Who Can Beat Harvick or Johnson at Coca-Cola 600?

The NASCAR Sprint Cup will share its holiday weekend with two other great races. Bright and early on Sunday the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix will be held, then the Indianapolis 500 will start at noon and the day of racing will end Sunday night with the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600.

However, the Sprint Cup is what we are all concerned with. Last week at the All-Star race there were only four lap leaders, which meant drivers took extended rides as the leader, making for less exciting racing.

Last week Denny Hamlin won and proved that the Job Gibbs Racing team is able to compete on the 1.5-mile tracks with Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick from Stewart Haas along with Hendrick Motorsports and Jimmie Johnson.

Harvick has been first or second in four races on 1.5-mile tracks this season and Johnson has been victorious in 3 of the 4.

During practice this week, Harvick and Busch once again looked strong but so did Jeff Gordon who was better than even Jimmie Johnson.

The race is super long and endurance and adjusting to changing conditions are the two biggest worries that drivers have. The race will begin during the day but go though dusk and into the night with all three changing how a car handles.

Last year it was Johnson’s crew winning the endurance test, which marked Johnson’s fourth title.

Harvick won last fall at Charlotte for a third win in his career there, and since has finished second or higher in each of the seven 1.5 mile tracks. The races Harvick did not win, were won by Johnson.

The best choice if betting against Johnson and Harvick this weekend would be Kurt Bosch.

Busch had the best five and 10-lap averages during last weekend’s All-Star practices and while a different chassis will likely be used in this week’s Coca-Cola 600, they should be one of a few cars with a legitimate shot at defeating Johnson and Harvick.

Top-5 odds

Kevin Harvick  4 to 1

Kurt Busch 6 to 1

Jimmie Johnson 6 to 1

Brad Keselowski 8 to 1

Joey Logano  8 to 1