The NASCAR Sprint Cup Round of 12 will begin Saturday night (10/8) under the lights of Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Bank of America 500.
Charlotte is one of the intermediate tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit that gives the drivers 1.5-miles per lap with plenty of room to race side-by-side to move forward in the field during the event. The race also gives the drivers 334 laps (501 miles) to either improve their cars or possibly make a mistake and crash their cars.
The 500 miles of racing will also require several pit stops that will give the pit crews the chance to shine for their driver or make mistakes that could take their driver out of contention for the win. Both Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick are among drivers that have experienced the latter this season on more than one occasion.
With the Chase Grid cut from 16 to 12 drivers following last week’s race at Dover the points for the remaining contenders have all been set to 3,000. Those 12 drivers now have three races starting this weekend to advance to the Round of Eight by either winning a race or acquire enough points to be in the top eight following the elimination race October 23rd at Talladega.
Let’s take a look at the top Sprint Cup career performers at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Charlotte
*Jimmie Johnson – 109.6
*Kyle Busch – 104.6
*Denny Hamlin – 95.6
* Matt Kenseth – 95.4
Kasey Kahne – 95.2
*Joey Logano – 94.5
*Carl Edwards – 90.9
*Brad Keselowski – 89.7
*Kevin Harvick – 88.8
Greg Biffle – 87.8
(* indicates current Chase Grid driver)
(NOTE: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2016 races {22 total} among active drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway)
Jimmie Johnson has the best driver rating, has the most Sprint Cup wins during his career and all-time at Charlotte. Jimmie has been to Victory Lane at the track seven times and if his pit crew can avoid mistakes could be a serious challenger for another win at Charlotte this weekend to advance to the next round of The Chase.
Jeff Gordon has won five times at the track. However, this weekend Alex Bowman will be the fill-in driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the #88 Chevrolet, so Jeff will not be a factor in the race.
Kevin Harvick could be a serious threat to win the race and add to his three career Charlotte trophies as well as earn the automatic advance on the Chase Grid. That is if his pit crew can avoid mistakes that take his chance to win away.
Four drivers have a pair of wins each at Charlotte including Chase Grid driver Matt Kenseth and non-contenders Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton and Jamie McMurray who was eliminated from he Chase Grid following last week’s race.
Tony Stewart, like Jamie, was also eliminated from championship contention last week and has won a single race at Charlotte. Joining Tony with just one win at the track are non-contenders Casey Mears and Clint Bowyer as well as Chase Grid drivers Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano (the winner of this race in 2015) and Martin Truex Jr. (the winner of the Coca-Cola 600 at this track earlier this season).
Not only did Martin Truex Jr. win the first race at Charlotte this year, he also dominated the first round of The Chase winning the first race (Chicagoland) and third race (Dover) in the Round of 16. He has made the statement that he is in it to win it and could carry that momentum to another win this weekend to advance to the Round of Eight.
Of course, with long straights and 24-degrees of banking in the turns, another driver’s mistake can take out several cars during the 400 laps at high speeds. Even a dominating car can have their day ended early by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup story will be written starting at 6 PM central time (7 PM eastern time) from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday, October 8th in the Bank of America 500.
By: Buck Stevens
