Bank of America 500 2013: Start Time, Lineup, TV Schedule and More

The top drivers of the 2013 season have convened at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 12. 

Heading into the big race, Matt Kenseth holds a tenuous three-point lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings over Jimmie Johnson. Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon aren't far behind, and this year's Chase is still wide open with six races left to be contested. 

Harvick comes into the race hot, fresh off his impressive victory at Kansas Speedway last weekend, but it is Gordon who will begin the race at the pole, as noted by NASCAR:

There isn't much room for error for the drivers competing for the Sprint Cup, and as such NASCAR fans have been treated to some exhilarating races this past month. This upcoming race should yield more of the same.

When: Saturday, Oct. 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET

Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, N.C.

Watch: FS2 (pre-race at 5 p.m.) and ABC (pre-race at 7 p.m. and race at 7:30 p.m.)

Listen: PRN Radio Network and Sirius XM NASCAR radio Channel 90.

Lineup

POS.	DRIVER	CAR	MAKE	SPONSOR	BEHIND
1	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	Axalta	Leader
2	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	Jimmy John's	--0.015
3	Greg Biffle	16	Ford	3M	--0.050
4	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	Lowe's Dover White	--0.074
5	Kasey Kahne	5	Chevrolet	Quaker State	--0.088
6	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	Chevrolet	Time Warner Cable	--0.111
7	Ryan Newman	39	Chevrolet	Quicken Loans	--0.122
8	Juan Pablo Montoya	42	Chevrolet	Target	--0.128
9	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	M&M's	--0.130
10	Kurt Busch	78	Chevrolet	Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet	--0.172
11	Aric Almirola	43	Ford	Smithfield	--0.189
12	Joey Logano	22	Ford	Shell Pennzoil / Hertz	--0.192
13	Paul Menard	27	Chevrolet	Menards / Duracell	--0.224
14	Clint Bowyer	15	Toyota	Raspberry 5-Hour Energy benefiting Living Beyond Breast Cancer	--0.229
15	Carl Edwards	99	Ford	Fastenal	--0.250
16	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	17	Ford	My Best Buy	--0.281
17	Martin Truex Jr.	56	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	--0.300
18	Denny Hamlin	11	Toyota	FedEx Ground	--0.316
19	Brian Scott	33	Chevrolet	Shore Lodge	--0.331
20	Matt Kenseth	20	Toyota	Dollar General	--0.335
21	Kyle Larson	51	Chevrolet	Target	--0.340
22	Mark Martin	14	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1	--0.366
23	Brad Keselowski	2	Ford	Miller Lite	--0.371
24	Bobby Labonte	47	Toyota	Scott Products	--0.388
25	Jamie McMurray	1	Chevrolet	McDonald's	--0.398
26	Jeff Burton	31	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	--0.412
27	Brian Vickers	55	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	--0.487
28	Casey Mears	13	Ford	No. 13 GEICO Ford Fusion	--0.542
29	Marcos Ambrose	9	Ford	BOSTITCH	--0.548
30	David Ragan	34	Ford	Taco Bell	--0.578
31	Cole Whitt	30	Toyota	Swan Energy	--0.579
32	Landon Cassill	40	Chevrolet	Moon Shine Attitude Attire	--0.679
33	Josh Wise	35	Ford	MDS Transport	--0.751
34	David Gilliland	38	Ford	Long John Silver's	--0.770
35	Danica Patrick	10	Chevrolet	GoDaddy Breast Cancer Awareness	--0.792
36	David Reutimann	83	Toyota	Burger King-Dr. Pepper	--0.840
37	Michael McDowell	98	Ford	Phil Parsons Racing	--0.868
38	Joe Nemechek	87	Toyota	TBA	--0.950
39	Dave Blaney	7	Chevrolet	Breast Cancer Awareness	--0.955
40	Timmy Hill	32	Ford	U.S. Chrome	--1.032
41	Travis Kvapil	93	Toyota	Dr. Pepper	--1.133
42	J.J. Yeley	36	Chevrolet	United Mining Equipment	--1.258
43	Blake Koch	95	Ford	SupportMilitary.org	--2.114

Will Jeff Gordon Finally Earn a Win?

It's incredible that at this point in the season Gordon is in contention for the Sprint Cup without a single victory to date in 2013. 

He's earned his No. 4 spot in the rankings due to a torrid run in the second half of the season. Since his second-place finish in Sonoma back in June, Gordon has tallied 10 top-10 finishes in 15 races—including four top-five finishes.

After he took the pole in Charlotte on Thursday night, it appears Gordon is poised to finally win a race this year, which would put him in excellent position to win his fifth Sprint Cup title.

Race Prediction

Given the highly competitive nature of these final races, it's difficult to prognosticate a winner.

Kyle Busch has a history of performing well at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has topped all drivers in laps led (787) the past 11 races, as noted by Matt Taliaferro of AthlonSports.com, but he hasn't been able to finish on top.

Jimmie Johnson is hot, as is Kasey Kahne, who has been productive at Charlotte in the past. 

Current leader Matt Kenseth didn't look sharp in qualifying and will start from the No. 20 spot. Since winning two straight races, he's gotten a bit cold heading down the home stretch, finishing in seventh place at Dover and then in 11th place at Kansas last weekend. 

In the end, I believe Gordon will finally get his first win of the season. He's been consistently running well throughout the second half of the season, as was clearly illustrated during qualifying. 

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