Can Kyle Larson win Charlotte race after Indy 500

In the Next Gen era, which began in 2022, three different drivers have won the Coke 600 and, yes, all three are among our first group of favorites this week.

But none of them is Kyle Larson, who remains as the very top favorite in spite of the fact he’s not 100% guaranteed to even start the race.

Not 100%, but frankly, he’s as close as he can get to being a sure thing. First, the weather forecast for Indianapolis looks very favorable. Cool and cloudy (cool for late May, anyway) but no moisture, or so they promise. 

So Kyle should be able to complete 200 laps and 500 miles at the Brickyard — barring any issues, of course — and then rely on the miracles of modern aviation to make Charlotte in time for another 600 miles. 

Depending on how many laps he turns at Indy, it might be hard to imagine him gutting out a 600-mile win in the evening. That cool Indy weather helps, but still, it’s what they call a “big ask.”

Tell that to the Hard Rock Bets guys who set the odds thermostat.

If Kyle Larson arrives on time after Indy 500, he’s the NASCAR favorite

+550: Kyle Larson

+700: Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell

+750: Denny Hamlin, William Byron

+850: Tyler Reddick

The three Next Gen winners of the 600 are Blaney, Bell and Hamlin. Blaney is most overdue of that little group, but his other two recent Charlotte finishes are 29th and 39th.

Any chance Brad Keselowski rights the ship at Charlotte?

+1400: Chase Elliott

+1600: Joey Logano

+1750: Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman

+2000: Brad Keselowski, Josh Berry

+2250: Ross Chastain

Kez has been pretty good of late but has nothing to show for it due to buzzard’s luck. Is there any chance he can get through 600 miles without something bad happening. Recent trends say no.

Bubba Wallace gets no love from gamblers for Charlotte race

+2500: Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher

+3000: Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe

+4000: Carson Hocevar, Ryan Preece

+7500: Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez

+10000: Connor Zilisch, Erik Jones, Noah Gragson

Quite a welcome-back for Connor Z. A month ago, in the Xfinity race at Talladega, he crashed hard (while leading the last lap, by the way) and injured his lower back. Now he’s back for double-duty — Xfinity on Saturday and then NASCAR’s longest race Sunday.

Hey look, way down here … it’s Jimmie Johnson

+15000: Zane Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, AJ Allmendinger, Todd Gilliland

+20000: Justin Haley

+25000: Jimmie Johnson, Shane van Gisbergen

This grouping tells you how Jimmie Johnson’s part-time gig is going. In 12 of the 13 here-and-there starts since 2023 with his Legacy team, he’s finished between 26th and 38th. However, he finished third in his most recent. However, Part II: That was in February at Daytona, where such things happen.

Same ol’, same ol’, plus Derek Kraus

+50000: Riley Herbst, Ty Dillon

+100000: Derek Kraus, Cody Ware, Josh Bilicki

Derek Kraus is doing things the right way, working his way through ARCA, Trucks, etc. He got several Cup starts last year for Matt Kaulig, and this week is driving for the part-time N.Y. Race Team, which most recently had JJ Yeley chug-a-lugging behind the wheel. 

— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com