seven starts.

A quick check of the odds finds Kyle Busch and Edwards sharing the role of favorite at 9-2. Johnson is next at 6-1, while Tony Stewart and Earnhardt, Jr. are the only other drivers listed in single digits at 8-1.

Barring any strange happenings on the track or on pit row, the winner figures to come from those Top 3. However, if it turns into an underdog dominated event, some of the names to keep an eye on are Hamlin, Gordon, Greg Biffle & Matt Kenseth, at 10-1, Clint Bowyer, at 25-1, and All-Star winner Kahne at 30-1.

Roush Racing has had a rich history at Lowe’s and Kenseth seems to love racing at this track. Biffle had the top car for much of last Saturday’s festivities, while Bowyer led 70 laps in the fall before finishing second to Gordon. Labonte and Martin are another pair of drivers worthy of strong consideration in matchups.

The Coca-Cola 600 race is slotted for about 5:45 pm ET on FOX.

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[tomas]

I know afew people that were following Kyle Busch real close but upset over the fact he didnt do as well as many predicted. Not sure whats going on with that, but I think I am going to start watching the races abit more when I can.

[Cutler]

I know a lot of people are following Kyle, and even more following Kasey Kahne. They have been pleasantly surprised lately, I think.

[Sampson]

Busch is a great driver, but unfortunately he's not doing as good enough for some of the fans. I've never dropped money on him, but I don't think that would be so bad after all. He's coming close.

[jonas]

Coming in close might be a good thing, but coming in close and just not making it time and time over again can lead to many being upset with him. I talked to my bro the other day and this convo came up that maybe he is just tired. Seriously when you are doing something you love you can get worn out but you would think better prep time before the season would give you some type of one up.

[Stuart]

The Nascar season is pretty dang long. I can definitely see him getting tired and feeling like there's no use to trying anymore. I think he'll get it eventually, it's just a matter of time.

[Cutler]

You got that right, the season is extremely long. I'm positive that all these drivers are exhausted by the end of their season. Three days spent racing a week is a lot, especially when it's all done on the road!