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2008 Coca Cola 600 Odds & Predictions

Memorial Day weekend is one of the biggest weekends of the year in racing with the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 being run on the same day. It is one of the rare days when NASCAR takes a back seat to Indy Car racing, but Jimmy Boyd still wants to keep you NASCAR junkies up to speed on this Sunday night's race with his 2008 Coca-Cola 600 odds and predictions. As always, Jimmy lists his top five finishers below.


First of all, I need to comment on last week's All Star race which throws a little kink into things. Kasey Kahne couldn't even beat the dead weight in the qualifying race, but he is able to go on to win the All Star race because the fan vote got him there. That win by Kahne completely went against all the numbers. However, Kahne's win shouldn't surprise us entirely as he was a force on high banking mile and a half tracks back in 2006. The Coca-Cola 600 takes place on the same track as the All Star race, but it's a longer race, and I think Kahne will be in for a big letdown after a win last week.

Coca-Cola 600 Top 5 Finish predictions:

1-#48 Jimmie Johnson 6-1

Johnson ran well at Charlotte last season and also at the similar tracks of Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Texas. Johnson finished 4th in the All Star race, proving to us that he still has this track figured out. The 2008 season has been nothing like his 2007 campaign, but there's still a lot of driving left to be done and I like Mr. Johnson to start wracking up some wins starting with this race. Everyone knows that Johnson owns his sponsor track.

2-#99 Carl Edwards 9-2

Edwards won the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas earlier this year and has long been solid on the aforementioned similar tracks. Edwards has also won the Samsung 500 at Texas. Edwards has been the best of these similar high banking tracks in 2008, but he did not look as good as expected at Charlotte last week which has me giving the edge to Johnson.

3-#20 Tony Stewart 8-1

Tony Stewart is traditionally a second half of the season driver and I think he has a very good shot to win. Stewart is yet to take a checkered flag in 2008, but he ran 2nd at the Atlanta in the Kobalt Tools 500 and 7th at Texas in the Samsung 500. Don't be surprised is Tony breaks through with his first win of the year.

4-#18 Kyle Busch 9-2

Kyle Busch is NASCAR's bad boy right now and the fans love every minute of it. He has the confidence and the renegade attitude to bump a driver out of the way to take a checkered flag. He has finished first, second, and first in his last three points races to gain the points lead. He's the type of kid that will bounce back from a disappointing All Star Challenge finish.

5-#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr 8-1

Junior has a good car and has also ran well on the three other tracks which have held the key to success on this one. Junior was second in Vegas, third in Atlanta, and 12th in Texas. I think he is a more patient driver than he used to be and will fare well in this 600.

Coca-Cola 600 odds:

Jamie McMurray 100 - 1

Michael Waltrip 100 - 1

Scott Riggs 100 - 1

Reed Sorenson 100 - 1

David Gilliland 100 - 1

Elliott Sadler 100 - 1

Dave Blaney 100 - 1

Travis Kvapil 100 - 1

Paul Menard 100 - 1

Sam Hornish Jr 100 - 1

David Reutimann 100 - 1

Juan Pablo Montoya 75 - 1

Bobby Labonte 75 - 1

Brian Vickers 75 - 1

Kurt Busch 40 - 1

Casey Mears 40 - 1

Mark Martin 40 - 1

Ryan Newman 40 - 1

David Ragan 40 - 1

Martin Truex Jr 30 - 1

Jeff Burton 30 - 1

Kasey Kahne 30 - 1

Clint Bowyer 25 - 1

Kevin Harvick 25 - 1

Jeff Gordon 10 - 1

Greg Biffle 10 - 1

Matt Kenseth 10 - 1

Denny Hamlin 10 - 1

Tony Stewart 8 - 1

Dale Earnhardt Jr 8 - 1

Jimmie Johnson 6 - 1

Kyle Busch 9 - 2

Carl Edwards 9 - 2

Field (Any Other Driver) 50 - 1

May 20th, 2008