For the second week in a row, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series will race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
However this time, instead of four twenty-lap sprints; they will run a grueling 600-mile marathon on Sunday evening. The annual Coca Cola 600 is the longest race on the NASCAR Nextel Cup series schedule.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson has practically owned Lowe’s Motor Speedway ever since he won his first Coca Cola 600 back in 2003. Since that momentous win, Johnson has won the 2004 and 2005 Coca Cola 600’s, as well as the fall race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in both of those seasons. Oh yeah, Johnson has two Nextel All-Star wins at the 1.5-mile speedway as well, just to add to his remarkable record at the track that has the same sponsor as his 48-team.
Clearly, Jimmie Johnson is the favorite to win the Coca Cola 600, and there are several other Chevrolet drivers to keep an eye on as well. Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports comrades Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch will be contenders, as well as last week’s All-Star champion Kevin Harvick. Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton, and Dale Earnhardt Jr will be stout as well.
The bowtie brigade has won 11 of the 12 races thus far in 2007, and odds are that streak will continue this weekend. Nevertheless, a handful of non-Chevrolet drivers have begun to make some noise, starting with the Penske Racing duo of Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch. Newman and Busch, both Dodge drivers, are looking to give the manufacturer their first win of the 2007 Nextel Cup season. Ford drivers Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards are coming off top ten performances at Darlington two weeks ago. Kenseth has been the only driver without a Chevrolet decal to run up front consistently.
Who will win the Coca Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway? Matt Kenseth. Even though Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch are starting on the front row, it is still too early to tell if they have turned their intermediate program around enough to compete with Johnson, Gordon, Stewart, and Kenseth. However, they will be light-years better than they were a year ago.
Projected Top Ten
Matt Kenseth
Jimmie Johnson
Mark Martin
Tony Stewart
Carl Edwards
Jeff Gordon
Kurt Busch
Kevin Harvick
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Ryan Newman
Also keep an eye on Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, and Denny Hamlin.
Darkhorse picks include Martin Truex Jr, Clint Bowyer, Johnny Sauter, Bobby Labonte, and David Stremme
Who could use a good finish? Scott Riggs, Ricky Rudd, David Ragan, Casey Mears, and Juan Pablo Montoya
Saturday May 26, 2007
3:30 PM ET- NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice, SPEED
6:00 PM ET- Final NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice (Happy Hour), SPEED
Sunday May 27, 2007
5:00 PM ET- Coca Cola 600, at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, FOX
