NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Will Claim a Crown Jewel Victory in the Coca-Cola 600?
Stock car racing’s longest, grandest night is mere days away with the 65th running of the Coca-Cola 600. Forty of America’s best drivers will ring in Memorial Day weekend with one of NASCAR’s most beloved and celebrated races. Who has the chance to stand out from the pack under the Carolina moonlight? Here are a few drivers favored for the Coke 600 victory.
Kyle Larson
Intermediate tracks this year have been nothing short of stellar for Kyle Larson. The Hendrick No. 5 Chevrolet won at Las Vegas and Kansas, and led the most laps at Texas. If not for a loose wheel in that third race, Larson would have a hat trick of dominant 1.5-mile wins. Larson is rightfully the center attention in two racing universes this weekend, running the Indy 500/Coke 600 Double. The California kid is as prepared as possible to chase two huge victories only hours apart.
“We had a good qualifying session at Indy last weekend and we’ll get one final practice in on Carb Day (Friday),” Larson said. “It’s cool, and I want to thank Hendrick Motorsports for getting the 5 team up here (to Indianapolis) Friday to be a part of it. Hopefully, the weather cooperates this weekend. We want to be sure to get in a good practice and qualifying on Saturday at Charlotte so we have a great chance to battle for the win at the end of 600 miles Sunday night.”
Weather will ultimately be a deciding factor in both legs of Larson’s spectacular Sunday. Should he make Charlotte on time, Larson is the head and shoulders favorite for the 600. 2021 saw Larson leave the 600 field in the dust with 327 laps led. Only having one Charlotte top-10 since however, Larson has a bit of bad luck to break on Sunday.
Denny Hamlin
From one past 600 champion to another, Denny Hamlin took home his first Charlotte win two years ago. A crash before halfway last year eliminated the defending winner early, with the No. 11 settling for 35th-place. One of the oldest drivers in Sunday’s field, Hamlin is more than aware of the tolls an extra 100 miles takes on a mind and body.
“The Coke 600 definitely wears on you both mentally and physically,” Hamlin said. “For me personally, just sitting in that position for so long wears on my back a little more, especially with how we have to run the cars nowadays. But, you know going in that it’s going to be that way and it’s going to be hot, so it’s really about preparing yourself ahead of time to be at your best at the end of race.”
Hamlin has been in near lockstep with Larson through 13 weeks; don’t expect that to change at Charlotte. Currently riding a career-best streak of races led, Hamlin should be a strong contender Sunday night. Hamlin’s winning tracks have progressively gotten bigger with each victory this year. A 1.5-mile speedway like Charlotte is seemingly next on team 11’s bucket list.
Chris Buescher
From Kansas woes to Darlington despair to All-Star aspirations, everything has trended forward with Chris Buescher. The RFK Racing driver was in position to steal Kansas in overtime, until Larson went high wide and handsome. Darlington also saw victory snatched from the 17’s grasp, by Tyler Reddick’s bad slide job attempt. North Wilkesboro saw Buescher finish third, continuing a great run of consistent speed.
Buescher was a top-three car in nearly half the laps at both Las Vegas and Kansas. RFK has an apparent trick up their sleeves on intermediates, having Buescher head to Charlotte hungry. Do not be shocked to see another banner night from this crew, trying to reassert themselves as title threats.
Tyler Reddick
In a similar vein to Larson, Tyler Reddick has torn up 1.5-mile tracks in 2024. Second at Las Vegas and fourth at Texas have the No. 45 trending towards an elusive intermediate win. Darlington two weeks ago also showed off Reddick’s prowess, with the 23XI Racing driver leading a race-high 174 laps. After being fifth in the Coca-Cola 600 a year ago, Reddick eyes a few steps higher this time.
Martin Truex Jr
No conversation about possible Coca-Cola 600 winners is complete without mentioning Martin Truex Jr. The only active driver with multiple 600 victories, Truex owned Charlotte in 2016 and again in 2019. Truex’s 2016 domination still lives on in NASCAR lore, his 392 laps led remains as the most miles led in any race ever. Truex is one driver who relishes in all unique and challenging factors about racing’s longest night.
“My favorite thing about the Coke 600 is how much the track changes and how long the race is,” Truex said. “It’s such a big challenge to get prepared for and get through the whole race. We’ve been fortunate to win it a few times. For whatever reason, it’s been a really good race for me and my Bass Pro Shops team the past eight or nine years. I always look forward to the challenge – it’s a grind and I love that. Always honored to not only have a fallen soldier riding along with me, but also for all the work Bass Pro Shops does with the USO and all their great work with our military heroes.”
“When you win the 600, you get to go upstairs in the Speedway Club and get the jacket. You get a ring and a jacket – it’s a big deal, it’s not like winning a normal race. Any time you get to do those things, it’s really special and you definitely savor the moment. For me, leading 392 (laps) or whatever back in 2016, it was a great trip up there after. The most laps and miles led in a NASCAR race, it was an incredible deal to be able to do that.”
It’s been five years since MTJ’s most recent 600 triumph, but he’s remained elite. Truex has two top-10s in the last four May marathons, including third last year. Should the No. 19 sniff the lead, it could be a very long Sunday night for the competition.
Ryan Blaney
The defending Coca-Cola 600 winner is also the reigning Cup champion–Ryan Blaney. The Penske 12 team’s breakthrough Charlotte win a season ago kickstarted their championship path, also ending a long losing drought. Blaney has yet to find victory lane again in his title defense year, with Charlotte being circled on his calendar. The Carolina native is eager to defend what he calls one of his biggest wins yet.
“It was nice to put that race together,” Blaney said. “That’s obviously a long night and it was a long weekend running on Monday. It’s just cool that we were able to put a whole race together and could snap that streak of not winning for awhile and then to do it. Josef (Newgarden) won the Indy 500 the day before that on Sunday, so it was nice to kind of finish that off. We’re always watching that race and if one of those guys wins, we kind of know we’ve got a shot to do it and you don’t get that shot very often. So it was nice for it to all come together. And then being from just down the road was super cool with my family there and a bunch of buddies. It would be nice to do it again. That’s something I’ll never forget.”
Last year’s win was Blaney’s first Charlotte finish better than 13th since 2020. May 2024 has already been huge for Team Penske; they locked out the Indy 500 front row and Joey Logano dominated the All-Star Race. Blaney will once again try and cap off this huge motorsports month with another trophy.
Nowhere on the NASCAR circuit are man and machine put to more of an endurance test than the Coca-Cola 600. Whoever does stand tall in victory lane will have defeated premier competition on one of racing’s biggest stages. Having added points also thrown in makes the 600 a huge night for the championship. The marathon of a NASCAR race goes green Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to David Jensen/Getty Images
