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Tag: Coca-Cola 600

  • Coca-Cola 600 Preview

    Coca-Cola 600 Preview

    Come Sunday, Kurt Busch will join John Andretti, Robby Gordon and his boss Tony Stewart as the only NASCAR drivers to complete the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Kurt Busch will start the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 from the 12th position. Busch’s attempt has enraptured the entire motorsports community. There is a reason why the double has not been attempted since 2004; however, Kurt Busch does not care.

    Inside and outside of the NASCAR community, Kurt Busch has gained a tremendous amount of respect. Busch serves as a spokesman for the Armed Forces Foundation, when he is not driving in NASCAR’s top circuit. Busch has been dearly involved with the AFF’s efforts and dedicates each race during the season to a service member that has been killed in action or to a member that suffers from an invisible wound such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As the son of a Marine and the grandson of a fallen World War II veteran, Busch has earned my respect.

    What can we expect from Kurt Busch in the Indianapolis 500? First, Busch has much to learn. During practice for the 500 on May 22, Busch broke loose and smacked the turn two wall, hitting the SAFER barrier. Flames erupted from behind the No. 26 Honda as it came to rest in the grass at the exit of the turn. Veteran open-wheel drivers like Josef Newgarden and Juan Pablo Montoya, blamed the wreck on Busch’s NASCAR instincts. The car broke loose, but both drivers agreed that Busch tried to save the car like he would in a stock car. It is entirely different in IndyCar.

    Finishing the race would be monumental for Kurt Busch, considering the fact that it has been 12 years since a driver attempting the double has finished the race. Busch conceded to the media that pulling off the double would require a prodigious amount of self-preservation. Given what some consider Kurt Busch’s reckless driving style, many people doubted he would even attempt such a feat. However, Busch is here to silence the critics. Even if he wrecks in the 500, he will have attempted a feat that most drivers would never give a second thought.

    Once Busch is done with the Indianapolis 500, the 2004 Cup Series Champion, will head to Charlotte, searching for his second Coca-Cola 600 win. In 2010, Chip Ganassi had a shot to win the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500 all in the same year, but it was Busch who denied Ganassi a shot at history. It is a feat that is certainly rare and the chance may not come again for a while.

    Many people do not see Jamie McMurray as a favorite this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but why not? When McMurray was subbing for the injured Sterling Marlin in 2002, McMurray won in just his second career start, holding off Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon among other drivers. McMurray won at Charlotte in the fall of 2010, redemption after coming up short in the 600 earlier in the year. Just this past weekend, McMurray won a million dollars, passing Kevin Harvick on lap 81, and never looking back as he won the Sprint All-Star race. Expect McMurray to be the dark horse for this race. McMurray is an underdog, but he is not one to be doubted.

    The season has not even reached the halfway mark , but Joey Logano is showing promise as a championship contender. Logano has been strong, especially at the 1.5 mile tracks. In addition, he has won multiple races this season (Texas and Richmond) for the first time in his Cup career. Logano was also dominant at Texas. I have no reason to doubt Joey Logano. For that reason, I am picking Joey Logano to score his first major victory, becoming the first three-time winner in the Sprint Cup Series this season.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: 5-Hour Energy 400 at Kansas

    Surprising and Not Surprising: 5-Hour Energy 400 at Kansas

    Even with the surprising but thankfully slight delay of the race start for thunderstorms and lightning in the area, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the first race at Kansas Speedway under the Saturday night lights.

    Surprising: Weird and freaky things continue to happen at NASCAR races and the Kansas race was no exception. The lights went dark on the back stretch, the speedy dry truck lost a gear, and the car that was ‘Freaky Fast’, starting from the pole with a new track record, just could not pull off the victory, coming in second instead.

    “What put us in second is I didn’t get down pit road very good there coming to the pit box,” Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy Johns ‘Freaky Fast’ Chevrolet said. “I kind of ran out of gas, and I was paying attention to the fuel pressure gauge instead of the pit road speed light.”

    “I lost some time there,” Harvick continued. “It was a weird night.”

    In spite of all the freakiness, this was Harvick’s eighth top-10 finish in 17 races at Kansas Speedway and his fifth top-10 finish in 2014.

    Not Surprising: The race winner shed some pounds, had a blast, and felt like a kid again after scoring his first ‘w’ of the season. Jeff Gordon, behind the wheel of the No. 24 Axalta Coatings Chevrolet, became the ninth different driver to win for the year and scored his 89th career victory.

    “It just feels so good to get that first win of the season, especially this year with the point’s structure and how close we’ve been so many weekends,” Gordon said. “I think that that’s a huge weight off our shoulders.”

    “I just feel so competitive out there, and that makes me feel young again,” Gordon continued. “I’m going to be 43 this year, but, man, if 43 is like this, I can’t wait for 50. This is all right. I’m having a good time. That’s why I feel young, because I’m just having a great time.”

    Surprising: At least one Busch brother has felt that Kansas Speedway has been somewhat of a curse for him, however, this time it was not Kyle Busch but brother Kurt who felt that way after the race.

    Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 Snickers Toyota, actually finished the race in the 15th position, while Kurt, behind the wheel of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, spun not just once but twice and finished 29th.

    “We definitely didn’t get the finish we wanted in our Haas Automation Chevrolet,” Busch said. “It was a disappointing day all around. We had the best qualifying session of the season this weekend, and we had high hopes for the race.”

    “It just didn’t work out the way we planned,” Busch continued. “The car was loose, and we couldn’t tighten it up no matter what we tried. It’s just frustrating. We need to do better, and hopefully we will do better moving forward.”

    Not Surprising: Danica Patrick was certainly thrilled with her career best finish of 7th in her No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet at Kansas. But what really got her going was what she managed to do while racing six-time champ Jimmie Johnson.

    “Honestly, the most rewarding part of my night was probably when I drove around the outside of the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) on a restart,” Patrick said. “That was probably my most rewarding thing of the night.”

    “I say that with all the respect in the world,” Patrick continued. “It’s a big deal because he is Jimmie Johnson.”

    “Aside from that I was really just overall proud that we stayed up front all day. That was the biggest thing.”

    Surprising: Sometimes Goodyear gets thrown under the bus for any type of tire troubles, but this time the third place driver Kasey Kahne gave them all the credit in the world.

    In fact, Kahne scored his first top 5 of the season in his No. 5 FarmersInsurance/Thankamillionteachers.com Chevrolet thanks to the tire manufacturer and their recent Kansas tire test.

    “I think the Goodyear test here, for whatever reason, we were able to try some things and just look at stuff a little differently than what we had been, and it helped the 5 team, my guys, myself and Kenny (Francis, crew chief) and our communication together,” Kahne said. “It’s helped us a lot since then.”

    “I feel like that’s been the key, and ever since we tested here, we’ve ran much better and been a lot more competitive.”

    Not Surprising: Given the high speeds at Kansas and the freakiness of the night, it was not surprising to see some really violent crashes, including Jamie McMurray up in flames and David Gilliland in a horrific wreck with Justin Allgaier and AJ Allmendinger.

    “I just lost all the steering and got into the fence and had a little fire,” the driver of the No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet said. “I don’t know if I ran over something but I ended up crashing.”

    “I don’t know what happened,” Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford, said. “It looked like the 47 and 51 got together and the 51 came back up the track and I hit him and from there a lot of stuff happened.”

    “We are alright though,” Gilliland continued. “Just a little sore obviously.”

    “That is one of the hardest hits I have had in a while. Hopefully it will be the hardest one for a while to come too,” Gilliland said. “It was a hard lick. It was the hardest hit I’ve had in a long time.”

    McMurray finished 39th and Gilliland finished 37th.

    Surprising: Interestingly, there was only one Toyota in the top 10 when the checkered flag flew. Matt Kenseth, who had struggled for most of the race, managed to rebound and finish tenth in his No. 20 Dollar General Toyota.

    “We were just pretty slow all weekend — as a group, really,” Kenseth said. “Lost that lap on that first run — I was in the ‘lucky dog’ spot a lot of times, just couldn’t catch a caution at the right times.”

    “We were just off a little bit all week,” Kenseth continued. “Trying to figure out mile-and-a-half tracks — it was our strong suit last year. We’re really struggling this year as a group. We’re trying to figure it out.”

    “We got lucky to finish 10th really.”

    With his top-10 finish, Kenseth remains second in the point standings, now 15 points behind leader Jeff Gordon.

    Not Surprising:  Kyle Larson, to no one’s surprise, just keeps reeling off impressive finishes in spite of his rookie status. The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet overcame obstacles to finish 12th and score the Sunoco Rookie of the Race honors.

    Surprising: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. surprisingly admitted it himself when he shared his frustration at finishing top five and leading nine laps, the same number as race winner and teammate Jeff Gordon.

    “What stands out in the back of my mind was how fast the car was during the first half of the race,” Junior said. “We were just flying.”

    “But I knew when the temps came down, the bottom was going to be faster and we were going to be in trouble because we were tight all weekend,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet continued. “We got real tight at the end of the race.”

    “Just kind of frustrating there because we never really improved the front grip and struggled with it all weekend,” Junior said. “So, frustrated about that but a good result for us.”

    Not Surprising: While it was not Darlington, a track where Mother’s Day has been traditionally celebrated by the sport, there was still a great outpouring of love and support for all mothers in the NASCAR garage.

    In fact, driver after driver paid tribute to their mothers, as well as their wives, many of whom were mothers to their children.

    So, as Mother’s Day comes to a close, the Cup Series will move next into its home track double header, with the All Star Race and then the Coca Cola 600, NASCAR’s longest endurance race, both at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the next two weekends.

     

  • Dale Jr. Daytona Win, Danica Drama, and Kurt Busch Double Down Showcases NASCAR

    Dale Jr. Daytona Win, Danica Drama, and Kurt Busch Double Down Showcases NASCAR

    While NASCAR sometimes struggles to gain the national attention that it so desires, the sport has gotten off to a strong start with three major stories, including Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s big win in the Daytona 500, some Danica Patrick drama, and Kurt Busch’s announcement that he will run the Indy 500 as well as the NASCAR Coke 600, that have garnered publicity in the very young 2014 season.

    The first story that caught the national eye was the victory of NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., in the biggest race of the season, the Daytona 500. The win was especially noteworthy as Junior, the anointed heir, won on the track where his father not only was so dominant but also where he lost his life thirteen years ago.

    The Dale Jr. Daytona 500 race win was almost picture perfect, with the exception of a six hour plus rain delay. But Junior was not to be deterred and refused to suffer yet again another runner up finish, which he had experienced in three of the previous four Daytona 500 races.

    In fact, after the rain delay, Earnhardt Jr. led a race-high 54 laps, staying up front six times during the race. The win also ended a 55-race losing streak, with the victory coming a decade after his first Daytona 500 win.

    With his trip to Victory Lane, Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored his 20th victory in the Cup Series and joined Bill Elliott, Michael Waltrip, Sterling Marlin, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson as two-time Daytona 500 winners.

    “Winning this race is the greatest feeling that you could feel in this sport besides accepting the trophy for the championship,” said Earnhardt, after bear hugging every member of his Hendrick Motorsports crew in Victory Lane. “I didn’t know if I’d ever get the chance to feel it again and it feels just as good.”

    “I’ll never take this for granted,” Junior said. “We’re two time Daytona champions.”

    While Junior celebrated with his team and his owner Rick Hendrick, who hitched a ride in his window, to Victory Lane, the fans also went crazy with delight.

    Even Jeff Gordon, four-time champion and veteran Hendrick driver, got into the act of celebrating with his most popular teammate.

    “The world is right right now — Dale Junior just won the Daytona 500,” Gordon said. “That’s a sign it’s going to be a great season.”

    Junior Nation, as his extensive fan base are known, was indeed beside themselves with joy, especially since the win qualified their driver for the championship Chase. And with that pressure off and the confidence at its height, Dale Earnhardt Jr. might have their hopes and dreams of a Cup championship come true.

    “We might be in the Chase — I ain’t going to worry about that,” Earnhardt said. “Trust me, man, we’re going to have a blast this year.”

    As Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved through his national media post-Daytona 500 responsibilities, another story that had also been brewing in the early season took hold, that of the drama surrounding the lone female in the sport, Danica Patrick.

    A major part of the drama began when NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Richard Petty shared his opinion that Patrick could only win a Sprint Cup Series race “if everybody else stayed home.”  Petty added that Patrick gets the attention that she does because of her gender, but added the caveat that that was still good for the sport.

    “This is a female deal that’s driving her,” Petty said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport.”

    The drama ratcheted up, however, as Patrick responded to Petty’s allegations.

    “It’s true that there are plenty of people who say bad things about me; I read them,” Patrick countered. “At the end of the day, you get over that stuff and trust that you are doing a good job.”

    “The people that matter the most to me are my team, my sponsors and those little 3-year-old kids that run up to you and want a great big hug and say they want to grow up to be like you. That’s the stuff I really focus on.”

    “More than anything, I love the conversation it creates,” Patrick said. “Across the board, it makes sports interesting. It makes life interesting when people have different perspectives. That’s fine with me. … It really just doesn’t matter. It’s interesting conversation. I’m fortunate I’m in it.”

    Whether the conversation was a distraction or not, Patrick has also had drama in the first two races of the season, crashing out in both the Daytona 500 and the Phoenix race. And she found herself at odds with another racer yet again, this time Justin Allgaier with whom she tussled in last weekend’s race.

    “She was just upset because she got involved in the crash that we had,” Allgaier said. “She said she’s been through this and that she felt like I needed to settle down at that point.”

    “I explained my position on why everything happened. I think she understood where I was coming from. It doesn’t fix either one of our racecars; it doesn’t fix either one of our days.”

    “It’s tough,” Patrick said. “That’s two weeks in a row we’ve had good cars and nothing to show for it.”

    “I’m starting to think if we didn’t have bad luck, we’d have no luck at all.”

    If Danica’s drama does not soon come to an end, perhaps as early as this weekend’s race in Las Vegas, a major headline may just be that she will begin to have trouble even qualifying for the race down the road.

    The final story that has captured national headlines for NASCAR was the recent announcement that Kurt Busch, driver of the No.41 HAAS Automation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, will attempt to double down, racing both the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Coca Cola 600, all in the same day.

    Busch will have to qualifying his way in for Andretti Autosport in the Indianapolis 500 and then fly to Charlotte to participate in the longest race of the NASCAR season.

    “I’m a fan of motorsports, a student of motorsports, and I view this as a challenge for myself,” Busch said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Memorial Day weekend, the central focus of all motorsports is Monaco, Indianapolis and Charlotte and this is a tremendous opportunity to be right in the middle of it.”

    “It’s a great opportunity for Kurt and I fully support him,” team owner Tony Stewart said. “He’ll have a lot to learn in a short amount of time, but he has an overwhelming amount of driving talent on his side. He has a great car owner with Michael Andretti, who’s not only an owner, but he’s been a driver too.”

    “Michael has so much to offer Kurt in terms of knowledge and firsthand experience. It really seems like a natural pairing.”

    Busch is also hoping to continue the buzz of the national story with a website that he recently launched, www.kurtbuschdouble.com, that will showcase his efforts to make history.

    “I think this is something that is good for NASCAR, good for IndyCar, good for the fans to get behind and rally feel like they are part of,” Busch said. “There was no social media, or the means for fans to get an in-depth look at what goes into the double when the others tried it. We think we’ve got an opportunity to make people feel like they are part of the experience with me.”

    NASCAR’s new rules also make the Busch double down possible since the driver would just need that one race win to get into the Chase. And with that win, he could afford to miss the start of the Coke 600 and still not hurt himself or his team.

    “As long as we attempt to qualify for every race, we are eligible for the Chase under the new rules,” Busch said. “It’s like you are in New York City, on Broadway, and you look up at all the bright lights — they are clearly pointing to this being the right time to do this. The green light is on.”

    The green light has indeed been switched on for all of these headlines, including Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s win of the Daytona 500, the drama surrounding Danica Patrick, and the doubling down of Kurt Busch in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR on Memorial Day weekend.

    And it will be no doubt interesting and intriguing to see if the season continues to unfold, next in the race in Las Vegas this weekend, with additional storylines that piques the interest of even the most casual race fan across the county.

  • SHR continues to get stronger

    SHR continues to get stronger

    On the last edition of The Inside Pass (www.theinsidepass.net), heard on Tuesday November 26th, my co-host Randy Miller and I spoke at length with veteran spotter Tim Fedewa. The conversation ranged from the new Gen 6 car and the struggles of the Ford camp to find speed through out the season to what Tim is looking forward to doing during the off season (hunting for those wondering).

    The telling point in the interview was when Randy Miller asked Tim what his plans were for next season. Tim broke the news that he would be moving to the number 4 car and would be spotting for Kevin Harvick moving forward into the 2014 season. Tim is still currently under contract with Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) until the end of the year, which for those that do not know the NASCAR year typically ends on December 31st of each year. Tim expected to be spotting for RPM during the early December testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Tim believes that he will be spotting for Aric Almilrola during that testing session, but nothing is firmed up yet. During the off air conversation, Tim also confirmed that this would be a year to year contract.

    When asked Tim stated that he is excited about thae move, and that he is very appreciative of everything that working at the legendary Richard Petty Motorsports has done for him personally and professionally. He enjoyed working with Marcus Ambrose and felt strongly that they as a team were really close to getting the Australian driver his first oval track win. As the interview progressed, I asked Tim exactly what does a spotter do to help build the level of trust up that is needed between a spotter and a driver moving into the January testing at Daytona, which is where Kevin and Tim will be working together for the first time. Tim’s response was enlightening, they are going to be sitting down to lunches together along with recently named crew chief Rodney Childers, who is leaving Micheal Waltrip Racing (MWR), along with the car chief to try and get on the same page moving forward.

    As the title of this article implies gaining a veteran spotter such as Tim bodes well for the fans of Kevin Harvick and does not bode well for the rest of the field. Tim has been spotting in the national series dating back to when the Sprint Cup was known as the Nextel Cup.  Tim is a former racer turned spotter.  He understands how to help a driver navigate the traffic and track in order to help his team and driver get the very best out of the car.  When teamed with a driver who is known for taking care of his equipment and being “there” at the end of a race, this could potentially be the new powerhouse driver/spotter combination.  When asked what he had already been doing to prepare for the potential move to Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), Tim replied that he had been scanning the 29 cars channels in order to pick up on the lingo and the meter that Billy O’Dea and Kevin used throughout the latter stages of the year so that he would be better prepared for his new role with Kevin.

    Tim’s pedigree in racing is not a short lived one, he was born into a racing family.  His father Butch raced in several series eventually reaching the ARCA/ReMax series before retiring and began helping Tim with his racing career.  Tim made limited starts in the Camping World Truck and some 300 Nationwide Series starts, with four wins in that series, along with one start in the Winston Cup Series, and also ran in a relief role for John Andretti with Petty Motorsports at the Coke 600 in 2000 when John was injured.  Tim understands the nuances that help make a car go fast, this role with the new number 4 team is not something that Tim simply fell into over night.  He has been doing this for awhile now, and he has the respect of his peers atop the spotter’s stand.  While NASCAR may have mandated rules changes that there would no longer be “deals” made from the spotters stand, I hope no one is naive enough to think that the spotters don’t work together to try and help their driver out when trying to make their way through the field.

    When you take a look at the cache of talented members continuously being added to the stables over at Stewart-Haas Racing, I think that we could see a few new/old faces challenging Jimmie Johnson (six time) for the championship next season.

  • Monica Palumbo Primed and Ready for Her Favorite Event NASCAR After The Lap™

    Monica Palumbo Primed and Ready for Her Favorite Event NASCAR After The Lap™

    For the fifth year in a row, NASCAR After The Lap™ will be back in Las Vegas during champion’s week and at least one of the co-hosts Monica Palumbo is primed and ready for her ‘favorite’ event.

    Palumbo, former Miss Sprint Cup and current reporter for NASCAR Race Hub on Fox Sports 1, will be sharing the hosting duties with Marty Smith of ESPN. Palumbo will be handling the fans in the crowd, while Smith will be managing the drivers on stage.

    The event this year will take place on Thursday, December 5th at 5:00 PM at the Pearl Palms Concert Theater inside the Palms Casino Hotel.

    “I actually worked NASCAR After The Lap™ twice already and it’s my favorite event because the guys are so loose and it’s an intimate setting,” Palumbo said. “You can see it on nascar.com but it’s not televised so I feel like it’s a little bit more special.”

    “The drivers are really showing off their personalities that you don’t necessarily get to see throughout the season,” Palumbo continued. “It’s just one of my favorite events.”

    Palumbo advised that her role at the event will be one of liaison between the crowd, sponsors and the drivers, however, the emphasis from her perspective is indeed on the fans in this unique event.

    “It’s a very fan-friendly event and that’s one thing NASCAR is really big on,” Palumbo said. “It’s about the fans first.”

    “They are going to have notecards so the audience can submit their questions in advance,” Palumbo continued. “Then I’ll go through them and pick out the questions to be asked.”

    “So, I’ll be out there taking questions from the audience and making sure everybody has a good time.”

    Palumbo is also primed and ready for the sweepstakes and giveaways that accompany the NASCAR After The Lap™ event. This year, fans can win an all-inclusive VIP trip to Las Vegas for the event, trips to either the 2014 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte or the 2014 Ford Ecoboost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as well as the grand prize, a 2014 Ford F-150 Tremor.

    “I’m really excited about the big sweepstakes,” Palumbo said. “They’re giving away a 2014 Ford Tremor, which is pretty awesome.”

    “Coca Cola and Ford are both giving away tickets to the Coca Cola 600 and the Ford Champions Week for 2014,” Palumbo continued. “So, the sweepstakes winners will be there and they will also have a shot to win a car.”

    “We’ll be doing that in the audience as well, which is pretty cool to get a free car.”

    Palumbo is also primed and ready to get to Las Vegas, a place that she assesses as ‘perfect’ for this type of fan-interactive post-season event.

    “Vegas itself just equals celebration to me,” Palumbo said. “So, I feel like it is a fun event.”

    “Everybody is so relaxed,” Palumbo continued. “The season is over and it’s a time for celebration.”

    So, who is Palumbo predicting will be in the champion’s seat for the event and at the head table come banquet time?

    “It’s definitely down to Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth now and we know how well they are both running,” Palumbo said. “We know that Jimmie is so great at Phoenix so it’s really a toss-up between the two.”

    “I can’t even bet on either one,” Palumbo continued. “I’m ready to put my money down on one but I can’t because I don’t want to lose.”

    “Everybody is on pins and needles because we know Jimmie can do it obviously,” Palumbo said. “But Matt Kenseth is really giving him a run for his money.”

    “I think the fans love seeing that and the two drivers are definitely keeping it exciting.”

    Palumbo is also primed and ready for the NASCAR After The Lap™ event because of where the proceeds go, helping individuals, children and families in need through the NASCAR Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization.

    “The tickets are only $20 and all the money, one hundred percent of the proceeds, goes to the NASCAR Foundation, which is unreal,” Palumbo said. “It’s probably one of the best charity events where all of the drivers are together in a relaxed way, cutting up with each other, joking about incidents that have happened during the year, and some have even gotten up and danced.”

    “It’s a great event to get the drivers out of their element,” Palumbo continued. “There is not an event like this throughout the whole season.”

    “This is a one of a kind,” Palumbo said. “You might have the drivers together for media day but they are so focused on that race.”

    “This is the end of the season and they can all breathe,” Palumbo continued. “They’re all ready to have a good time, hang out with the fans and answer their questions.”

    “There is just nothing like it.

    Palumbo is not alone in her enthusiasm for the NASCAR After The Lap™ event.

    “Celebrating its fifth consecutive season, NASCAR After The Lap has evolved into one of the most talked about events of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week™ and provides two long-standing partners, Ford and Coca-Cola, a valuable platform to connect with our brand-loyal fan base,” Norris Scott, NASCAR vice president of marketing, said. “It is an event unlike any other in sports that gives our fans the chance to see the drivers with their helmets off and their guard down.”

    “Over the last five years as event sponsor, Ford has enjoyed some remarkable and very unpredictable moments with our NASCAR drivers,” Tim Duerr, motorsports marketing manager for Ford Racing, said. “The NASCAR after the Lap Sweepstakes continues to provide Ford with a great avenue to engage with fans by offering them a chance to not only win a trip out to Las Vegas, but also an opportunity to go home with a brand-new 2014 Ford F150 Tremor.”

    “This sponsorship delivers results to Ford on many levels.”

    “As a long-time partner, Coca-Cola is proud to celebrate the 2013 season with the stars of NASCAR at this year’s NASCAR After The Lap,” Ben Reiling, director of motorsports for Coca-Cola North America Group, said. “In our fifth year as an event sponsor, we are offering fans a stellar experience to interact directly with members of our Coca-Cola Racing Family and a chance to win a trip to our marquee event, the Coca-Cola 600.”

    “We’re looking forward to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week and it’s definitely going to be a wild ride.”

    For more information or to purchase tickets, fans can visit  www.NASCARafterthelap.com.

    For fans unable to attend in person, NASCAR.com will offer a live stream of the event.

     

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca Cola 600

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca Cola 600

    With the focus on America’s military, past, present and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Memorial Day running of the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  NASCAR’S elite Cup drivers had to face surprising battles of their own, as unfortunately did some fans in the stands, when an overhead camera cable, utilized by Fox Sports to cover the race, broke.

    Several drivers and race cars were impacted, as well as ten fans sustaining injuries, with three taken to the hospital for evaluation and further treatment.

    The race was red flagged to allow fans to be helped, as well as to surprisingly allow the drivers and teams an opportunity to evaluate and then work on their wounded race cars.

    “At this time, we do not have a cause for the failure of the camera drive line that interrupted the Coca Cola 600 and our concern is with the injured fans,” Fox Television said in a statement issued shortly after the incident.

    “We apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged and offer a sincere ‘thank you’ to the staff at Charlotte Motor Speedway for attending to the injuries and keeping us informed,” the statement continued. “A full investigation is planned and use of the camera is suspended indefinitely.”

    Not Surprising:  In a race that was fraught with several ‘weird’ incidents in addition to the camera failure, it was not surprising that race winner Kevin Harvick focused on not just celebrating in Victory Lane.

    “Well, first off I want to say I hope everybody is okay from that cable,” the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet said. “That was quite a weird incident there.”

    “Second, I just want to say thank you to all these guys at RCR (Richard Childress Racing),” Harvick continued. “To win at Charlotte is something that we had to overcome for a long time.”

    “Just got to thank everybody from Budweiser, Sprint, all the fans and this great promotion with the Folds of Honor special beer cans,” Harvick said. “Five cents from every can goes to Folds of Honor.”

    This was Harvick’s 21st victory in 442 Cup starts, his second victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as his second victory of the 2013 season.

    Surprising:  While Chevrolets tend to be dominant at Charlotte Motor Speedway, there was one five-time champion Chevy driver noticeably absent from the front of the pack this weekend.

    In fact, Jimmie Johnson, the driver with the best rating at Charlotte, with a 111.7 average out of a possible 150, finished 22nd.  The driver of the No. 48 Lowes Patriotic Chevrolet fought loose conditions all evening and finally spinning out of contention.

    “Yeah, we were like a fifth place car,” Johnson said. “And then we got pulled around in Turns 3 and 4 and spun.”

    “That really affected our finish from that point,” Johnson continued. “It was a long night with a lot of issues.”

    Not Surprising:  As so often happens in big-time motorsports, the dominant car did not finish first, especially since there was some strategy involved. That is exactly what happened to Kasey Kahne, who had by far the strongest car in the field, and ended up not pitting when everyone else in the field did so.

    “Well, there was a couple of guys that had just got tires so we thought they would stay out,” Kahne said. “Instead the whole field pitted.”

    “We had a great Time Warner Cable Chevy all night,” Kahne continued. “We were just in a tough spot there.”

    Kahne finished in the runner up position, his 11th top-ten finish in nineteen races at Charlotte and his sixth top-10 finish of the season.

    Surprising:  Kurt Busch, who has struggled to close out strong at the end of the race, surprisingly overcame great adversity to finish third in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet.

    “Still shell shocked,” Busch said. “We picked up the lead and the battery went dead.”

    “We battled back, Busch continued. “The guys changed it as fast as they could and we got third.”

    “It was a great night to run up front and showcase what this team is made of.”

    This was Busch’s seventh top-ten finish in 26 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Not Surprising:   Denny Hamlin, behind the wheel after his back injury, not only qualified well but also ran well in the top five, capitalizing on every situation possible to get himself and his team back into contention.

    Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, started from the pole and was the highest finishing Toyota Camry driver in the race. Hamlin scored the fourth spot when the checkered flag flew and moved up three positions in the point standings to 24th.

    “Proud of our effort,” Hamlin said. “We need solid runs like this.”

    Surprising:  In an incident that looked like Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick wrecked each other, Brad Keselowski, who was also involved, surprisingly threw himself under that bus.

    “Yeah, I cut Danica off,” Keselowski said. “I didn’t know we were still three-wide and I caused a big wreck.”

    “I feel bad for her and I send my apologies to her,” Keselowski continued. “It was a long night for the Miller Lite Ford.”

    Keselowski finished 36th and fell three spots to 10th in the point standings.

    Not Surprising:  In a battle for the lucky dog after being trapped in the pits when a caution came out, Jeff Gordon became the unlucky dog yet again.

    “We were a victim of the caution coming out while we were on pit road,” Gordon said. “We were going for the Lucky Dog and had to be real aggressive.”

    “We were racing three-wide and that’s what’s going to happen,” Gordon continued. “I hate we were back there.”

    “We had an awesome Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.”

    Gordon finished 35th and fell three spots to 15th in the point standings.

    Surprising:  Stewart Haas not only had a surprisingly good finish for at least two of their drivers, with Ryan Newman finishing sixth and Tony Stewart finishing seventh, but they also gained some hope for the remainder of the season.

    “It was a solid night for Stewart-Haas Racing,” Newman said.

    “We finally got some stability in the car,” Stewart said.

    “All three of our cars made big improvements this week in terms of performance,” Greg Zipadelli, Competition Director, said. “Danica had a bad day, but overall we ended up with a couple of good finishes, which was certainly an improvement.”

    Not Surprising:  Given the length of the race, it was not surprising to see some engines fail under the pressure.

    One such failure happened to Kyle Busch, who had again been dominant, until his car was injured by the camera cable. He was able to get repaired and was still performing at the front of the field when the engine let go, ending his day in the 38th position.

    “We had been running first, second or third most of the evening, but just catastrophic engine failure,” Busch said. “It seems to be that time of the year again.”

    “I hate it for all my guys,” Busch continued. “It’s just so frustrating to see it end on a short note like that and not getting the finish that we needed.”

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also suffered an engine issue in his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet, relegating him to a 39th place finish. NASCAR’s most popular driver, however, put it all in perspective.

    “We had smoke in the cockpit for three laps and we started losing power before it broke,” Junior said. “We didn’t have a really good car.”

    “But I want to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day weekend,” Earnhardt Jr. continued. “I take a lot of pride in the National Guard and hope everyone shakes a soldier’s hand and thanks them for what they do.”

  • Bad Luck Follows Jeff Gordon to Charlotte

    Bad Luck Follows Jeff Gordon to Charlotte

    Jeff Gordon is a 4-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) champion or as he’s more recently been known as; the unluckiest man in NASCAR. He’s won at nearly every track on the circuit and Jeff is still running competitively in his 22nd year of competition but luck has not been in his favor at all recently. It all started when he flipped over in the 2012 Budweiser Shootout (now known as the Sprint Unlimited) and since then, bad luck seems to be following him everywhere he goes. Every driver has bad luck but it seems to show up every time Gordon is having a nice run. Let’s take a look at the ups and downs of Jeff’s career since that wild wreck in Daytona last year…

    Just 80 laps into the 2012 Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon’s engine basically detonated and his day was over. A few races later at Bristol, contact with teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. cut down his left rear tire and he went crashing into the wall. Two weeks later at Martinsville, Jeff Gordon was battling hard with teammate Jimmie Johnson for the win. Whichever one of them won that race would be the person to give Hendrick Motorsports their 200th Cup win and Gordon wanted to be that person very, very badly. After a controversial late caution where David Reutimann stopped on track after he rode around for a few laps at an incredibly slow speed, the field lined up for a restart. The race went back green and Clint Bowyer dove underneath the Hendrick duo for the lead and the unthinkable happened. All three cars went spinning and Jeff’s chances to give Rick that 200th win went up in a cloud of smoke. That incident had a big impact on Gordon and the anger built up inside him for months before things came to a head but we’ll get to that later.

    After bad luck seemed to haunt him almost everywhere he went, a change in fortune headed the team’s way when they visited Pocono in August. Rain was closing in on the track so the tempo of the race picked up with drivers becoming highly aggressive. Jeff restarted 6th on lap 91 and by the time the field exited turn 1, he was leading the race! Race leaders Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth collided and a four car wreck ensued. Gordon sneaked through and then the heavens opened up securing him his first victory of 2012. Something happened to that team after that win and they went on a tear finishing 3rd or 2nd in three of the next five races.

    The team went to Richmond on the outside looking in chase wise but with a lot of momentum on their side. It all came down to them and Kyle Busch. The car was awful during the event and the team threw everything including the kitchen sink at the car but nothing was working and he was lapped. During a red flag for rain, the team put a plan together as they desperately tried to fix the handling of the car while Gordon pretty much ruled out any chance of making the chase when he was interviewed. The changes shockingly worked and Jeff began to rocket through the field. When all was said and done, he finished 2nd stealing the WC from Kyle Busch by just a handful of points. They made the chase and were ready to go out and try to win the championship. Bad luck found Gordon again just in time for the chase when he crashed hard during the opening playoff race at Chicagoland. They ran very well the following races but it wasn’t enough after that 35th place finish put them far behind. At Martinsville, he found himself battling with Clint Bowyer once again and he obviously didn’t forget about what happened in April as the two began door slamming each other late in the race.

    Photo Credit: Getty Images
    Photo Credit: Getty Images

    At Phoenix, Bowyer made what seemed to be harmless contact with Gordon but Jeff’s blood pressure immediately went through the roof as he tried to wreck Clint the next corner. He failed and ended up putting himself in the wall instead only making him angrier. With just two laps to go, he waited for Bowyer who was a title contender at the time and wrecked him head-on into the wall. Two other cars were collected and Bowyer’s title hopes were shot. The No.15 crew went after Jeff and an all-out brawl ensued in the garage area. Clint jumped from his mangled car and joined in on the chaos as he ran through the infield. A contingent of people wanted Gordon suspended while others said Bowyer deserved it. Clint Bowyer fans and Jeff Gordon fans clashed all over the internet engaging in very heated arguments while the racing world waited on NASCAR to make a decision. They let Gordon race in the season finale but he was stripped of 25 points and $100,000. Gordon’s car featured a special DuPont 20th anniversary paint scheme in what would be their final race on the hood of his car before Cromax took over the company. Wasn’t it fitting that in the closing laps, it was none other than Jeff Gordon leading the race with Clint Bowyer of all people trying to hunt him down and steal the victory. Jeff hung on to win his 87th career NSCS race ending his wild year in victory lane.

    Unsurprisingly, Gordon was knocked right back down by bad luck at the start of 2013. He dominated Bristol and it seemed he was the car to beat. That is until his right front tire blew while he led the pack with just 100 laps remaining. He shot up the track collecting Matt Kenseth destroying both cars. He could have won Texas too but was forced to retire from the race late with a mechanical failure In the Coke 600, he survived the carnage and had a chance to steal the victory had bad luck not killed his day once again. He pitted, the caution flew and he was trapped a lap down getting passed by the leader when he was just a few feet away from the exit of pit lane. He kept fighting though but a vicious pileup on lap 324 was the final nail in the coffin. Gordon hit a concrete wall incredibly hard but perhaps he was actually lucky just to escape with no serious injuries.

    Jeff Gordon hasn’t lost the will to win or his ability to run up front. He’s simply been tormented by bad luck for the past two seasons. Ever since that flip at Daytona, his career has been turned upside down. Whenever something good happens to him, something bad quickly follows erasing all the positives that came out of his good result. If he and his team can get this monkey off their back, I know he can win a 5th championship. I believe he could make it to 100 total wins too. I’m not sure how many hard hits and morale killing races the 41 year old can endure though before he finally throws in the towel. After all those years of domination, it seems like Karma has finally caught up with the 4x champion. Perhaps this is an omen of things to come for the luckiest man on the track, Jimmie Johnson. Maybe I will be writing a similar article about him 10 years from now. I’m not saying there are supernatural forces out there targeted Jeff Gordon, that’s just silly but bad luck in racing seems to always lead to more bad luck. It usually gets worse before it gets better. Even the best team in NASCAR can’t predict the things that have cursed the No.24 and who knows if this bad luck will ever cease. If it does though, I firmly believe he will win a 5th title before he finally hangs up the helmet.

  • Kevin Harvick Closes Out Strange Coca Cola 600 With Second Season Win

    Kevin Harvick Closes Out Strange Coca Cola 600 With Second Season Win

    From surviving two red flags, one for a bizarre camera cable snap that injured cars on the track as well as some fans in the stands, to the second red flag for a Talladega-style pile up, Kevin Harvick survived it all to live up to his moniker as the ‘Closer’, going to Victory Lane for the second time this season.

    “Well first off, I want to say I hope everybody is okay from that cable,” the driver of the No. 29 RCR Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet said. “That was quite a weird incident there.”

    “Second, I want to just say thank you to all the guys at Richard Childress Racing,” Harvick continued. “To win at Charlotte is something that we had to overcome for a long time.”

    Harvick credited his victory to some old fashioned pit road tire strategy, a great restart against Kasey Kahne, and getting out in front in clean air.

    “Clean air was really big,” Harvick said. “Obviously with him (Kahne) being on old tires, we knew that the restart was going to be important to be able to get that clear track.”

    “And it paid off.”

    One of the most disappointed drivers no doubt was Kasey Kahne, who after battling flu-like symptoms prior to the race and having such a strong car, still could not hold off Harvick for the win. Instead the driver of the No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet for Rick Hendrick Motorsports finished second yet again.

    “Yeah, we ran second to Matt (Kenseth) at Vegas, second to Matt (Kenseth) again at Kansas and now second to Kevin (Harvick) here,” Kahne said. “We were the fastest car in all three of those.”

    “We just didn’t win any of them,” Kahne continued. “I feel good about where we are and the team is doing an awesome job.”

    “We just need to finish it off.”

    There is no doubt that the third place finisher Kurt Busch felt a real kinship with the warriors that he supports through the Armed Forces Foundation. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet battled the cable hitting the car incident, a dead battery and keeping track position throughout the night to score the top-five finish.

    “I’m still shell shocked,” Busch said. “We picked up the lead and then the battery went dead.”

    “I don’t know what to think of that,” Busch continued. “We battled back.”

    “The guys changed it as fast as they could and we got third,” Busch said. “We had a good car.”

    “You’ve got to be perfect to win these things and I was close.”

    While Chevrolet dominated the first three positions, Denny Hamlin in his No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota and Joey Logano in his No. 22 Pennzoil Shell Ford, rounded out the remainder of the top five in the finishing order for the 54th annual Coca Cola 600.

    “We need solid runs like this,” Hamlin said as he continues to recover from his back injury. “I feel good.”

    “We didn’t have a winning car, but we had a fourth to sixth-place car and that’s where we ended up.”

    While Hamlin was feeling good, fifth place finisher Logano was tired but pleased, especially with his team and crew.

    “It was a long race,” Logano said. “Starting from 31st with the Shell/Pennzoil Ford, we had our work cut out for us, especially at a track that is so hard to pass.”

    “That was a long race, a really long race, but I think my guys did an awesome job coming from 31st up to fifth,” Logano continued. “I’m super proud of them.”

    The weirdest part of the race, and for many the scariest, was the network broadcast camera cable breaking, strewing wiring on the track and into the stands. The most damaged car on the track was the No. 18 M&M Red-White-Blue M-Prove America Toyota of Kyle Busch.

    AT least ten fans were also injured in the stands, seven treated and released at the track and three sent to hospitals for further evaluation and treatment as needed.

    “I didn’t see anything,” Busch said. “I just heard a big thunk on the right-front tire and thought the tire blew out.”

    “That’s how hard it felt,” Busch continued. “I felt it like, ‘Whoa’, that’s weird.”

    “Maybe now we can get rid of that thing.”

    The second major incident occurred later in the race but also resulted in a red flag. Drivers affected in the Talladega-like wreck included Jeff Gordon, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Bobby Labonte.

    “I got under Mark (Martin) and I was down next to the grass and he clipped me in the right rear corner panel,” Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 US Air Force Ford, said. “It kind of stinks.”

    “I got squeezed in there trying to run the thing three-wide,” Mark Martin, driver of the Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, said. “And there wasn’t quite room there.”

    “We were racing three-wide and that’s what’s going to happen,” Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, said. “We were going for the Lucky Dog and had to be real aggressive.”

    “I hate we were back there,” Gordon continued. “We had an awesome Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.”

    Almirola, Martin and Gordon finished 33rd, 34th and 35th respectively.

    In spite of a battery issue, a spin late in the race, and a 22nd place finish, five-time champ Jimmie Johnson maintained his points lead, in fact 32 points ahead of Carl Edwards.

    “Yeah, we were like a fifth place car,” Johnson said. “But then we got pulled around in Turns 3 and 4 and spun.”

    “We did have some issues with the charging system of the car with batteries dying and things like that throughout the race, which added more excitement for us,” Johnson continued. “It was a long night with a lot of issues.”

    “All that did some damage to the car and that really affected our finish from that point.”

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will leave home and head next to compete at the Monster Mile in Delaware.

     

  • Previewing the Coca Cola 600

    Previewing the Coca Cola 600

    When you talk about the most prestigious races in NASCAR, the Coca Cola 600 is easily in the top two or three. Charlotte is the home for most of the teams which already gives this race importance but it is also the longest race on the NASCAR schedule. It’s also very special considering that it’s Memorial Day weekend; the track does a lot for veterans and also puts on a wild pre-race show for the fans. 600 grueling miles at the 1.5 mile quad-oval will test each driver mentally and physically while also pushing their machines too the absolute limit and beyond. It takes patience and experience to win this race but we have seen some surprises in the past. Casey Mears won his only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race in the Coke 600 back in 2007 and David Reutimann captured his first victory in the 600 two years later.

    The first Coke 600 took place back in 1960 and it was actually called the World 600. 36 of the 60 entries failed to finish the race and another six were disqualified. Joe Lee Johnson won the inaugural event and maybe that was an omen for the Johnson that would dominate this track half a century later. 5-time NSCS champion Jimmie Johnson (no relation to Joe Lee) is without a doubt the best driver to ever take on Charlotte Motor Speedway. He won his record 4th All-Star Race less than one week ago surpassing fellow legends Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt. Joey Logano finished 2nd in the All-Star Race after the Busch brothers dominated most of the event. Here’s a look at who I think will be contenders this weekend and why…

    Kurt and Kyle Busch were fast last weekend and will definitely be fast again in the 600. Kurt Busch is the 2010 winner of the Coke 600 while his little brother Kyle has never visited victory lane at Charlotte.  I doubt that they will win the 600 though; this a race where patience is a necessity and these highly aggressive racers go all-out every lap which just doesn’t work here. They will be fast and I can see them leading some laps but they won’t be in contention for the victory late in the race. Matt Kenseth is the definition of patience; he always keeps the car in contention but waits to unleash his true potential until it’s time to pounce. Matt is a 2-time Charlotte winner including the 2000 Coca Cola 600 which happened to be his first Cup victory. He will be up front and could pull it and I see him finishing well but not winning much like the Busch’s.

    That leads me to Jimmie Johnson, the master of Charlotte. Four All-Star wins, six point race wins including three consecutive wins in the Coke 600 make up his impressive resume. He hasn’t won a points race at Charlotte since 2009 and has finished outside the top 10 in four of his last six races here but look no further than last Saturday night if you have doubts when it comes to his chances. He will lead laps, he will be a contender but he will not win his 4th Coca Cola 600 this weekend. So, I’ve shut down Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and even Jimmie Johnson so who is left that might take the checkered flag Sunday night?

    Defending Coca Cola 600 winner Kasey Kahne is my pick to win this weekend. He is coming off a great run in the All-Star Race and he has been very fast at every 1.5 mile track this year. He finished a very close 2nd at Las Vegas and Kansas and nearly won the All-Star Race. Kasey is a 4-time Charlotte winner and a 3-time winner of the Coca Cola 600 in 2006, 2008 and 2012. With Hendrick power and some great talent behind the wheel, I see the Farmers Insurance Chevrolet going to victory lane this weekend. Not to mention he wants to run well for his newly acquired Yellow Lab named Billy. (Check Kahne’s Twitter if you have no clue what I’m talking about)

    So Kahne, Johnson, Kenseth and the Busch brothers are the obvious favorites to win this weekend. Who then are the drivers that will most likely struggle? Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Martin Truex Jr. and Marcos Ambrose are drivers I think will have problems at Charlotte. Stewart-Haas Racing as a whole has had an awful season with the exception of the few great runs Ryan Newman has put up and Patrick’s Daytona 500 pole. Tony was never a contender in the All-Star Race quietly finishing 14th and never running up front. I’m afraid we will see more of the same from him in the 600 but Newman on the other hand showed a lot of strength last week before making heavy contact with Kyle Busch when he was charging through the field on a restart. Biffle also struggled in the All-Star Race and has very up and down results at Charlotte never winning. Truex was disappointing in the Sprint Showdown bouncing off the wall multiple times during the event. Ambrose’s car from last week was hopefully burned because it was so terrible. He was out of control in All-Star Race practice before he crashed into the wall when the rear axle flew out. His backup wasn’t much better and he ran towards the back of the pack finishing 17th.

    This 600 mile event Sunday will have some good racing but don’t be surprised to see it get very calm with some long green flag runs throughout it. There will be lots of comers and goers as teams struggle to adapt to abruptly changing track conditions. Charlotte is considered the most weather sensitive track next to Indianapolis and the transition from day to night is going to give the crew chief’s problems as they try to keep up. Watch out for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing by the way. Both McMurray and Montoya were very fast in the Showdown and Jamie won it going on to finish a solid 8th in the All-Star Race. Juan would have most likely been right there with him had he not been handed a pit road speeding penalty halfway through the race which forced him to restart last. He drove all the way back up to the top five but ran out of time to race his way into the big show. It will be a race that will keep you guessing when it comes to who’s going to win and maybe we’ll see another first time winner like this race is so famous for producing.

  • Crunching The Numbers: Charlotte

    Crunching The Numbers: Charlotte

    When race fans think of Memorial Day weekend in the motorsports world, one thing immediately comes to mind and that is NASCAR taking to the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway for their traditional May race weekend that many consider to be the greatest weekend of motorsports all year long with NASCAR at Charlotte, IndyCar at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Formula 1 at Monaco.

    Sprint Cup Series

    The two weeks that Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts the Sprint Cup Series in May features two races on the extreme opposite side of the distance scale, with last weekend’s NASCAR Sprint All Star Race being one of the shortest and this weekend’s running of the Coca-Cola 600 as the longest of the season. The 400 lap race, which starts in the daytime and runs into the night can give teams fits when trying to set up the car to run well in both the daytime and nighttime. Look for the team that can keep up with the adjustments as darkness descends on the track to be up front at the end with a chance at the win.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Joey Logano 8 0 2 5 0 3 14.5 10.1
    Jimmie Johnson 23 6 11 15 3 1439 7.3 11.4
    Carl Edwards 16 0 5 10 0 98 18.2 12.0
    Kasey Kahne 18 4 7 10 0 807 10.5 12.4
    Tony Stewart 28 1 6 12 1 695 15.8 14.0
    Aric Almirola 2 0 0 0 1 3 9.0 14.0
    Denny Hamlin 15 0 3 8 0 159 14.1 14.1
    Matt Kenseth 27 2 7 14 0 455 17.8 14.2
    Kyle Busch 18 0 8 11 1 793 15.0 15.3
    Bobby Labonte 40 2 12 17 3 807 15.7 15.5


    Who To Watch: Joey Logano, who was at the top of the list with the best average finish heading into last weekend’s All Star Race also finds himself at the top of the list for best average finish in points races at Charlotte Motor Speedway with two top fives, five top tens, and an average finish of 10.1 in eight races at the track. Coming off of a second place finish in the All Star Race last weekend, Logano could find his way to Victory Lane for the first time this season.

    Last weekend’s All Star Race winner, Jimmie Johnson, is no slouch at Charlotte as his No. 48 team has seemed to own this place over the years. Johnson has an impressive career at the track with six wins, 11 top fives, 15 top tens, three poles, 1439 laps led, and an average finish of 11.4 in 23 starts. With stats like that, Johnson could very well pull the All Star Race/Coca-Cola 600 sweep 20 years after legendary driver Dale Earnhardt accomplished that same feat.

    Others to keep an eye on include All Star Race pole sitter, Carl Edwards, who has five top fives, 10 top tens, 98 laps led, and an average finish of 12.0 in 16 starts; and Kasey Kahne, who gave Jimmie Johnson a run for his money in the opening laps of the final segment of the All Star Race before fading to fourth by the end of the race. Kahne has four wins, seven top fives, 10 top tens, 807 laps led, and an average finish of 12.4 in 18 races.

    Nationwide Series

    In the lead up to the Coca-Cola 600, the Nationwide Series will have their chance on track in the History 300 on Saturday afternoon. In what seems to be a recurring theme in the Nationwide Series, several Sprint Cup regulars will be running this race in order to learn some information for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, meaning we’ll see another round of the Nationwide regulars versus the Cup regulars.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Kyle Busch 19 6 14 16 0 903 10.2 6.3
    Austin Dillon 2 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 8.5
    Joey Logano 9 1 4 5 1 155 6.9 8.6
    Brian Vickers 10 0 5 6 1 91 13.2 11.1
    Kevin Harvick 22 0 4 13 2 274 11.9 11.5
    Trevor Bayne 3 0 1 1 0 0 12.7 12.3
    Matt Kenseth 20 3 9 11 4 662 10.0 13.6
    Justin Allgaier 9 0 2 4 0 6 14.7 14.3
    Mike Bliss 16 2 5 5 0 43 17.9 16.2
    Elliott Sadler 12 0 4 5 1 16 12.8 17.2


    Who To Watch: The drivers with the best average finishes that will be running in the History 300 seems to be split almost 50/50 between the Cup regulars and Nationwide regulars with Kyle Busch at the top of the heap. Busch has six wins, 14 top fives, 16 top tens, 903 laps led, and an average finish of 6.3 in 19 starts. The top Nationwide regular is Austin Dillon, who only has two starts at Charlotte, but has an average finish of 8.5 with one top ten finish. Others who could find their way to Victory Lane on Saturday include: Joey Logano, with one win, four top fives, five top tens, one pole, 155 laps led, and an average finish of 8.6 in nine starts; Brian Vickers, who has five top fives, six top tens, one pole, 91 laps led, and an average finish of 11.1 in 10 starts; Kevin Harvick, with four top fives, 13 top tens, two poles, 274 laps led, and an average finish of 11.5 in 22 starts; Trevor Bayne, with one top five, one top ten, and an average finish of 12.3 in three starts; and Matt Kenseth, who has three wins, nine top fives, 11 top tens, four poles, 662 laps led, and an average finish of 13.6 in 20 starts.

    Although, not on the list, the top two drivers in points, Regan Smith and Sam Hornish, Jr., could also find their way to Victory Lane this weekend to add to their lead on the other drivers in the points.