Preview: As far as big races go, the second Richmond race on the Cup schedule is huge. It’s the last race of the “regular season,” making it the site where the Chase field is set.
Preview: For the first time since NASCAR began racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1960, the Sprint Cup circuit is making just one stop at AMS this year.
Preview: It’s time for short track beatin’ and bangin’, NASCAR style! This week, the Cup Series visits Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night for the “Irwin Tools Night Race.”
Preview: It’s getting to be that time of year when the Sprint Cup circuit starts circling back to tracks they’ve recently raced on. Such is the case with Michigan International Speedway, which just hosted a Cup race on June 19.
Preview: NASCAR’s annual trek to upstate New York and Watkins Glen International represents the second of just two road-course races on the 36-race Sprint Cup schedule.
Preview: If it seems like NASCAR was just at this track recently, you’re right. This is the Cup boys’ second visit to the “Tricky Triangle” this year, having just raced here in mid-June. That race was won by Jeff Gordon with Kurt Busch finishing second.
Preview: Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been the home of the Indy 500 for 100 years, but NASCAR has only been competing on the hallowed racing ground since 1994. IMS is a very flat 2.5-mile quad-oval which the Cup Series visits just once a year for the Brickyard 400.
Preview: Loudon, New Hampshire, a flat 1.058-mile oval track, is a technical race track that many drivers consider challenging, as Denny Hamlin explained Friday:
Preview: Saturday night’s race at Kentucky Speedway marks a couple of firsts – it’s the first time the Cup Series has ever raced here, as well as the first new track on the Cup circuit since 2001. Kentucky is a bumpy 1.5-mile oval that Ryan Newman describes as “part of the cookie-cutter spectrum of race tracks.”
Preview: The big issue so far at Daytona has been rain. Only one practice session was held on Thursday and it was rain-shortened, but led by Marcos Ambrose and AJ Allmendinger, both in Fords, followed by the Penske Dodge tandem of Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski.
Preview: Road courses in NASCAR – most fans either love them or loathe them, but either way they are definitely a diversion from oval track racing.
Preview: For the past few weeks, pit strategy and fuel mileage have been taking center stage in the Cup Series and that might be the case again this weekend at Michigan, where fuel mileage often comes into play as the race winds down.
Preview: It’s time for the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit to visit the “Tricky Triangle” – Pocono Raceway – a 2.5-mile tri-oval with three different corners and three different straightaways. Jeff Gordon calls it the “tricky scalene” because of its irregular shape, while Jeff Burton notes, “I don’t get why every racetrack we go to has four corners and Pocono has five, yet it really has three.”
Preview: There is not much precedent for predicting Sunday’s race results at Kansas Speedway, since this is the first time the Cup Series has raced here in June. The circuit has been visiting the 1.5-mile Kansas tri-oval since 2001, but the track previously had just one race date a year, in late September or early October.
Preview: The Coca-Cola 600 is considered by many to be one of NASCAR’s iconic races, along the lines of the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. But, at a length of 600 miles – 400 laps on the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval – this is the longest and most grueling race of the NASCAR season.
Race: Coca-Cola 600 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date: Sunday, May 29, 2011
Time: 6:15 PM EST (scheduled green flag)
TV: 6:00 PM EST on FOX
Starting in the daylight and ending under the lights, the race challenges the adaptability and endurance of both man and machine. The last four Coca-Cola 600 races have had some surprising results, including winners Casey Mears in 2007 and David Reutimann in 2009. Just as surprising is Sunday’s starting front row, consisting of Brad Keselowski and AJ Allmendinger. Kurt Busch won this race last year.
• Safe Bet: (odds of 10/1 or less)
Carl Edwards (5/2): Coming off his win in the All-Star Race and sitting atop the Sprint Cup point standings, Edwards has everyone’s attention heading into Sunday’s race. His momentum really goes back to the end of the 2010 season, when he won the final two races of the year at Phoenix and Homestead. Many insiders are crediting the new Ford engine with finally coming into its own and giving the Ford drivers success on tracks like Charlotte, traditionally thought of as a GM stalwart. Edwards rolls off 3rd Sunday.
• Mid Range: (odds between 10/1 – 20/1)
Denny Hamlin (14/1): Hamlin qualified 4th and was 6th-fastest in Happy Hour, but what caught my attention was the glint in his eye Friday when he talked about how fast his car is. The question will be whether that car can make it 600 miles and whether it is as good on long runs as short ones. Currently 13th in points, Hamlin will need to pick up a few wins soon if he hopes to make the Chase.
• Long Shot: (odds of 20/1 or greater)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (25/1): Although he qualified 25th, Dale Jr. had the second-best 10 consecutive lap average in Happy Hour on Friday, right behind Kyle Busch. Currently 4th in the standings, a win for Junior on Memorial Day weekend would be a huge shot in the arm for this race team and for his confidence level.
Summary: Don’t be surprised if this race produces another surprise winner Sunday. After rain at the track earlier in the weekend, weather is not expected to be an issue Sunday, except in terms of high temperatures that will produce a super-slick racing surface.
As the track cools after sunset, the successful teams will be the ones that adjust best to the changes.
NASCAR – Coca-Cola 600 – Odds To Win
Edwards, Carl 3-1
Busch, Kyle 6-1
Johnson, Jimmie 6-1
Hamlin, Denny 8-1
Biffle, Greg 15-1
Gordon, Jeff 15-1
Harvick, Kevin 15-1
Kenseth, Matt 15-1
Stewart, Tony 15-1
Bowyer, Clint 20-1
Burton, Jeff 25-1
Earnhardt Jr., Dale 25-1
Reutimann, David 25-1
Allmendinger, A.J. 25-1
Busch, Kurt 25-1
Lagano, Joey 30-1
Keselowski, Brad 30-1
Kahne, Kasey 30-1
Ragan, David 40-1
Martin, Mark 40-1
Newman, Ryan 50-1
McMurray, Jamie 60-1
Menard, Paul 60-1
Montoya, Juan 60-1
Ambrose, Marcos 60-1
Vickers, Brian 60-1
Smith, Regan 150-1
Labonte, Bobby 500-1
Against the Field (any other driver) 150-1
Becca Gladden is a freelance writer and race handicapper specializing in NASCAR.
Preview: It’s All-Star weekend, bringing NASCAR fans plenty of no-holds-barred racing action from Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night. The race features some of the best stock car racers in the business, but not everyone’s favorite driver will be on the track.
