NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 is a crown-jewel capstone to one of the greatest days in racing. Starting with the Monaco Grand Prix in Europe, racing then comes stateside for the Indy 500 and ends the night with NASCAR’s longest race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. And, with the Monaco GP moving a week later from 2026, it’s the last time to enjoy all three series on the same day for the foreseeable future.
If you catch all of that racing, one name will stand out: Kyle Larson. NASCAR’s own points leader will not only be driving his No. 5 Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports at Charlotte as usual (with the race airing at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday on Amazon Prime, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), but he’ll also be racing at Indy for the McLaren team (with that race starting at 12:45 p.m. ET on FOX).
Odds via BetMGM
+500 – Kyle Larson
+700 – Denny Hamlin
+725 – Ryan Blaney
+725 – William Byron
+725 – Tyler Reddick
+825 – Christopher Bell
+1600 – Chase Elliott
+1800 – Joey Logano
+2000 – Alex Bowman
+2200 – Kyle Busch
If Larson can win both races, he would immediately make it into the history books as the first driver to do so in history. Even just completing the race is a feat, though: Tony Stewart is still the only driver to have ever completed all 1,100 miles of the Indy 500 and Coke 600 on the same day.
He didn’t get the chance last year. He finished 18th in a rain-delayed Indy 500 after a speeding penalty. That caused him to miss the first third of the Coke 600, with Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier driving his car, with Larson subbing in and ending up 13th.
However, this year, he’s the favorite to win, at least in Charlotte. Larson has done it before, winning the race in 2021. But, as 2023 winner Ryan Blaney explains, it’s a challenge every time.
“The mental side, I think,” Blaney said offered the biggest challenge. “Yeah, it’s physical. It’s hot. It’s a long race, but you just get comfortable in there and you train for that stuff. Physically, 600 miles is not much tougher than 500. Once you get to that 400 mark you’re kind of like, ‘This is what it is. There’s only a little bit to go.’
“Mentally, it’s just that when you get the halfway call at lap 200 and you’ve been running for two and a half hours already you’re like, ‘Oh, man. You better lock in here because the job is only half finished.’ I think mentally it’s super tough to stay in it, but the best guys are able to do it.”
Going 600 miles on the 1.5-mile track might no longer be a challenge for the cars, but as Blaney said it’s still a challenge for the drivers for a race that regularly stretches over four hours and reached over five hours in 2022.
It’s no surprise, then, that the wins list is a who’s who of some of NASCAR’s biggest stars. Besides Larson and Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr have all won in the last seven renditions of the race. It’s not a shoe-in for any one driver and the race demands its own respect.
Blaney, for his part, is looking to get his first win of the season after plenty of bad luck has limited his ability to get results that reflect his speed. He’s optimistic for Charlotte.
“I think it’s gonna be a really good racetrack for us,” Blaney said. “I enjoy going there. We’ve put together really good mile-and-a-halves so far this year and hopefully that translates. I was actually able to be a part of a tire test in Charlotte a couple months back, so it was nice to get a little bit more track time.”
Clearly, it’s a particularly crazy place to make just your second-ever Cup Series start, but that’s the story for Connor Zilisch this weekend. He’ll be piloting the No. 87 for Trackhouse as well as piloting his full-time No. 88 in the Xfinity Series, his own sort of double. It’ll be his first race back after injury leave following a hard crash at Talladega as well.
If it’s any indication of the length and arduousness of this race, Zilisch’s best point of comparison was his experience in the 24 Hours of Daytona. It’s a good point of comparison, though, since Zilisch has won that race in the LMP2 class.
“I’m super-excited to be making my second Cup start at Charlotte,” Zilisch said. The 600 is one of the biggest races in NASCAR and the longest. It’s going to be all about patience and thankfully I’ve got some endurance racing in my back pocket from the last two years that will help prepare me for this race mentally.
“I’ve done 24-hour races and 12-hour races but racing for five hours in a stock car is another challenge. Nine hundred miles in one weekend can be a lot, but I’ve got a great group of people around me to help keep me settled and prepare me for a weekend like this,” Zilisch explained.
If this weekend’s biggest story involves another series altogether, the next-biggest is off the track entirely and behind the TV screen. The Coke 600 marks the first NASCAR race on Amazon Prime, and the first NASCAR Cup Series race exclusively on streaming. That means you will have to use an Amazon Prime account to catch the race (or get a 30-day free trial, long enough for all of the races Prime covers this year).
Prime will feature a new booth, albeit made up of familiar faces from other networks, with Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Steve Letarte on the call. Trevor Bayne, Kim Coon, and Marty Snyder will provide pit road coverage.
Most notably, Prime promises no full-screen commercials, with everything in side-by-side for uninterrupted action of every lap. Other features like a recap mode should enhance the viewing experience, and seem to mirror the subscription streaming service Formula One offers.
Justin Allgaier Looks to Back Up Win at Charlotte
Last year, it was Chase Elliott, moonlighting in the Xfinity Series, who won at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series. That meant Justin Allgaier wasn’t able to defend his win from the year before, where he started from the pole and dominated.
This year, Allgaier is not only the points leader and has the chance to fight for the win in Saturday’s BetMGM 300, airing at 4:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
To do that, he’ll have to face down Austin Dillon, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe, all making a start in the Xfinity Series in addition to their Cup Series competition this weekend.
He’ll also have to beat Connor Zilisch, making his own double by a rare start in the Cup Series, his first-ever oval in the Cup Series.
“I think the Xfinity race at Charlotte is going to be really good for us, considering how well we’ve done on the intermediate tracks this year,” Zilisch said. “We’ve just got to continue to build on what we’ve learned throughout the season and hopefully have a good run in the Jarrett Chevrolet at my home track.”
Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain Take on Trucks at Charlotte
Corey Heim has three wins, more than any other driver so far this year in the Craftsman Truck Series. He will be hoping to add to that total in Friday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (8:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
However, he’ll have to face down two Cup Series drivers, Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain, alongside the rest of the Truck Series field. That will be tough competition: Bush has eight wins in the Truck Series at Charlotte and Chastain has one.
“I think Charlotte is a great track for us to race on,” Chastain said. “The pavement is wore out and bumpy, so we’re always searching around for grip. With how short the truck race is compared to the other series, we all know that we have to make moves quickly to get track position.
“When we were able to win here a few years ago, it felt so rewarding because we had been close so many other times. I’m hoping we can have another chance at doing that again this week.”
