Drivers to watch during Sunday's Cup race at Charlotte
NASCAR Cup teams return to action Sunday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the schedule.
Several drivers have achieved success at the 1.5-mile track and will be back in the lineup to pursue another win. The driver that accomplishes this feat will leave the track with a custom Coca-Cola machine and one of NASCAR's crown jewels.
Atlanta tops NASCAR Power Rankings of remaining Cup races
Twenty-three races remain in the Cup schedule. NBC Sports will broadcast 20 of these races.
Here is a look at the drivers to keep an eye on during Sunday’s races.
FRONTRUNNERS
Denny Hamlin
Points position: 3rd
Best finish this season: 1st (Bristol I, Richmond I, Dover)
2024 stats: Three wins, five top-five finishes and six top 10s. An average finish of 12.7 and 607 laps led.
Past at Charlotte: Thirty-two starts with one win, 11 top-five finishes and 20 top 10s. Hamlin won the first Next Gen race at Charlotte.
Kyle Larson
Points position: 1st
Best finish this season: 1st (Las Vegas I, Kansas I)
2024 stats: Two wins, six top-five finishes and six top 10s. An average finish of 12.6 with 648 laps led. Larson has won the pole three times. Larson has won two races at non-drafting 1.5-mile tracks this season.
Past at Charlotte: Fourteen starts with one win, two top-five finishes and six top 10s. Larson led 327 of the 400 possible laps in the 2021 Coca-Cola 600 before winning.
Kyle Busch
Points position: 13th
Best finish this season: 3rd (Atlanta I)
2024 stats: Two top-five finishes and five top 10s. An average finish of 16.0 with 115 laps led. Busch finished 26th, ninth and eighth in three races at non-drafting 1.5-mile tracks this season.
Past at Charlotte: Thirty-five starts with one win, 16 top-five finishes and 22 top 10s. Busch led 377 of 400 possible laps before winning the 2018 Coca-Cola 600. He has top-10 finishes in six of the past seven races at Charlotte.
Chase Elliott
Points position: 4th
Best finish this season: 1st (Texas)
2024 stats: One win, five top-five finishes and six top 10s. An average finish of 9.8 with 131 laps led. Elliott's last two finishes on non-drafting 1.5-mile tracks this season are first and third.
Past at Charlotte: Twelve starts with one win, five top fives and six top 10s. Elliott won on the Charlotte oval in 2020 and he finished runner-up in three other Charlotte races.
Kyle Larson’s busy day in Indianapolis and North Wilkesboro ends in top-five finish
Kyle Larson qualified fifth for next week’s Indianapolis 500 and finished fourth in the NASCAR All-Star Race.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Ryan Blaney
Points position: 8th
Best finish this season: 2nd (Atlanta I)
2024 stats: Four top-five finishes, five top 10s and an average finish of 15.4. Blaney finished third, 33rd and 12th in three races at non-drafting 1.5-mile tracks this season.
Past at Charlotte: Thirteen starts with one win, three top-five finishes and four top 10s. Blaney won last season's Coca-Cola 600 but he has an average finish of 18.2 at the track.
Bubba Wallace
Points position: 16th
Best finish this season: 4th (Martinsville I)
2024 stats: Three top-five finishes, five top 10s and an average finish of 17.0. Wallace finished 35th, seventh and 17th in the three races at non-drafting 1.5-mile tracks this season.
Past at Charlotte: Seven starts with one top-five finish and one top 10. Wallace finished fourth in last season's Coca-Cola 600.
Ross Chastain
Points position: 10th
Best finish this season: 4th (Las Vegas I)
2024 stats: One top-five finish, four top 10s and an average finish of 13.5. Chastain finished fourth, 32nd and 19th in three races at non-drafting 1.5-mile tracks this season.
Past at Charlotte: Six starts with no top-10 finishes. Chastain has an average finish of 25.8 with only one finish better than 20th.
Daniel Suarez
Points position: 18th
Best finish this season: 1st (Atlanta I)
2024 stats: One win, two top-five finishes, two top 10s and an average finish of 19.4. Suarez finished 11th, fifth and 27th in the three races at non-drafting 1.5-mile tracks this season.
Past at Charlotte: Nine starts with one top-10 finish. Suarez finished sixth in 2017. His three finishes at Charlotte since joining Trackhouse Racing are 15th, 25th and 23rd.
