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Wednesday, October 7, 2015

2015 Week 30 Preview: Charlotte

Bank of America 500

Charlotte Motor Speedway


By Richard Tix

NASCAR heads to the next round of the 2015 Sprint Cup Chase after losing Jimmie Johnson to the first round of 16. It is a weird feeling with 7 races still to go in the season, knowing JJ can not win the Championship. 

Especially since this week we head to Charlotte Motor Speedway where JJ was the king of the track from 2002-2006. Much has changed since then and his dominance here isn't what it used to be, but he still knows how to get around.

So, can JJ play spoiler this weekend and steal a Chase drivers automatic bid into the round of 8? That will be one of many story lines heading into the weekend. Get caught up on CMS below and get ready for this weekend below!



The Good
  • Carl Edwards- This years Coca-Cola 600 winner, Carl Edwards has four straight top 10's and 7 in his last 8 races. On top of that JGR has been producing fast cars and he has a good shot to win again.
  • Jimmie Johnson- JJ used to be the king of CMS from 2002-2006, but he has become human as of late. But, he is still a threat to win everytime NASCAR stops here as he won last year during the first stop.
  • Denny Hamlin- Denny Hamlin has nine top 10's in his last ten starts here. However, he has yet to win at Charlotte.
The Middle
  • Joey Logano- JoLo made this spot earlier this year and followed it up with a 13th place finish. He normally wont finish bad here, but he finishes a lot of races from 3rd-13th.
The Bad
  • Paul Menard- 17 career starts at Charlotte and only two top 10's. Menards two top tens were in 2010 and 2014. The worse statistic is that he only has 4 top 15's in those 17 starts.
  • Trevor Bayne- Bayne has six career starts a CMS and two top 20 finishes (16th and 20th), but he has yet to sniff the top 10. Earlier this year he started 27th and finished 27th in his first CMS start with RFR.
  • Danica Patrick- In six career starts at Charlotte Danica has one top 20 (20th) and the rest fall between 22nd and 39th.
About the Track: Charlotte
Track Stats
  • The last time someone won a Charlotte race from the Pole not named Jimmie Johnson was 1998, Jeff Gordon. JJ has won 2 from the Pole since then (2004 and 2009)
  • JJ won 4 straight from 2004 to 2005, sweeping both times. Four straight is also a track Cup record
  • In that same stretch he won 5 of 6 from 2003-2005 dropping the only race to Tony Stewart
  • The most cautions was 22 during the 2005 May Charlotte race, which JJ ended up winning.
  • In Jimmie Johnson's 7 wins, he has won 3 from the Pole, including this race in 2014.
  • Those 7 wins are the most by any driver in a career.
  • Bobby Allison has the second most wins with 6 total in 43 attempts
  • Of current drivers, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman have the most poles (9). 
  • David Pearson has the most career poles at Charlotte with 14.
  • Jimmie Johnson has led 1,733 or 9,698 career laps he has run at Charlotte. That is enough for second most behind Bobby Allison (2,338 total).
  • Richard Petty has the most top 10's in a career with 31 in 64 attempts. He is also tied with Bobby Allison for the most top 5's (23 total).
Track Info
  • Surface: Asphalt
  • Length: 1.5 mile
  • Banking
    • Turns: 24 degrees
    • Straights: 5 degrees 
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Race
Date
Cars
Winner(s)
St
Make / Model
1960-21
6/19/1960
60
Joe Lee Johnson
20
'60 Chevrolet
1960-42
10/16/1960
50
Speedy Thompson
3
'60 Ford
1961-20
5/21/1961
19
Richard Petty
7
'61 Plymouth
1961-21
5/21/1961
19
Joe Weatherly
3
'61 Pontiac
1961-24
5/28/1961
55
David Pearson
3
'61 Pontiac
1961-49
10/15/1961
43
Joe Weatherly
6
'61 Pontiac
1962-23
5/27/1962
48
Nelson Stacy
18
'62 Ford
1962-52
10/14/1962
44
Junior Johnson
3
'62 Pontiac
1963-26
6/2/1963
44
Fred Lorenzen
2
'63 Ford
1963-52
10/13/1963
40
Junior Johnson
2
'63 Chevrolet
1964-25
5/24/1964
44
Jim Paschal
12
'64 Plymouth
1964-59
10/18/1964
44
Fred Lorenzen
3
'64 Ford
1965-19
5/23/1965
44
Fred Lorenzen
1
'65 Ford
1965-52
10/17/1965
44
Fred Lorenzen
1
'65 Ford
1966-20
5/22/1966
44
Marvin Panch
7
'65 Plymouth
1966-48
10/16/1966
44
LeeRoy Yarbrough
17
'66 Dodge
1967-20
5/28/1967
44
Jim Paschal
10
'67 Plymouth
1967-47
10/15/1967
44
Buddy Baker
4
'67 Dodge
1968-18
5/26/1968
44
Buddy Baker
12
'68 Dodge
1968-47
10/20/1968
45
Charlie Glotzbach
1
'68 Dodge
1969-21
5/25/1969
44
LeeRoy Yarbrough
2
'69 Mercury
1969-48
10/12/1969
45
Donnie Allison
3
'69 Ford
1970-16
5/24/1970
40
Donnie Allison
9
'69 Ford
1970-44
10/11/1970
40
LeeRoy Yarbrough
5
'69 Mercury
1971-21
5/30/1971
40
Bobby Allison
2
'69 Mercury
1971-42
10/10/1971
42
Bobby Allison
3
'69 Mercury
1972-12
5/28/1972
40
Buddy Baker
6
'72 Dodge
1972-29
10/8/1972
44
Bobby Allison
4
'72 Chevrolet
1973-12
5/27/1973
40
Buddy Baker
1
'73 Dodge
1973-27
10/7/1973
41
Cale Yarborough
2
'73 Chevrolet
1974-13
5/26/1974
40
David Pearson
1
'73 Mercury
1974-28
10/6/1974
42
David Pearson
1
'73 Mercury
1975-13
5/25/1975
40
Richard Petty
3
'74 Dodge
1975-25
10/5/1975
42
Richard Petty
9
'74 Dodge
1976-13
5/30/1976
40
David Pearson
1
Mercury
1976-27
10/10/1976
40
Donnie Allison
15
Chevrolet
1977-13
5/29/1977
40
Richard Petty
2
Dodge
1977-27
10/9/1977
41
Benny Parsons
8
Chevrolet
1978-12
5/28/1978
40
Darrell Waltrip
17
Chevrolet
1978-27
10/8/1978
40
Bobby Allison
8
Ford
1979-13
5/27/1979
41
Darrell Waltrip
3
Chevrolet
1979-27
10/7/1979
40
Cale Yarborough
4
Chevrolet
1980-13
5/25/1980
42
Benny Parsons
6
Chevrolet
1980-28
10/5/1980
41
Dale Earnhardt
4
Chevrolet
1981-13
5/24/1981
42
Bobby Allison
7
Buick
1981-28
10/11/1981
41
Darrell Waltrip
1
Buick
1982-12
5/30/1982
42
Neil Bonnett
13
Ford
1982-26
10/10/1982
40
Harry Gant
1
Buick
1983-12
5/29/1983
41
Neil Bonnett
5
Chevrolet
1983-27
10/9/1983
40
Richard Petty
20
Pontiac
1984-12
5/27/1984
42
Bobby Allison
16
Buick
1984-26
10/7/1984
41
Bill Elliott
2
Ford
1985-11
5/26/1985
42
Darrell Waltrip
4
Chevrolet
1985-25
10/6/1985
42
Cale Yarborough
7
Ford
1986-11
5/25/1986
41
Dale Earnhardt
3
Chevrolet
1986-26
10/5/1986
42
Dale Earnhardt
3
Chevrolet
1987-10
5/24/1987
42
Kyle Petty
7
Ford
1987-26
10/11/1987
42
Bill Elliott
7
Ford
1988-10
5/29/1988
41
Darrell Waltrip
5
Chevrolet
1988-25
10/9/1988
42
Rusty Wallace
3
Pontiac
1989-10
5/28/1989
42
Darrell Waltrip
4
Chevrolet
1989-25
10/8/1989
42
Ken Schrader
2
Chevrolet
1990-10
5/27/1990
42
Rusty Wallace
9
Pontiac
1990-26
10/7/1990
41
Davey Allison
5
Ford
1991-10
5/26/1991
41
Davey Allison
10
Ford
1991-26
10/6/1991
41
Geoffrey Bodine
6
Ford
1992-10
5/24/1992
42
Dale Earnhardt
13
Chevrolet
1992-26
10/11/1992
40
Mark Martin
4
Ford
1993-11
5/30/1993
41
Dale Earnhardt
14
Chevrolet
1993-27
10/10/1993
42
Ernie Irvan
2
Ford
1994-11
5/29/1994
43
Jeff Gordon
1
Chevrolet
1994-28
10/9/1994
42
Dale Jarrett
22
Chevrolet
1995-11
5/28/1995
42
Bobby Labonte
2
Chevrolet
1995-28
10/8/1995
43
Mark Martin
5
Ford
1996-11
5/26/1996
43
Dale Jarrett
15
Ford
1996-28
10/6/1996
43
Terry Labonte
16
Chevrolet
1997-11
5/25/1997
42
Jeff Gordon
1
Chevrolet
1997-28
10/5/1997
43
Dale Jarrett
5
Ford
1998-11
5/24/1998
43
Jeff Gordon
1
Chevrolet
1998-28
10/4/1998
43
Mark Martin
2
Ford
1999-12
5/30/1999
43
Jeff Burton
2
Ford
1999-29
10/11/1999
43
Jeff Gordon
22
Chevrolet
2000-12
5/28/2000
43
Matt Kenseth
21
Ford
2000-29
10/8/2000
43
Bobby Labonte
2
Pontiac
2001-12
5/27/2001
43
Jeff Burton
18
Ford
2001-29
10/7/2001
43
Sterling Marlin
13
Dodge
2002-12
5/26/2002
43
Mark Martin
25
Ford
2002-31
10/13/2002
43
Jamie McMurray
5
Dodge
2003-12
5/25/2003
43
Jimmie Johnson
37
Chevrolet
2003-31
10/11/2003
43
Tony Stewart
6
Chevrolet
2004-12
5/30/2004
43
Jimmie Johnson
1
Chevrolet
2004-31
10/16/2004
43
Jimmie Johnson
9
Chevrolet
2005-12
5/29/2005
43
Jimmie Johnson
5
Chevrolet
2005-31
10/15/2005
43
Jimmie Johnson
3
Chevrolet
2006-12
5/28/2006
43
Kasey Kahne
9
Dodge
2006-31
10/14/2006
43
Kasey Kahne
2
Dodge
2007-12
5/27/2007
43
Casey Mears
16
Chevrolet
2007-31
10/13/2007
43
Jeff Gordon
4
Chevrolet
2008-12
5/25/2008
43
Kasey Kahne
2
Dodge
2008-31
10/11/2008
43
Jeff Burton
4
Chevrolet
2009-12
5/25/2009
43
David Reutimann
21
Toyota
2009-31
10/17/2009
43
Jimmie Johnson
1
Chevrolet
2010-13
5/30/2010
43
Kurt Busch
2
Dodge
2010-31
10/16/2010
43
Jamie McMurray
27
Chevrolet
2011-12
5/29/2011
43
Kevin Harvick
28
Chevrolet
2011-31
10/15/2011
43
Matt Kenseth
2
Ford
2012-12
5/27/2012
43
Kasey Kahne
7
Chevrolet
2012-31
10/13/2012
43
Clint Bowyer
4
Toyota
2013-12
5/26/2013
43
Kevin Harvick
15
Chevrolet
2013-31
10/12/2013
43
Brad Keselowski
23
Ford
2014-12
5/25/2014
43
Jimmie Johnson
1
Chevrolet
2014-31
10/11/2014
43
Kevin Harvick
7
Chevrolet
2015-12
5/24/2015
43
Carl Edwards
3
Toyota


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