Coca-Cola 600 Race Preview

Lowe's Motor Speedway Charlotte -- 05/24/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Wednesday May 20 2009 1:33am

This is one of the favorite periods of the racing year for NASCAR competitors, with back-to-back races in the Charlotte area, where most of the sport’s teams and team members are based, making Lowe’s Motor Speedway their home track.

Last Saturday, the All-Star race, a non-points-paying event featuring just 21 drivers, ran a total of 100 laps broken up in four segments at LMS. The winner was Tony Stewart, though Jimmie Johnson led the most laps with Kyle Busch leading the second-most.

This week, the Sprint Cup cars will be on the track again for a Saturday night race at LMS. But the Coca-Cola 600 is a much different beast - 400 laps on the 1.5-mile oval, equaling a 600-mile endurance race that takes about 4-1/2 hours to complete.

`The 600 is the longest race of the season, and it does present some challenges,” notes Matt Kenseth, who finished second to Stewart in the All-Star race. “Obviously, the race starts in the day and ends at night, so the team has to have a set-up that you can work with as the conditions change … Track position will be key in the race. Obviously you have to stay on the lead lap and stay out of trouble, but as we saw last year with the smooth pavement where (Jeff) Burton took tires and stayed out and won the race, it’s going to be big to be up front. Clean air means a lot and it’s hard to pass with these cars.”

When this race was first run in 1960, it was known as the “World 600,” and
remained so until 1985, when it became known as the “Coca-Cola World 600,” and then just the “Coca-Cola 600,” as it is known today.

This year marks the 50th running of the World/Coca-Cola 600, and LMS intends to mark the occasion with a record $6.7-million purse and a new 225-pound trophy.

There have been two races a year run at Lowe’s Motor Speedway since 1960, making a total of 100 races now in the books. The track has been dominated by Chevy teams since 2003, with nine of 12 races during that time going to GM drivers. The other three were won by a single Dodge driver, specifically, Kasey Kahne.

Last year, Kahne won the Coca Cola 600 in May, while Jeff Burton took the Bank of America 500 in October. Kahne has won three of the last six Charlotte races (both spring and fall), including the sweep in 2006, while Jimmie Johnson won four straight here in 2004-2005.

After finishing 13th of 21 cars in this year’s All-Star Race, however, Johnson has some observations about the way the track and the cars have changed over the years: “I think more than anything, when they resurfaced the track, it made the track much more forgiving, and the setup that worked so well for us didn't give us an edge at the track. The track was a little rough, abrasive, and our shop package and the line – I also feel a big part of our success was there's a must-take line in 3 and 4 that I can always set our car up to run. As soon as I would hit that spot, I'd fly through 3 and 4 and pass two cars at a time sometimes through there. So, with the new surface, it changed the track and it also took away that edge, and I think made the track a little bit more forgiving in some respects. It's been tough to get a comfortable tire on the car with the speeds we've been running. I think we're there now. The speeds are so high and the track is – they almost did too good of a job repaving the track, and it took away the advantage that we had.”

Johnson and Jeff Gordon are tied for five Lowe’s wins a piece overall, while Mark Martin has four, and Kahne and Jeff Burton each have three.

Johnson also leads all drivers in the average finish category at Lowe’s with an 8.9. He’s followed in that category by Carl Edwards, Bobby Labonte, Kasey Kahne, and Tony Stewart.

Over the course of the last five points-paying races at Lowe’s, however, Kahne is number one, followed by Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson.

Though Kyle Busch has not won a Cup race here, he’s finished fourth or better in his last three Cup starts, although Toyota has never been to Victory Lane in the Cup series at Lowe’s.

Jeff Gordon, the series’ current points leader, received treatment for a chronic back condition this week involving injections. He is expected to compete Saturday and hopes the therapy will help him endure the physical strain of the 600-mile event.

Current odds for select drivers for the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway:

Jimmie Johnson +550

Kyle Busch +650

Jeff Gordon +800

Tony Stewart +800

Carl Edwards +1100

Greg Biffle +1100

Mark Martin +1100

Kurt Busch +1300

Matt Kenseth +1600

Denny Hamlin +1600

Ryan Newman +1800

Please check back before the race for our practice and qualifying update.

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