#3WideBlog Race Preview :Coca-Cola 600

   
     NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series is back at Charlotte Motor Speedway again this week for the 53rd running of the Coca-Cola 600. Built in 1959, Charlotte Motor Speedway is located in Concord North Carolina just miles from Charlotte. The first 600 mile event was held in 1960 (World 600), and ever since Charlotte Motor Speedway has become the "home track" of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Circuit. A Coca-Cola 600 trophy is a sought after one by drivers. Not only are most of the team shops, crew members and basically the sport centralized in the North Carolina area, but the extra 100 miles (doesn't sound like much), means a driver definitely needs that extension of focus and endurance to capture the checkered flag.
 

via NASCAR.com

 Richard Petty Motorsports turned a lot of heads on qualifying day Thursday. Aric Almirola in the iconic #43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion captured the pole with a time of 27.988 seconds. His teammate Marcos Ambrose in his DeWALT Ford Fusion sits on the outside pole only 0.196 seconds behind. Almirola was just 0.04 seconds off of the track record set by Elliot Sadler in 2005. This is the first Coors Light pole of Almirolas Sprint Cup Career. Last weeks Sprint Cup All Star winner Jimmie Johnson, points leader Greg Biffle, and Clint Bowyer round out the top 5.

Full Coca-Cola 600 line-up below

1	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	U.S. Air Force	192.940	27.988	Leader
2	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	DEWALT	191.598	28.184	-0.196
3	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's Patriotic	191.374	28.217	-0.229
4	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	Fastenal	191.259	28.234	-0.246
5	15	Clint Bowyer	Toyota	5-hour Energy	191.198	28.243	-0.255
6	55	Mark Martin	Toyota	Aaron's Armed Forces Foundation	191.171	28.247	-0.259
7	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	Quaker State	191.130	28.253	-0.265
8	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	FedEx Ground	190.887	28.289	-0.301
9	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	Menards / Serta	190.597	28.332	-0.344
10	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	Furniture Row Racing	190.456	28.353	-0.365
11	22	AJ Allmendinger	Dodge	Shell / Pennzoil	190.329	28.372	-0.384
12	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	National Guard 'An American Salute' / Diet Mountain Dew	190.302	28.376	-0.388
13	21	Trevor Bayne	Ford	Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center	190.268	28.381	-0.393
14	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Budweiser Folds of Honor	190.201	28.391	-0.403
15	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	190.194	28.392	-0.404
16	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	190.054	28.413	-0.425
17	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	M&M's Red, White & Blue	190.034	28.416	-0.428
18	83	Landon Cassill	Toyota	Burger King Real Fruit Smoothies	189.987	28.423	-0.435
19	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	Dollar General	189.707	28.465	-0.477
20	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Fastenal	189.607	28.480	-0.492
21	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Office Depot / Mobil 1	189.574	28.485	-0.497
22	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Wheaties	189.520	28.493	-0.505
23	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	Drive to End Hunger	189.076	28.560	-0.572
24	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	Miller Lite	188.871	28.591	-0.603
25	13	Casey Mears	Ford	GEICO	188.363	28.668	-0.680
26	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	Kingsford	188.344	28.671	-0.683
27	74	Cole Whitt	Chevrolet	Turn One Racing	188.324	28.674	-0.686
28	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Fastenal	188.206	28.692	-0.704
29	42	Juan Montoya	Chevrolet	Target	187.924	28.735	-0.747
30	34	David Ragan	Ford	Al's Liners / Scorpion Coatings	187.656	28.776	-0.788
31	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops / Arctic Cat	187.526	28.796	-0.808
32	98	Michael McDowell	Ford	Presbyterian Healthcare System	187.487	28.802	-0.814
33	26	Josh Wise*	Ford	MDS Transport	187.259	28.837	-0.849
34	33	Stephen Leicht*	Chevrolet	Little Joe's Autos / Precon	187.169	28.851	-0.863
35	30	David Stremme	Toyota	Inception Motorsports	186.143	29.010	-1.022
36	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	SealWrap	186.111	29.015	-1.027
37	93	Travis Kvapil	Toyota	Dr Pepper	186.085	29.019	-1.031
38	195	Scott Speed	Ford	Jordan's Truck Sales	185.976	29.036	-1.048
39	38	David Gilliland	Ford	ModSpace	185.810	29.062	-1.074
40	10	Danica Patrick+	Chevrolet	GoDaddy.com	-	-	-
41	32	T.J. Bell+	Ford	Green Smoke	-	-	-
42	51	Kurt Busch+	Chevrolet	Phoenix Construction Services	-	-	-
43	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	Global Barter Corp / AM FM Energy Wood and Pellet Stoves / SWM Completion Tools	185.784	29.066	-1.078

                                              lineup via NASCAR.com

+ Set by Owner Points 

* Denotes Rookie

X Failed to qualify: 49 J.J. Yeley, 19 Mike Bliss, 73 David Reutimann, 23 Scott Riggs

     Jimmie Johnson has all the momentum heading into this race. He got Rick Hendricks 200th win at Darlington May 12th. His pit-crew won the Sprint pit crew challenge before the All Star race, and Johnson also won the All Star race and the million dollar cheque that came with it. With all that confidence and three previous Coca Cola 600 wins, Johnson is my pick for the checkered flag. @Chrish0100's pick for the victory is Denny Hamlin. Hamlin has no wins at Charlotte but 2 of his 19 career victory's have come on Charlotte's sister track Texas Motor Speedway.

    Other notes: Danica Patrick is pulling double duty this weekend, she finished 13th in the Nationwide Series race on the lead lap. She starts 40th in the Coca-Cola 600. Brad Keselowski won the Nationwide series History 300 Saturday and starts 24th on Sunday. Kurt Busch spun in qualifying hitting the wall hard. He'll start 42nd.

via NASCAR.com

    There's an extra 100 miles of fun this weekend so everyone enjoy!     Smitty OUT