Charlotte Motor Speedway - The Coca-Cola 600 (News & Notes)

[HacheMan]

The Coca-Cola 600
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 13th race of the 2010 season, the Coca-Cola 600. NASCAR expert Brian Brown took a look at past performances, season trends, and spoke with NASCAR contacts to predict how the field should finish on Sunday night.


When: Sunday May 30, 2010; 6:16 p.m./et.


Weather: Partly cloudy with a high around 84; wind out of the ESE at 3 mph Chance of precipitation 10%.

The Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway

CMS is a 1.5 mile quad-oval. It has 24 degree banking in the turns and five degree banking on the straight-aways.


Key to Race: THE TRACK THAT JOHNSON OWNS

Not only is Lowe's on the front of Jimmie Johnson's car, but it is also the former name of the track that he dominates. Johnson has finished in the top two in 11 of the last 18 races (including All-Star Challenges) at the track. It is tough to pick against J.J. this weekend.


Qualifying Procedures:

47 cars will attempt to qualify for 43 spots. Cars not in the top 35 in the 2010 owner point standings will have to qualify based on speed. Starting positions 1-43 will be determined by qualifying on Thursday, May 27 at 7:10 pm/et.


Fantasy Cheat Sheet:

Top 5

No. 48 Jimmie Johnson: Johnson has dominated Lowe's Motor Speedway in his career. He is a MUST use this week.
No. 5 Mark Martin: Martin has 17 top five finishes during his career at CMS. He is in great shape for his age so he shouldn't have an issue getting tired during the 600 laps.
No. 9 Kasey Kahne: Kahne won the All Star Challenge and the Coca-Cola 600 at CMS in 2008. He will be fast again this weekend.
No. 24 Jeff Gordon: Gordon won the October race at CMS in 2007 for his fifth career win at the track. His past success at the track makes him a great option.
No. 18 Kyle Busch: Rowdy has been great at CMS the past two years. He will be fast again this weekend.


6 to 10

No. 17 Matt Kenseth: Kenseth had one of the top cars at CMS last October. He is a good pick this week.
No. 20 Joey Logano: Logano was awesome at CMS last year. He will crack the top 10 again on Sunday.
No. 11 Denny Hamlin: Hamlin has been running great lately. If he can avoid an accident he is a lock to crack the top 10.
No. 2 Kurt Busch: Busch was fast at CMS in 2008 and during last weekend's All Star race. He should take the checkers inside the top 10 this weekend.
No. 31 Jeff Burton: Burton has won three races at CMS so he knows his way around the oval. He should be the final car inside the top 10.


11 to 20

No. 99 Carl Edwards: Edwards has finished in the top 15 in all but two of his career starts at CMS. We like his chances on Sunday.
No. 29 Kevin Harvick: Harvick hasn't finished better than 13th in any full-length race at CMS since 2001. This could be the weekend that streak ends.
No. 16 Greg Biffle: Biffle had a great car during in both races at CMS in 2008, but he was average at the track last year. He should be back with a top 15 finish this visit.
No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya: Montoya hasn't had a ton of success at Charlotte during his career. He isn't a great choice this weekend.
No. 33 Clint Bowyer: Bowyer has brought just two great cars to CMS in eight career starts. He is more of a top 15 driver this weekend than a top 10 driver.
No. 00 David Reutimann: Reutimann led just five laps at CMS last May, but one of them happened to be the final one. His win was a complete fluke, but he should be strong enough for another top 20 finish this weekend.
No. 14 Tony Stewart: CMS isn't one of Stewart's favorite tracks. He has averaged just a 17th place finish at the track during his career.
No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Junior has finished in the top 11 in seven of his last 11 starts at CMS, but he has been awful the past month. He is a risky pick due to his recent struggles.
No. 39 Ryan Newman: Newman has eight poles in 18 career starts at CMS. He should qualify strong and a top 20 finish is expected.
No. 83 Casey Mears: Mears steps behind the wheel of the No. 83 car due to Brian Vickers' illness. Mears won the 2007 Coca-Cola 600, but that was more a fluke than a solid driving effort. He should crack the top 20, but he isn't worth using as much more than a fourth driver in fantasy leagues.


21 to 30

No. 12 Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 12th in his first trip to CMS. He is a great option this weekend.
No. 1 Jamie McMurray: McMurray has been super streaky so far this year. He has four top 10 finishes and four 30 or worse finishes. He will finish just outside the top 20 this trip to Charlotte.
No. 56 Martin Truex Jr.: Truex has two top 10 finishes in nine career starts at CMS. He will be doing well to crack the top 20 on Sunday.
No. 6 David Ragan: Ragan has finished has averaged a 24th place at CMS during his career. We expect he will finish right around his average this weekend.
No. 71 Bobby Labonte: Labonte has been terrific at CMS during his career. If you are ever going to have the No. 71 car on your team this is the weekend.
No. 98 Paul Menard: CMS has never been a strong track for Menard. He will just miss finishing inside the top 25.
No. 82 Scott Speed: Speed should have his car inside the top 30 this weekend.
No. 47 Marcos Ambrose: Ambrose continues to be mediocre this season. He is just a fair-to-middlin' pick.
No. 77 Sam Hornish Jr.: Hornish Jr. should crack the top 30 once again this weekend.
No. 19 Elliott Sadler: Sadler has been bad in eight of the last nine races at CMS. He is a risky pick this weekend.


31 to 35

No. 43 A.J. Allmendinger: A.J. has finished in the top 20 in just two of his six career starts at CMS. He will miss the top 30 this weekend.
No. 38 Travis Kvapil: Kvapil will struggle to finish inside the top 30.
No. 7 Robby Gordon: Gordon somehow stumbled and bumbled into a third place finish at CMS last May. He will finish about 25 spots worse this visit to CMS.
No. 78 Regan Smith: Smith should be saved for those in the deepest leagues.
No. 21 Bill Elliott: Awesome Bill won't be awesome this weekend.


Field Fillers

No. 26 David Stremme
No. 55 Michael McDowell
No. 87 Joe Nemechek
No. 13 Max Papis
No. 09 Mike Bliss
No. 32 Reed Sorenson
No. 34 Kevin Conway
No. 46 J.J. Yeley
No. 37 David Gilliland
No. 66 Dave Blaney
No. 64 Todd Bodine
No. 36 TBD


Brownie's Picks

Top Four:

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Mark Martin
3. Kasey Kahne
4. Jeff Gordon

Sleepers:

1. Bobby Labonte
2. Casey Mears

Bust of the Week:

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

 

[cloverleaf]

Good stuff H-Man.........Thanks!

I would love to see Labonte have a good finish. He is dying in that piece of crap he's driving.

 

[HacheMan]

Charlotte: Coca-Cola 600
Track history: Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner built the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1959. On June 19, 1960, the first World 600 was held at the Concord, NC track. Over the years, thousands of grandstand seats and luxury suites were added. In 1984, Charlotte added 40 condominiums above turn one, and 12 more in 1991, offering year-round living at a modern racing facility. In 1992, at a cost of $1.7 million, a 1,200-fixture MUSCO lighting system was added. This system uses mirrors to simulate daylight without glare or light poles. Charlotte became the first superspeedway to hold a night-time auto race. A $1 million 20,000 square-foot Cup garage was opened in 1994. Besides the 1.5-mile quad oval, Charlotte has a 2.25-mile road course, a karting layout in the infield, a quarter-mile and fifth-mile layouts as well. Across the U.S. 29, a .4 mile dirt track opened in 2000 and the four-lane zMax Dragway opened in 2008.

Since most race shops are located in the Charlotte area, there are 16 drivers attempting to pull double-duty in the Cup and Nationwide Series races this weekend at CMS.

First Charlotte Cup race: On June 19, 1960, after driving the John Hines owned No. 22 Pontiac to a 133.904 mph qualifying lap, Fireball Roberts started on the pole for the first NASCAR Cup race, the World 600. After leading the first 191 laps of the 400 lap event, Roberts crashed and finished 35th. Joe Lee Johnson, in Paul McDuffie's No. 89 Chevrolet, started 20th and won the race in front of 35,462 fans. The average race speed for that event was 107.735 mph.

2009 Coca-Cola 600: The May 25, 2009 Coca-Cola 600 was postponed due to rain until Monday, May 26th. Ryan Newman and his No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet started on the pole. Rain was a factor again on Monday. After several yellow and red flag conditions, the race was called after 277 of the scheduled 400 laps. David Reutimann was in the right spot at the right time. The No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota team chose to stay out when others pitted just before the decision was made to call the race. This gave Reutimann his first career victory. Newman finished 2nd.

Last Charlotte Cup race: The October 17, 2009 NASCAR Banking 500 was led to the green by pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet. Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth led over 45 laps each but Johnson led the most (92 of 334). At the end, Johnson crossed the finish line over 2 seconds ahead of runner-up Kenseth. With the win, he padded his lead to 90 markers over Mark Martin in the 2009 championship standings.

Your fantasy game won't allow you to pick all track favorites so Mid-Pack Attack is here to help. A mid-packer may not win the race but has as good a shot at a top 15 finish as track favorites Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin. There were 47 cars on the preliminary entry list for this weekend's Cup race. Here are our picks for Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 in Concord, North Carolina.

Mid-Pack picks

Kasey Kahne, 21st in the points, is a driver you don't want to pass up at Charlotte. NASCAR's loop data for the last 10 CMS races shows Kahne as 2nd in the laps led category (471 laps). In only 12 Sprint Cup starts at Charlotte, he swept the 2006 races and won this race in 2008 as well. He has scored more championship points than any other driver in the last 9 races. His last four NSCS finishes here were 1st, 2nd, 7th and 3rd. Enough said!

Joey Logano has run well at Charlotte in both the Cup and Nationwide Series. In three NNS starts, he finished 14th, 5th and 14th. In Cup, he started 14th and 12th in the 2009 races and finished 9th and 5th respectively. Logano is coming off a 10th at Dover and is currently 18th in the points. He said this week that the team learned a lot in the All-Star Race to carry over to the 600. That was his last series race as a teenager. The Middletown, CT driver finally hit 20 this past Monday. Give the "mature" Logano a look this weekend for another top 15 at the Concord track.

Brad Keselowski's Cup history at Charlotte is short and sweet. In his lone start here last October, he started 8th and finished 12th. While driving for JR Motorsports in 5 Nationwide Series races, Keselowski racked up finishes of 11th, 3rd, 8th, 8th and 6th. These were all hard fought since he had a 29.2 average start for those races. Don't look for a top qualifying spot for Keselowski this week but expect him to be in contention for a top 15 at the end.

Okay, it has been a long time since Bobby Labonte had a stretch of 11 straight Charlotte races with a worst finish of 14th. He averaged a 5.4 for those races between 1999 and 2004. What has he done since those 11 races? Labonte has averaged a 14th place finish in the last 11 CMS starts. That's still not too shabby. He's one of the most consistent at Charlotte. Over 34 Cup starts he has an average 13.8 start and an average 13.4 finish. Put Labonte in as your third or fourth driver for the 600.