Bank of America 500 Race Preview

Lowe's Motor Speedway -- 10/11/08

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Monday Oct 6 2008 11:21pm

The Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte will be unique from the start. That's because it is the only Saturday night race among the 10 Chase races.

"For the drivers, it’s a lot cooler," said car No. 29 driver Kevin Harvick (+3000). "With the lights, the track has more grip. Things just seem to be a little bit faster under the lights than they normally are. Night racing is where I grew up. Friday night or Saturday night racing brings out the best in all of us. It is a lot of fun and exciting to watch."

No doubt NASCAR wants Harvick's prediction to come true in the aftermath of Sunday's controversial race finish at Talladega, which officials are still trying to explain.

But the focus has now turned to Charlotte, and it was just a few weeks ago that 51 Sprint Cup teams tested here in preparation for this weekend's race. There were two testing sessions per day for two days. Below are the top five drivers in each session:

Day One - First Session

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Greg Biffle
3. Mark Martin
4. Kyle Busch
5. David Ragan

Day One - Second Session

1. Greg Biffle
2. Scott Speed
3. Carl Edwards
4. Bryan Clauson
5. Elliott Sadler

Day Two - First Session

1. Greg Biffle
2. Ryan Newman
3. Jeff Burton
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5. Brian Vickers

Day Two - First Session

1. Jeff Gordon
2. Scott Speed
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Juan Pablo Montoya
5. Elliott Sadler

Greg Biffle (+600), who's just 77 points out of first, looked very strong throughout testing at Lowe's and seemed very confident about his car. "We unloaded with the All-Star and Coca-Cola 600 setup in the car," said Biffle. "We figured that was a great place to start since we finished 2nd in both of those events. The car is super easy to drive and it has a lot of speed. I'm pretty happy about that for starters. I think you're going to a see a great race here."

Lowe's Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile quad-shaped oval with 24 degrees of banking in the turns. NASCAR has been racing here for 48 years now with at least two races per year - a total of 99 Cup races to date.

In the past 12 races at Lowe's (both spring and fall dates), Jimmie Johnson (+425) has been to victory lane five times and Kasey Kahne (+1400) three times. Johnson's last win here was the fall race in 2005, which Kahne won in 2006 and Jeff Gordon won last year. Kasey Kahne also won the Coca-Cola 600 this spring.

Among active drivers, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon (+1600) are tied with the most wins at Charlotte at five a piece, though Johnson's came in 14 starts and Gordon's in 31. Mark Martin (+3000) has four wins, Kasey Kahne, three, and Jeff Burton (+2500) and Bobby Labonte each with two.

Single race winners include Ken Schrader, Matt Kenseth (+900), Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, and Tony Stewart (+1200).

That whole "three-man race for the Chase" thing might come into play again this weekend. Along with Biffle's strong car in testing and Johnson's impressive record overall, it's worth noting that Carl Edwards (+500) leads all drivers in the average finish category with a 7.6. In seven starts here, Edwards has six top finishes, including a 5th-place finish in this race last fall and a 9th in the spring.

Edwards is followed in the average finish category by Jimmie Johnson, Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne.

In terms of points accumulated over the past five races at Lowe's, including bonus points, Kasey Kahne leads that category, followed by Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+1200), and Jimmie Johnson.

One other driver catching the eye of nascar odds makers in the early part of the week is Kyle (don't count him out yet) Busch at +650. Though Lowe's has not always been kind to Busch - three DNFs in nine starts with an average finish of 23.3 - he does have two straight 3rd-place finishes here.