Coca-Cola 600 Race Preview

Lowe's Motor Speedway -- 05/25/08

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Wednesday May 21 2008 8:40pm

The Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway is stock-car racing's answer to the Indianapolis 500 - an on-and-off-track extravaganza designed to keep NASCAR fans satiated over the long Memorial Day weekend.

Lowe's 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.
Back in the day, the late May event was called the World 600. It became the Coca-Cola 600 in 1985 when the corporate beverage giant assumed title sponsorship of the race.

This is the second weekend in a row that stock cars will be running on the Lowe's Motor Speedway racetrack. But if last Saturday's 100-lap Sprint All-Star Race was in fact a "sprint," this Sunday's 400 lap (600-mile) Coca-Cola 600 can only be described as a marathon.

Just ask Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+900), who will be making his 18th start in a Cup race at Charlotte this Sunday. Junior commented on the difference between this event and a 500-miler: "As a driver, you definitely notice it's another 100 miles. All of a sudden you're riding along and a switch kind of flips on you where you start to feel like you could lose focus or concentration. Physically and mentally, it's a tough race. Some races go better than others as far as that goes. There are times you get mentally exhausted, but I know I've never completely lost concentration. It's a challenge, that's for sure."

Of course, it isn't just the drivers who must endure the 600-mile daytime-to-nighttime race. Motors, tires, and car parts of all types will be pushed to the extreme, and crew chief decisions will also play a major factor in the results.

Casey Mears (+4500) claimed his first Cup victory in last year's Coca-Cola 600 with a fuel mileage win typical of a race of this length. Mears led only the final six laps of the race and, in fact, several drivers who finished in the top 10 were surprises, including J.J. Yeley (2nd), Kyle Petty (3rd), Reed Sorenson (4th), Brian Vickers (5th) and Ricky Rudd (7th). Kurt Busch (+3250), who led a race-high 107 laps, wrecked and finished 32nd.

While fans may tire of the description of LMS as "Jimmie Johnson's house," it's hard to argue with Johnson's success at the track that bears the name of his primary sponsor. Johnson (+585) won four straight races here - sweeping the track in both 2004 and 2005 - and four of six including this race in 2003.
Add to that list the win by Casey Mears here last May and Jeff Gordon (+950) last October, and a Hendrick driver has won 7 of the last 10 races at Charlotte.

The exceptionsΔ Tony Stewart (+950) in October of 2003, and Kasey Kahne (+1850), who swept here in 2006.

It's no surprise, then, that Jimmie Johnson leads a number of statistical categories among active drivers at LMS. He's tied with Jeff Gordon for most wins at five a piece, though Johnson's came in 13 starts and Gordon's in 30. Johnson also leads in the average finish category with a 6.8, followed by Carl Edwards (+550) at 7.3.

In terms of points accumulated over the most recent five races, Johnson also leads that stat, followed by Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton, and Casey Mears.

Other drivers catching the eye of nascar oddsmakers this week include Kyle Busch (no surprise there) at +550 and Denny Hamlin at +950. Busch's best finish here was a 3rd last fall and Hamlin's an 8th in 2005. And with current nascar odds of +1250, Greg Biffle, who had a very powerful car in the All-Star Race, also deserves consideration.

Along with Johnson and Gordon, other multi-race winners include Mark Martin (+2850) with four, and Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton (+2850), and Kasey Kahne with two each. The following drivers have one win a piece: Sterling Marlin, Casey Mears, Matt Kenseth (+1250), Ken Schrader, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Petty, and Tony Stewart.

There are plenty of variables heading into Sunday's race, including how teams will implement what they learned in testing before the All-Star Race, and how weather and environmental factors will play into the results.

Historically, track position has been important at Lowe's, with 78% of all races won from a top-10 starting spot. Although Jimmie Johnson was able to pull off a win in 2003 Coca-Cola 600 from a 37th-place start, that feat was the exception rather than the rule - perhaps now more than ever, with passing at a premium in the chunky COT, particularly on a relatively flat track like this one.

Along with fuel strategy, staying out of wrecks, and the overall stamina of cars and drivers, the key to winning on Sunday will be the team that makes the best adjustments over the course of 600 miles to at least put themselves in position in the last 50 or so laps.

"I don't think I know anyone who has a real lock on how you set your car up perfectly for starting in the day and finishing at night," notes Earnhardt Jr. "The track obviously gets a lot faster, and you know that you have to anticipate a lot. The good thing is that it's longer, and you have a better chance of hitting the nail on the head with the setup because you have a longer time to think about it and more opportunity to work on the car. Patience is a key, too."

Patience - for both drivers and race fans.