We are in the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series season, and the drivers are getting ready for the longest race of the year. The Coca-Cola 600 will take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Conrad, North Carolina, and with the race being 600 miles, there will be four stages, meaning more opportunities for drivers to earn points. The race will startย on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET and will air on Fox.
The Coca-Cola 600 is one of the NASCAR’s biggest races largely because it’s a 600-mile battle. But with the race falling on Memorial Day Weekend, it is part of arguably the biggest weekends in auto racing. The Indianapolis 500 is also on Sunday as well as the Monaco Grand Prix. Getting a win at the Coca-Cola 600 could lead to big things at the end of the year, and that is something Denny Hamlin is looking to do.ย
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“The Coca-Cola 600 is a race that I haven’t won that I really would like to win,” Hamlin said. “It’s a tough race, it’s an endurance race that really tests the driver and the car, and it’s one of the toughest for a reason. It’s one that I’ve been close, but I just haven’t been able to get the checkered flag there yet. Winning this race would certainly be something that would get added very high on the resume.” ย
Kyle Busch knows what it takes to win at the Coca-Cola 600 as he came in first back in 2018. And when it comes to last year, Busch finished third behind 2020 Cup Series Champion Chase Elliott and 2021 Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson. Busch recently spoke to PopCulture.com about the race and revealed what he does differently to prepare for it.ย
“So biggest thing is just making sure you’re more well hydrated throughout the week and getting your hydration levels to where you need them,” Busch said. “Thankfully, I’ve got Rowdy Energy for that so that helps. But also just from there, I don’t like to drink a whole lot on race day obviously, for the fact of being in the race car, you’re going to be in there for four, four and a half hours, so you don’t want to have to feel like you got to go to the bathroom. So that’s why you get it all done ahead of time and then the day of, you really don’t drink a whole lot the day of until you get back in the car with your water source and things like that.” ย