NASCAR at Charlotte 2014: Race Schedule, Live Stream Info and Drivers to Watch
Just five races remain before the Championship Round of the Sprint Cup, and the Bank of American 500 from Charlotte, North Carolina, is the next stop on the way to glory for NASCAR's top drivers.
Charlotte Motor Speedway will play host to the second race of the Contender Round on Saturday. There are 500 miles of racing on tap for the day, and while that might seem like a ton of driving, it will most certainly fly by. Don't miss a single turn, as one collision is enough to drastically shake up the Sprint Cup standings.
Kyle Busch earned the pole position with a blistering mark of 197.3 mph, and he'll be a driver to look out for given his speed on the track. But which other drivers should you keep an eye on? Below, you'll find those drivers, along with a full race schedule and viewing info for the Bank of America 500.
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Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway
When: Saturday, October 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Watch: ABC
Live Stream: Live updates via NASCAR.com's live leaderboard.
Drivers to Watch
Kyle Busch is definitely someone to watch considering how well he fared during qualifying. Busch attributed consistent lap times to why he won the pole, via Reid Spencer of NASCAR.com: "It seemed like the guy that was the most consistent was able to win the pole tonight. I think we had a .38 (27.38 seconds), then a .33 and then a .36—so pretty good laps there."
Busch is second in the Chase standings, meaning that this race is crucial to continuing his pursuit of the championship. While he has never won at Charlotte, he does have nine top-five finishes and 13 top-10 finishes.
A finish in the top five would be ideal, but Busch can get by with a finish in the top 10. He would still be within striking distance of the championship with a few more races to go.
Jimmie Johnson will start 21st Saturday night after a loose car ruined his qualifying round, and he has some serious work to do if he wants to make a run at the championship.
Jared Turner of Fox Sports provided an in-depth explanation of what obstacles Johnson must overcome in the coming weeks:
"Johnson, who finished 40th after crashing out of last Sunday's Chase Contender Round opener at Kansas Speedway, is last in the standings among the 12 drivers still eligible for the 2014 Sprint Cup title.
Even more troubling is Johnson's substantial 27-point deficit to teammate Jeff Gordon, who is eighth in the standings and holds the final transfer spot for the eight-driver Eliminator Round.
To advance to the next round, Johnson needs to win either Saturday night's race at Charlotte or next weekend's race at Talladega, or finish in the top five and hope that others ahead of him have problems.
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Luckily for Johnson, he has seven wins in his career at Charlotte. He also has 13 top-five finishes. He certainly has a fighting chance to win the title, but his chances are decreasing by the day. He needs to have his best race of the season Saturday.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. just turned 40 years old Friday, and he could treat himself to a nice birthday gift by winning at his hometown track Saturday. He, like Johnson, needs a win or a strong finish to keep his title hopes alive.
Given that Charlotte is his home track, expect Earnhardt to perform well. It doesn't seem as if he'll end up taking the title come season's end, but a top-10 finish at Charlotte should be enough to keep him in the discussion for another week.
*Career racing statistics courtesy of Racing-Reference.info.
Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @KennyDeJohn_BR
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