NASCAR Sprint Cup Drivers Likely to Steal a Win at Charlotte Motor Speedway
This coming weekend a battle will break out on the site once used as a working plantation during the Civil War, Charlotte Motor Speedway.
NASCAR's top-tier drivers will take to the track, close to their homes and in the heart of NASCAR country. In the dark of the night, under the lights that blaze a path for 43 drivers, the fifth race in the Chase will be run.
The Bank of America 500 will mark the halfway point to the quest for NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. This race could easily cement the top four drivers who will seriously contend for the title or turn the tables on those who are expected to remain front-runners for the title.
As was the case at Auto Club Speedway last week, non-Chase drivers, engine failures and other freak events can play a dramatic role with those who are expected to be the top few drivers who have a chance at capturing the series title, and stopping Jimmie Johnson from his fifth consecutive championship.
Johnson will be the favorite to win at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but one never knows the role fate may play. Expectations could be shattered with one wrong move, one broken part.
It's racing and anything can happen. So let's take a look at the likely suspects to steal a win in the Bank of America 500, though we know there could be a surprise when the checkered flag waves.
Jimmie Johnson
1 of 8
Johnson, the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion has won consecutive titles, and most feel his fifth just may come this year.
He has ruled at Charlotte Motor Speedway especially when it was known as Lowe's Motor Speedway. He wears the Lowe's logo and it is displayed on his No. 48 Chevy. Could his mojo be diminished with the track name having reverted back to its original name?
Johnson is currently ranked first in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings. He has six wins at this track, and won both races during the season in 2004 and 2005.
His stats at CMS show nine top-five finishes, 13 top 10s with an average of 10.2.
Kasey Kahne
2 of 8
Kahne has nothing to do, but try for a win before his stint at Richard Petty Motorsports is over this year. He only has six more races in the Budweiser Ford before heading off to Red Bull Racing for one year as he waits for his slot at Hendrick Motorsports to open in 2012.
Kahne is currently 19th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings, but Charlotte Motor Speedway has been a good track for him.
He has three wins and won both races in 2006. Kahne's stats at this track show five top-five finishes, seven top 10s and an average of 11.6.
Tony Stewart
3 of 8
Stewart is coming off a win at Auto Club Speedway last week. He announced 2011 sponsorship from Mobil 1 next year, and he is fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings.
Things seem to be going well for the driver known as "Smoke." Now he heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway where he has one win, six top-five finishes, 11 top 10s and an average of 13.4.
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Carl Edwards
4 of 8
Edwards has an optimistic attitude toward his climb to the top of the points from his current rank of seventh in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings.
He smiles and claims with six races left he can overcome the 162-point deficit and bring a championship to Roush Fenway Racing. Odds are against him, but he has pretty good finishes at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Edwards has not won there, but he has four top-five finishes, seven top-10s and an average of 13.2.
Jeff Burton
5 of 8
Burton is currently ranked eighth in the point standings for the Cup series, so he pretty much does not have a chance at grabbing the title with his Richard Childress Racing Caterpillar Chevy.
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a good track for him. His stats show eight top-five finishes, 15 top10s and an average of 15.1.
Jeff Gordon
6 of 8
Gordon is dead serious about grabbing his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup title before his teammate, Jimmie Johnson. He is currently ranked fourth in the point standings.
The driver of the Dupont Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports has five wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway, having won both races in 1999.
Gordon's stats show 16 top-five finishes, 20 top 10s and an average of 15.4.
Mark Martin
7 of 8
Martin's year hasn't gone as well as he had hoped, and he is currently ranked 15th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings.
He and his Hendrick Motorsports team want to start bouncing back to gain momentum for Martin's final year at HMS in 2011.
Martin has done well at Charlotte Motor Speedway with four wins, 18 top-five finishes, 23 top-10's and an average of 15.7.
Ryan Newman
8 of 8
Newman is currently ranked 13th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings, and has won one race this season.
The driver of the U.S. Army car for Stewart Haas Racing has not won at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but he has rocketed to the pole nine times.
His stats at CMS show four top-five finishes, seven top-10's and an average finish of 19.6.
It just may be time for Newman to steal a win after all those poles.
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