Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Week 12 Preview

Charlotte Motor Speedway: Coca-Cola 600

Well Jimmie Johnson started the two week Charlotte visit with his forth All-Star win in his career. That fourth win is now a Nascar record which broke him away from Jeff Gordon (both had 3 All-Star wins before Saturday) and the late Dale Earnhardt. Now can Johnson get the win that really matters this next Saturday and catch back up to Matt Kensth in season wins, who was also this weeks driver in Driver Spotlight?

During the All-Star race is seemed like maybe Jimmie Johnson is finding his Charlotte groove that he had back in the mid 2000's (Won 5 of 6 races from 2003-2005). Unlike that run, the last 9 races at Charlotte have resulted in 9 different winners including Kasey Kahne (Spring) and Clint Bowyer (Fall) last year.

With that many different winners it seems that the chances of a repeat driver in the 10th race is likely, but who will it be? Johnson has 6 career wins, Jeff Gordon 5, and guys like Jeff Burton (3) and David Reutimann (1) even have recent wins. So lets get on with it, the Good, Middle, and Bad drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway. If you need a look back, check out the Spring 2012 results here.


The Good:
  • Kyle Busch- I will take this even after he looked like he would win all night at the All-Star race. I will take this even though he has yet to win at Charlotte in 18 starts. In the last 10 races during a points race, Kyle has 9 top 10's and 7 top 5's. Best Chance Forecast: It isn't a long shot, yet it is because he hasn't won here yet, I'm taking him for the Win.
  • Kasey Kahne- 10 races here and only one driver has won more then one race, that's Kahne. Winning last year and in 2008 Kahne also has 7 top 10's and 5 top 5's in the last 10. Best Chance Forecast: As long as he and Kyle are not running one and two at the races end (never know who will spin out, always seems to be Kasey) then he should be looking at a top 5 with a shot at winning.
  • Joey Logano- Who has the best average finish position of current drivers here? Well of course Joey Logano. Though he only has 8 career starts at Charlotte his average finish of 10.1 give him 3rd best in the last 10 races. Best Chance Forecast: Sliced bread was runner up at the All-Star race and has had a pretty good season less the penalty, I think he can find another top 10 and might run top 5.
  • Runner ups- Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle
The Middle:
  • Jimmie Johnson- Jimmie just won the All-Star race which is now a Nascar record 4th time, and he has 6 career wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway which is the most among current drivers yet he is in the middle class? Well his last 10 have produced a 17.5 average finish. He does have 4 top 10's with 3 of those being top 5's in his last 10. Johnson showed in the All-Star race he may have regained his grasp on the track.
The Bad:
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr- I know Jr Nation won't like this, but stats are stats. In his last 9 races (missed last years Chase race) he has an average finish 22.4. He also starts on average in 18.4 position which is part of the problem. Only 3 top 10's in those last 9 means Jr needs to turn it around here. Lucky for him he has had a good year of turning it around other then some bad luck here and there.
  • Paul Menard- Six drivers down that average finish position list is Menard (24.3). In his last he has only placed in the top 10 once and that was 2010. In those 10 races he has only finished better then 20th 3 times! Not a good sign for Paul this weekend.
Laying Low:
  • Kurt Busch- I am not sure he is every laying low anymore, but Kurt is one of 9 drivers to have a win in the last 10 races (2010). 4 top 10's and 3 top 5's in the past 10 races here he could find his first win on the 2013 season and make getting into the Chase that much closer. Also not he ran well in the All-Star race and has been hot this season just about everywhere.
  • Martin Truex Jr- This is a bit of a long shot when in his last 10 he has an average finish of 18.9 and only two top 10's but last season he finished 12th and 10th so I think he has it in him to find the top 10. Still probably wont be a factor to win though.
  • Tony Stewart- Yeah he has been demoted to the part of a "laying low" driver. His last 10 here do not look pretty (1 top 10) so this is a risky pick, but it's they laying low section so I can take as many long shots as I want. I feel like I need to tell myself again and again this is a past champion and he knows how to race. Anyways, if you take out the last 10, he has 18 races with 11 top 10's, 6 top 5's, and a win.

Still want more? Well check out some quick links to other articles:

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