NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Next Race: Coca-Cola 600 The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway The Date: Sunday, May 25 The Time: 6 p.m. (ET) TV: FOX, 5:30 p.m. (ET) Radio: PRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90 Distance: 600 miles (400 laps) NASCAR Nationwide Series Next Race: History 300 The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway The Date: Sunday, May 24 The Time: 2:45 p.m. (ET) TV: ABC, 2:30 p.m. (ET) Radio: PRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90 Distance: 300 miles (200 laps) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Next Race: Lucas Oil 200 The Place: Dover International Speedway The Date: Friday, May 30 The Time: 5:30 p.m. (ET) TV: FOX Sports 1, 5 p.m. (ET) Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90 Distance: 200 miles (200 laps) Coca-Cola 600: Surprise Winners, Glimpses Of Future Greatness While perhaps not as inherently unpredictable as a restrictor-plate race, the Coca-Cola 600 nonetheless has a legitimate wild-card reputation. Six times since its 1960 inception, the 600 has provided a driver with his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win. On the other hand, the race is seldom won by people you could call longshots, at least not in hindsight. More often than not, big names prevail, although there have been several times with those names just weren’t big yet. Of those six breakthrough wins mentioned, four were by drivers who would go on to win NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships. Here’s that complete short list: · 1961: David Pearson (He turned out to be fairly good, winning three NASCAR Sprint Cup championships and being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.) · 1994: Jeff Gordon (Went on to win four championships.) · 1995: Bobby Labonte (The 2000 champion.) · 2000: Matt Kenseth (The 2003 champion.) · 2007: Casey Mears (Wild-card factor; only career win.) · 2009: David Reutimann (Wild-card, part II, one of two career wins.) Overall in the 54-year history of the Coca-Cola 600, series champions – past present or future – have won 28 times. And of the 26 times “non-champions” who have won, we’re still looking at a stellar lineup that includes many of NASCAR’s all-time greats such as Fred Lorenzen, Jim Paschal, Marvin Panch, Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett, Davey Allison and Mark Martin. This year, there are other breakthroughs to focus on; a number of notable drivers, including past champions like Kenseth (No. 20 HOME DEPOT HUSKY Toyota) and Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet) who have yet to win a race this season, delaying almost-certain berths in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR’s championship “playoffs” contested over the season’s last 10 races. There also are drivers to watch looking not only for their first victory of the season in the series but their first victory, period. Drivers like rookies Kyle Larson (No. 42 Target Chevrolet) and Austin Dillon (No. 3 Cheerios Chevrolet) … Danica Patrick (No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet) … Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 17 Fastenal Ford). The bottom line here is that NASCAR’s longest race has a long history that will take you in a variety of directions. Expect just about anything, and there will be no surprises. Long Overdue: Johnson Circles 600 As Drought Quencher Unless Jimmie Johnson breaks a long-standing tie atop the Charlotte wins this Sunday – and nabs the potential Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup spot that goes with it – this first third of Johnson’s season will be a dirty dozen, indeed. Johnson’s season-opening stretch of 0-for-11 isn’t unprecedented. But it’s close. Only once in his prolific career has Johnson needed 12 races to capture his first victory – way back in 2003, his sophomore season. Otherwise, he wins early – and often. This seems like as good a site as any for the breakthrough win. Over the past 25 years, the Coca-Cola 600 has been a momentum-starting race. In fact, for 13 of the last 25 Coca-Cola 600 winners, it was their first win of the season. That might be a comforting stat for Johnson, who shares the all-time wins lead at Charlotte with NASCAR Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison. Johnson, who will open this week’s NASCAR festivities by voting for the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class on Wednesday, has done just about everything BUT win this season. Seventh in points, Johnson has three top fives and six top 10s and ranks second in laps led with 527. Only Kevin Harvick has led more laps this season (672). Long Day: Busch Latest Driver To Attempt Indy-Charlotte Doubleheader On Sunday, for the ninth time, a driver will attempt to race both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Kurt Busch is the latest to sign up for this most daring of double-duty, driving at Indy for Andretti Autosport. Green flag is at noon (ET) for open-wheel’s biggest race. Later Sunday afternoon he’ll jet down to Charlotte to jump into his No. 41 Haas Automation Made in America Chevrolet for the 6 p.m. (ET) start of NASCAR’s longest race. The eight previous double-dips have been divided up by only three drivers – John Andretti (1994), Robby Gordon (1997, 2000, ’02, ’03, ’04) and Tony Stewart (’99 and ’01). Stewart has the best result – by far – in the books, having finished sixth at Indy and third at Charlotte in 2001, in the process becoming the only driver to complete all 1,100 miles between the two races. Busch qualified 10th for the Indianapolis 500, but crashed in a Monday practice session and will be forced to a back-up car. McMurray Gunning For Charlotte Sweep It’s a short – and stellar – list. And Jamie McMurray, winner of Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, yearns to join it. Only seven drivers have swept Charlotte “Speedweeks,” winning both the all-star race and the Coca-Cola 600: Darrell Waltrip (1985), Davey Allison (1991), Dale Earnhardt (1993), Jeff Gordon (1997), Jimmie Johnson (2003), Kasey Kahne (2008) and Kurt Busch (2010). Five of those drivers have won one or more NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships. McMurray, a big stage driver, already has won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400. His first career win came in the October Charlotte race, in his second career start. His last two points paying wins came in the Chase race at Talladega Superspeedway and the fall 500-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. McMurray has even won the Sprint Showdown at CMS. The only Charlotte race McMurray is missing at this point in his career is the Coca-Cola 600. McMurray’s best finish in the Coca-Cola 600 came 2010, with a second place finish. He has three top-10 finishes in the Coca-Cola 600, in 11 starts. McMurray’s average finish in the race is an 18.2. But don’t let these somewhat average number’s fool you. McMurray has defied historical statistics since his first career win in 2002, as a replacement driver for Sterling Marlin. With momentum on his side at the track he has won at the most in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career (including special events), look for McMurray to challenge to become the eighth driver to complete Charlotte Speedweeks sweep. Dillon Looking To End 600’s Rookie Hazing Matt Kenseth stands alone on one very short list in Coca-Cola 600 lore. It’s the one titled “Rookie Winners In The Coca-Cola 600.” Only Kenseth’s name exists on that list, after his surprise first win in 2000. Many rookies have tried to conquer NASCAR’s longest race before and since, and all have come up short. Could this be the year that changes? Though unlikely, there’s a chance. Austin Dillon, who returns the No. 3 to the Coca-Cola 600 this weekend, could do it. This’ll be his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Charlotte, but he has enjoyed some success in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series there. Last October, he scored a runner-up finish in the Nationwide Series race. The No. 3, by the way, has won five times in the 600-mile race at Charlotte – three times with Dale Earnhardt driving, and one each with David Pearson and Buddy Baker. Kyle Larson has the credentials for a headline-making win. The NASCAR Drive for Diversity product has one start, and it wasn’t good – he finished 37th in last year’s Charlotte fall race. He did, however, score a fourth-place finish in last year’s May NASCAR Nationwide Series race. And he holds a hefty 19-points lead in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings, thanks in large part to top-10 finishes in three of the last five races – including a fifth at Texas, like Charlotte a 1.5-mile track. Sadler, Smith Chasing Elliott For The Championship Unlike countless rookies before him, Chase Elliott’s illustration of success is not by chance. Heading to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend for the History 300, the 11th race of the season, Elliott holds a two-point lead over both Elliott Sadler (second) and Regan Smith (third). Elliott secured his points lead for another week after locking in his fifth top-five finish of the season at Iowa last week. But Sadler was right in step with Elliott, also posting his fifth top-five of 2014. Running in third, Smith has been ‘Mr. Consistent’ this season, posting a series leading 10 top-10 finishes. The high level of competition amongst these three drivers is almost peerless. All three have an average finish in the top-10, they all have one or more wins this season and none have posted a DNF, yet. The tight points battle is just waiting for one of the three to slip, but Charlotte might not be the stage for such a kerfuffle. CMS is a sister track to the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway where Elliott posted his first series win, and his series average finish on 1.5-mile speedways is 3.0. Elliott also leads the series in season-to-date Driver Rating at 109.8 Veteran Elliott Sadler is leaning on his experience this weekend. Sadler’s average finish of 11.5 on 1.5-mile tracks in 2014 is the foundation for his current championship momentum. Watch for this weekend to be more of the same for Sadler. He has posted four top-five finishes in 14 series starts at Charlotte. Smith also has excelled on 1.5-mile tracks this season. He finished 10th at Las Vegas and seventh at Texas. Of the three championship contenders he has the best average finish (6.8) in the first 10 races of the season. Smith finished 10th in this event last year. Bright Lights And Big Names At CMS This Weekend A star-studded entry list awaits fans for this Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series History 300 filled with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars such as Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch; who you might have thought would have gotten their racing fill with a 600-miler on tap for Sunday. But certainly not. Harvick has competed in six series events this season posting one win (Richmond) and five top-five finishes. He has made 24 series starts at Charlotte posting an average finish of 10.9, but surprisingly has yet to visit Victory Lane. He finished fifth in this race last season. Keselowski, a threat to win each time he straps in, skipped both NNS races at Charlotte last season, but won this event in 2012. His series average finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway is 10.8. Kenseth’s been rather active in the NNS this season; he has made seven starts posting six top 10 finishes. Kenseth knows his way around Charlotte as well; he has four Coors Light poles, three wins, 10 top fives, 13 top 10s and an average finish of 13.0 in 22 starts. Last but definitely not least is Kyle Busch, the series leader in wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway with eight; including sweeping both races at CMS last season. His series average finish at Charlotte is 5.8. Joe Gibbs’ No. 54 Is, Well, A Monster This season’s unrelenting, dominant performance by Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 team has been impressive. Currently in the lead of the owners’ championship standings, Joe Gibb’s No. 54 Toyota hasn’t finished worse than fifth all season. As a result, Gibbs is 43 points ahead of Roger Penske’s No. 22 Ford team (second) in the owner standings. Kyle Busch piloted the Monster Energy Toyota to two victories in eight starts this season. While Sam Hornish Jr., though not entered this weekend, has made the most of his limited schedule by posting a win at Iowa last weekend. The Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 team has the series best average finish in 2014 with a 2.6; followed by the JR Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet team (5.5) and Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford team (5.9). Busch has made four starts in the No. 54 at Charlotte posting two wins and four top fives. Gibbs is in search of his fifth owner title in seven years; though he already leads the series in owner championships with four - followed by Richard Childress and William Baumgardner with three each. NASCAR Nationwide Series Etc. Former NASCAR Next participant Jeb Burton will be making his season debut in the NNS this weekend at Charlotte for Biagi-DenBeste Racing. This is the second consecutive week Biagi-DenBeste Racing has fielded a current or former participant in the NASCAR Next program. Ryan Gifford started for the team last week at Iowa. He finished 20th. … Johnny Sauter will be making his second series start of the season for car owner and former driver Shigeaki Hattori. Sauter has made 10 series starts at CMS posting one top-10 finish. … As part of the NASCAR industry’s salute to the military and their families all the cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series will have tires carrying a Support Our Troops decal as part of the Goodyear Gives Back and NASCAR Salutes programs. Quiroga Maintains Impressive Streak To Start Season When a driver is new to a division, the first step in the learning process is adapting to the vehicle they are racing and the competition they are up against. Next it is often a goal to start racing up front and getting top-10 finishes … then top-fives … and when you do that on a consistent basis – the wins will come. If German Quiroga’s season so far is any indication, a first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win is drawing near. Despite getting collected in a last-lap accident at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Quiroga was still able to bring his truck home in ninth place to maintain his career-best streak of top-10 finishes (four) to start the season. Quiroga also moved up to third in the points standings, 18 points behind leader Matt Crafton (162-144) and just seven points behind his Red Horse Racing teammate Timothy Peters. Quiroga is now the only driver in the series to score a top 10 in every race. If you date the streak back to the end of last season, Quiroga now has five top-10 finishes in a row (he finished seventh at Homestead-Miami Speedway) and is just two shy of tying his career-best top-10 finishes in a season of six in 2013. Quiroga also enjoys the highest points standings position for any Mexican-born driver in any of the three national NASCAR series. Toyota Matches Win Record With Kyle Busch’s third victory of the season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Toyota has now won six consecutive races dating back to last November when Erik Jones won at Phoenix. This matches the longest win streak for the manufacturer, originally set in 2010. Kyle Busch Motorsports has won five of the six races during the most recent Toyota win streak. During that streak, another kind of history was made. Eric Phillips, who has won four races with two drivers during the Toyota streak, set the record for wins by a crew chief in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Phillips set the record of 29 wins at Kansas and added another last weekend in Charlotte. He has won with eight different drivers at 20 different tracks during his record-setting effort. He has won three races this season, all with Busch behind the wheel. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Etc. Defending series champion Matt Crafton and leading Sunoco rookie of the year contender Ben Kennedy are participating in a Goodyear Tire test this week at Kentucky Speedway. … Gateway Motorsports Park signed American Ethanol as presenting sponsor for next month’s Drivin’ for Linemen 200. … Crafton kept his Charlotte streak alive with his 12th start at the track, and is the only driver to start every NCWTS race held at CMS. He also scored his ninth top-10 finish at the track, coming home second last Friday night. Mods Lead Memorial Day Weekend To Green. … The Memorial Day weekend NASCAR racing action will begin on Friday, May 23 with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway. The last four winners of the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 at the historic half-mile have gone on to capture that season’s tour title, including NASCAR Next driver Ryan Preece a year ago. The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will head to Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif., for the Armed Forces 150 on Saturday, May 24. Greg Pursley won the series’ inaugural event at the brand new half-mile oval last fall, and he brings the season points lead to this week’s return engagement, which will have a live videocast at FansChoice.tv. NASCAR touring series Memorial Day weekend action will continue on Sunday, May 25 with the Queretana 200 for the NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series. The sixth event on the series’ 2014 calendar will be contested at Autódromo del Ecocentro de la Unión Ganadera, a .75-mile oval in Queretaro, Mexico. Rafael Martinez is the defending race winner while NASCAR Next alum Daniel Suarez is the current season points leader. Last week the NASCAR K&N Pro Series shared the spotlight at Iowa Speedway with the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Next driver Ben Rhodes scored his second win of the season in the first of two K&N East-West combo races at the track this year. J.R. Fitzpatrick also turned in a dominant winning performance in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 season-opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Posted on: Wed, 21 May 2014 10:26:50 +0000
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