After a run for the money during the All-Star Weekend, NASCAR is getting back to racing for points in the sport’s Memorial Day Weekend tradition … the Coca-Cola 600.
Charlotte Motor Speedway was the location of NASCAR’s All-Star Race and the teams get to stay put for this weekend’s race. The season’s longest race gives the drivers and teams a chance to pay tribute to the Nation’s military for Memorial Day and those soldiers who gave their lives in defense of the American way of life.
While the spotlight is put on the military men and women of the United States Armed Forces, the drivers still have a job to do and so do the teams. The race starts in the daylight and ends in the night which means crew chiefs will need to decide on the right adjustments to make and teams will need to execute those changes flawlessly to give the driver every opportunity to be in position to win at the end of 600 miles of racing.
Let’s take a look at the track and race specific data.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Data
Track Size: 1.5-miles
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 24 degrees
Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 24 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 5 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 1,980 feet
Backstretch Length: 1,500 feet
Coca-Cola 600 Data
Season Race #: 12 of 36 (05-27-18)
Race Length: 400 laps / 600 miles
Stage Length: 100 Laps each
What drivers have performed well during their careers in NASCAR’s top division at Charlotte? Let’s take a look.
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Charlotte
Jimmie Johnson…………………… 109.8
Kyle Busch…………………………. 104.9
Denny Hamlin……………………….. 96.4
Matt Kenseth………………………… 96.1
Kasey Kahne………………………… 93.3
Kevin Harvick……………………….. 91.0
Joey Logano…………………………. 89.3
Martin Truex Jr……………………… 88.5
Kurt Busch…………………………… 88.1
Brad Keselowski……………………. 85.8
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2017 races (26 total) among active drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson is truly the best at Charlotte with the highest driver rating and he is the all-time leading winner at the track with eight trips to Victory Lane during his career including four Coca-Cola 600 wins (2003, 2004, 2005 and 2014).
Kasey Kahne has four wins at the track with Kevin Harvick right behind him with three.
Martin Truex Jr. won the 2017 fall race at the track to bring his win total to two. Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray also have two wins apiece at Charlotte.
Austin Dillon won this race last year, his only win at the track in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano all have a single win each at Charlotte on their résumés.
Which cars will fall victim to mechanical failure before the end of the year’s longest race? Which drivers will get too aggressive and take themselves and perhaps some other drivers out of contention for the win? Which drivers will be there at the end with a chance to capture the win?
We will have all of these questions and more answered when the green flag waives to start NASCAR’s Memorial Day Weekend tradition Sunday, May 27th at 5 PM in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
By: Buck Stevens
