Truex and Larson appear to be in the best form at 1.5-mile tracks this season. Truex won at Las Vegas and last week at Kansas, while Larson has three runner-up finishes and a sixth-place showing in the four intermediate track races thus far. After 11 races, Larson continues to lead the Cup Series points standings in part due to a 6.9 average finish and 366 laps led.
Truex dominated the Coca-Cola 600 last year, leading a track-record 392 laps and the first-ever perfect driver rating (150.0) at Charlotte. However, his win has nothing on Johnson. The reigning Cup Series champion will attempt to extend his track record with a ninth win at Charlotte. In 31 starts at the 1.5-mile North Carolina track, Johnson also owns 15 top fives, 19 top 10s and a 12.6 average finish. He leads the series in Charlotte driver rating (110.6) and average running position (8.1).
It’s no surprise after those incredible numbers that Johnson, Truex and Larson are currently listed as the top-three favorites for Sunday night’s race (6 p.m. ET, Fox).
What are the Las Vegas odds for the NASCAR race at Kansas?
Here are the race odds according to the Westgate Sportsbook:
Who are the sleepers to win the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte?
Ryan Blaney gets another chance to win at a 1.5-mile track after performing well in the last two. The Wood Brothers Racing driver finished fourth at Kansas after winning Stage 2 and leading 83 laps. At Texas, he led a race-high 148 laps and won the contest’s first two stages.Ryan Newman already has a win this season, meaning he is more inclined to take big risks Sunday to win knowing he is already locked into the playoffs. In the past four races at Charlotte, the veteran Newman owns the fourth-best average finish at Charlotte (8.75).
Clint Bowyer won at Charlotte in October 2012 and owns two top-five finishes and five top 10s with 119 laps laps led at the track. He won Stage 1 of Saturday’s Monster Energy Open after being on the pole and has shown great speed all season.
Which drivers are best for fantasy NASCAR in Charlotte?
Kevin Harvick is known for being dominant at 1.5-mile tracks. Brad Keselowski, who has shown great speed this season and won earlier this year on a similar layout at Atlanta, has an average finish of 7.0 the past four races at Charlotte.
After Harvick, Truex and Keselowski, Joey Logano has led the most laps (901) at 1.5-mile tracks since the start of the 2015 season. Logano also leads all active drivers in the Cup Series in average finishing position at Charlotte with a 11.18.
Looking to save some salary? Draft Trevor Bayne. The Roush Fenway driver has finished 13th or better in each of the four 1.5-mile races this season and was seventh in Saturday’s Open.
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