Now that All-Star weekend has passed, NASCAR Cup Series begins the second half of the regular season with the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Eight different drivers have won in the first 13 races of the season: Denny Hamlin (three wins), William Byron (three), Kyle Larson (two), Chase Elliott (one), Tyler Reddick (one), Brad Keselowski (one) . , Christopher Bell (one) and Daniel Suárez (one).
Additionally, points leader Kyle Larson will look to race in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Here’s a look at where each Cup organization stands heading into the 14th race of the season:
Racing 23XI — Good news: In four starts in the Coke 600, Reddick finished eighth, ninth, sixth and fifth for an average finish of 7.0. That ranks as the second-best average finish for that race (with more than two starts) in NASCAR history. Only Rex White’s average finish of 5.2 in five starts is better. Bad news: Bubba Wallace has a finish better than 14th in seven career starts at the Charlotte oval.
World-class motorsports – Good news: Todd Gilliland has moved from 26th to 22nd in points over the last two races after finishing 14th and 15th. Bad news: Michael McDowell has one top-10 finish (8th in 2022) in 15 Coke 600 starts.
Hendrick Motorsports – Good news: The organization has won the last three races on 1.5-mile tracks. Chase Elliott won in Texas. Kyle Larson won in Las Vegas and Kansas. … Larson has led 322 of 811 laps (39.7%) completed in the last three races on 1.5-mile tracks. … Larson has scored more points (143) than any other driver at those three tracks. … Larson has scored at least one playoff point in six of the last seven races. … William Byron and Alex Bowman have eight top-10 finishes this season, the best in the series. Bad news: Chase Elliott finished 33rd and 34th in his last two Coke 600 starts.
Rick Hendrick and others could be mulling those questions depending on Sunday’s weather and how Kyle Larson is running in the Indianapolis 500.
Joe Gibbs Racing – Good news: Martin Truex Jr. has finished all 32 races he has run on the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval in his Cup career. No driver has gone longer without a DNF on that oval. … Truex and his teammate Ty Gibbs rank first and third respectively in laps completed this year. Truex has completed all but one of 3,854 laps and is tied with Chase Elliott. Gibbs has run all but three laps this year. … Denny Hamlin has 17 top 10s, including one win, in his last 22 starts at the Charlotte oval. Bad news: Christopher Bell has fallen from 10th to 15th in points over the last four races.
JTG Daugherty Racing – Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made his Cup debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the 2011 Coke 600, finishing 11th. Bad news: The All-Star Race experience last weekend.
Stenhouse Jr and Busch get involved after the All-Star Race
Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton break down a full slate of NASCAR and IndyCar action, Joey Logano’s All-Star victory, a fight between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch, and Kyle Larson splitting his time between the two series.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: Shane van Gisbergen makes his fifth career Cup start. Bad news: After posting a pair of ninth-place finishes, which moved Daniel Hemric to 25th in points, he has had consecutive finishes of 30th or worse and dropped to 30th in points.
Legacy Motor Club – Good news: Jimmie Johnson is back in the No. 84 car this weekend, allowing him to start in three of the final four points races: Dover, Kansas and Charlotte. Bad news: Erik Jones hasn’t finished in the top 10 since placing eighth in the Daytona 500.
Richard Childress Racing – Good news: Kyle Busch has seven consecutive top-10 finishes in the Coke 600, tying the all-time record for that race. … Busch ranks third all-time in laps led in the Coke 600 with 1,061, trailing only David Pearson (1,252 laps led) and Bobby Allison (1,176). … Busch will make his 50th start with RCR this weekend. …Austin Dillon’s first Cup win came at the 2017 Coke 600 at Charlotte. Bad news: It has been 34 races (almost a full season) since the organization’s last victory, which came at World Wide Technology Raceway last June with Busch.
Richard Childress participated in Robby Gordon’s effort by competing in the 2002 Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600.
Rick Ware Racing – Good news: Justin Haley is coming off his first top-10 finish in a points race this season with his ninth-place finish at Darlington. …He finished 15th in last year’s Coke 600 with Kaulig Racing, his best finish in that event. … Haley ranks seventh in the series (and first among Ford drivers) in percentage of laps completed this year at 99.6%. He has run all but 15 laps this year. … Kaz Grala is coming off a 18th-place finish at Darlington, only surpassed by his 14th-place finish at Atlanta, his best finish of the season. Bad news: Haley ranks 32nd in points. He is ahead of only two drivers (Harrison Burton and Zane Smith) who have run all 13 points races this season.
RFK Racing — Good news: One of the organization’s cars has finished first or second in four of the last five scoring races. … Chris Buescher has four top 10s in the last five Coke 600s. Bad news: Both Brad Keselowski (11th) and Buescher (12th) are outside the top 10 in points halfway through the regular season.
Spire Motorsports – Good news: The organization has finished in the top 20 in four of the last six races, including a 16th-place finish by Corey LaJoie at Darlington, the most recent points race. Bad news: Carson Hocevar, Zane Smith and LaJoie have combined to score 507 points this season. Series leader Kyle Larson has 486 points.
Stewart-Haas Racing – Good news: Noah Gragson has seven consecutive top-20 finishes, including three top-10s, and has moved up to 19th in points. … Chase Briscoe has five top-10 finishes this year. He had eight last season. … Josh Berry is coming off a third-place finish at Darlington in the most recent points race. Bad news: Ryan Preece has gone 18 races without leading a lap. That’s tied with Austin Dillon for the longest active drought in that category. Preece also has yet to finish in the top 10 in 44 starts at the 1.5-mile track.
Twenty-three races remain on the Cup schedule. Keynote USA Sports will broadcast 20 of these races.
Team Penske – Good news: Ryan Blaney won last year’s Coca-Cola 600 to complete the Indy 500-Coke 600 sweep for the organization after Josef Newgarden won last year’s Indianapolis 500 on the same day. … Joey Logano is coming off a win in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. Bad news: Austin Cindric finished 18th or worse in 11 of 13 points races this season.
Trackhouse Racing – Good news: Daniel Suarez’s pit crew has made three of the 10 fastest four-tire pit stops this season, according to Racing Insights. Bad news: Ross Chastain has an average finish of 26th in the Coke 600. …Chastain has one top-10 finish in the last nine races. …The organization has not had a car finish in the top 10 in six of the last seven races.
Wood Brothers Racing – Good news: Harrison Burton has won stage points in two of the last five points races. Bad news: Burton has finished 28th or worse in the last three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season.
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