Micah Roberts' Top -10 Finish Prediction: 2023 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

1 #19 Martin Truex Jr. (8/1) - He’s got momentum and he’s got three Charlotte wins in his back pocket. And he’s got JGR power. The momentum angle is as real as the Nuggets sweeping the Lakers. Truex went an entire season with the NextGen car without a win but the drought ended when the calendar turned to May. He won at Dover after leading 68 laps, then he finished seventh at Kansas after leading 79 laps, and then he was involved in an accident at Darlington but he was old Truex dominating like the old days and led a race-high 145 laps. Truex is back and he’s going to use all his skills coupled with JGR’s improved set-ups to make up for the lost time of figuring out the NextGen car. I think his team has it figured out.

2 #5 Kyle Larson (9/2) - He notched his first Charlotte win in 2021 in dominating fashion winning the first two stages and closing out for the win. He led 327 of the 400 laps. He was ninth last season in the first year using the NextGen car. Both his wins this season have come on short tracks. He was runner-up at both Las Vegas and Kansas this season. He’ll be in the lead pack racing for the win.

3 #9 Chase Elliott (7/1) - He won the first stage of last year’s Coca-Cola 600, led 86 laps, then had issues and finished 33rd. That ended a four-race run of finishing fourth or better at Charlotte, which includes two runner-ups and his only win in 2020. This would be an ideal spot for him to get his first win of 2023. Shop around for a much better price than what Caesars is offering.

4 #1 Ross Chastain (10/1) - He’s got five top-fives and a series-leading 429 points accumulated over the first 13 races. But no wins yet after winning his first two races last season. He’s competing hard and battling for solid positions weekly. He’s not making any friends, either, but I don’t think he cares. He cares about winning. Last season he led a race-high 153 laps before finishing 15th.

5 #11 Denny Hamlin (13/2) - He started from the pole last season and won his first career Cup race at Charlotte. That’s racing in his adopted hometown since 2006, twice a year until recently, in NASCAR’s hub, and he didn’t win until starting 30 Charlotte races. He won at Kansas to kick off May and those winning set-up notes will help him here. Why not go back-to-back with Coca-Cola 600 wins?

6 #24 William Byron (6/1) - He leads NASCAR with three Cup wins and two of them can be used as a good comparison to Charlotte with Las Vegas and Darlington wins. And he was third at Kansas. His best at Charlotte was a fourth-place in 2021. He was involved in an accident last season there,

7 #8 Kyle Busch (12/1) - He’s had 16 top-fives in 34 starts at Charlotte while leading an incredible 1,486 laps, but only one win. The win came in 2018 when he led an amazing 377 of 400 laps. This is where he raised his family. This is home for him, and yet, just one win. Jimmie Johnson was hogging all the wins with his eight wins over the years. He’ll have a good race.

8 #4 Kevin Harvick (17/1) - This will be his final Coca-Cola 600 and he brings three Charlotte wins in 40 starts, along with 10 top-fives, and 605 laps led. He has been a top-10 finisher in his last five Charlotte starts and he was third last season. Do you know why I placed a small bet on him to win? Because I liked his fight to get runner-up at Darlington two weeks ago. Because I can visualize him getting the win, counting down the laps to go with him in the lead, and it being an emotional win for his family, friends, and fans. I’m a sucker for the storybook ending. If you like Harvick, shop around for the best price.

9 #48 Alex Bowman (18/1) - This is his first race back after missing a few weeks, but I like him to run well despite it being a grueling race, the longest race of the season. He won a 2017 Xfinity Series race at Charlotte and finished 10th last season in Cup and fifth in 2021. He was third at Las Vegas this season, a similar layout to Charlotte.

10 #99 Daniel Suarez (28/1) - Charlotte hasn’t been a good place for him traditionally, but he performed well at similar types of tracks this season at Fontana (4th), Las Vegas (9th), and Kansas (15th).

Read the Top-20 Predictions on Sportsline.com