Fast Forward ~ The Bank Of America 500 At Charlotte Fantasy Race Picks And Preview
“The future is like a corridor into which we can see only by the light coming from behind.”
–Edward Weyer, Jr.
The Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Location: Concord, NC
Length: 1.5 Mile Quad Oval
Banking: 24 degrees in turns 1-2;
24 degrees in turns 3-4;
5 degrees on the
backstretch,
5 degrees on the front
stretch
Pit Road Speed/Length:45
MPH/1060 Ft
The Race: The Bank Of
America 500
334 Laps/ 500 Miles
Defending Champion: Brad Keselowski, 158.308
MPH
Most recent winner: Kevin Harvick, 145.484 MPH
Track Record: Jeff Gordon, 160.306 MPH,
October 1999
Qualifying record: Denny Hamlin, 195.624 MPH,
May 2013
TV: ABC, 7:00 PM EST 10/11/2014
Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN) Sirius
XM 90; www.goprn.com
The Contenders:
Top 10 Driver Ratings for Charlotte:
#48-Jimmie Johnson 112.7
#18-Kyle Busch 106.3
#5-Kasey Kahne 101.7
#20-Matt Kenseth 97.1
#11-Denny Hamlin 92.6
#16-Greg Biffle 89.9
#99-Carl Edwards 89.8
#24-Jeff Gordon 89.7
#22-Joey Logano 88.0
#2-Brad Keselowski 85.4
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (19 total) among active
drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The History:
1959-Construction begins
June 19, 1960-Joe Lee Johnson wins the first
race at CMS.
October 6, 1985- Cale Yarborough became the
oldest winner of the race at 46 years, 6 months, 9 days.
May 29, 1994- Jeff Gordon becomes the youngest
winner of the event at 22 years, 9 months, 25 days.
1994-Track was repaved.
1999-The track underwent a name change to
Lowes Motor Speedway
May 29, 2005-Closest margin of victory
achieved when Jimmie Johnson defeated Bobby Labonte by 0.027 seconds.
2006-The track was repaved again.
2010-The track was renamed again back to
Charlotte Motor Speedway
The Picks:
Jim Fitzgerald: As always, before we get
started with this week’s picks, let’s look at the results from last week at Kansas.
Player |
Selection |
Race Pts |
Previous Pts |
Total Pts |
Behind |
Wins |
DNFs |
Kevin Abraham |
22 |
48 |
3000 |
3048 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
Mr. Pole |
4 |
33 |
3000 |
3033 |
-15 |
6 |
2 |
PattyKay Lilley |
4 |
33 |
3000 |
3033 |
-15 |
1 |
1 |
Barbara |
24 |
31 |
3000 |
3031 |
-17 |
1 |
3 |
Darrell |
24 |
31 |
3000 |
3031 |
-17 |
3 |
2 |
Jim Fitzgerald |
24 |
31 |
3000 |
3031 |
-17 |
2 |
2 |
Vivian |
2 |
9 |
3000 |
3009 |
-39 |
4 |
2 |
Brian Marchetti |
48 |
4 |
3000 |
3004 |
-44 |
1 |
3 |
Alabama Fitz |
4 |
33 |
2102 |
2135 |
-913 |
2 |
6 |
Mr. Winner |
4 |
33 |
2101 |
2134 |
-914 |
1 |
3 |
Nate |
2 |
9 |
2093 |
2102 |
-946 |
1 |
3 |
Mr. Seven |
11 |
37 |
1159 |
1196 |
-1852 |
0 |
0 |
PattyKay Lilley: Good day to all. With the Land of Oz now in the rear view mirror, we're off down the yellow brick road that leads to Charlotte. Once upon a time, Charlotte, or "Lowes" as it was conveniently named then, was known as "the house that Jimmie built." Alas, that time is not now, and though he won in the spring, Jimmie won't win on Sunday. It seems he has somehow lost that golden horseshoe that Happy Harvick accused him of carrying in his nether regions. Perhaps a burrito? In any case, 3 of the 4 Chase races so far have been won by cars carrying the Penske decals, as have 5 of the last 7 races. Good enough for me. Now... which car to pick? Well, since Joey has two to Brad's one, and Brad needs to lock down before Talladega, he's my choice this week. It will be the Blue Deuce at Charlotte, and Mama will be riding shotgun with Brad Keselowski. (I still think Kevin has the best car by far, but finishing in the teens is doing nothing for either of us.)
Kevin Abraham: After thinking hard about this week, I am looking at a Ganassi Driver. Common sense would say pick McMurray as October is his month to shine, however I am going with his teammate to break his string of second place finishes and WIN. I'm taking Kyle Larson.
Alabama Fitz: Harvick, Larson, Keselowski.... Let me in the back, Mama...I'm ridin' with you and Brad this week.
Jim Fitzgerald: The longer I wait to make this pick, the more my drivers to select from are dwindling. I started out thinking Brad, as he won last year here when he was mad about not making the Chase. Now he's in the back of the field in the Chase, and mad. Then Mama picked him. Then I was looking at Larson, because I think he is an exhale away from winning...they are not going to be able to hold him back forever. Then Kevin took him. Then, I landed on my pick. Jimmie's House. It was in the spring, maybe it will be again, especially since the only real chance he probably has of winning the Chase is getting a win, here, now.
Brian Marchetti: Charlotte Motor Speedway should be renamed Jimmie Johnson's house, because he tops out damn near every category of statistics. He is clearly the favorite. He also destroyed any chance I had at winning this competition by doing the unmentionable last week in Kansas.....still gives me a headache to think about it. So I'm too bitter to roll the dice on the 48 this week, so I'm going with the next best thing. Shrub holds good numbers here, but it always a bit unpredictable. I haven't had any Peanut M&Ms in a while, so I'm due. I think Kyle has a legit chance to win any race he starts, at any track. He has proven he is a contender. I'm putting my money on him to pull one off this week.....ok, who's with me? How about our fans?
Barbara: I’m going to take Jeff Gordon this week at Charlotte.
Nate: For this week at Charlotte, I guess I’m going to have to take Jimmie Johnson.
Vivian: This week I am going to take a big chance and choose Kevin Harvick to win and break the string of bad luck he has been having.
Darrell: I’m going to go out on the limb this week and take Kyle Larson for the win.
With this second race in the second segment, it’s a pivotal one for a lot of drivers. Everyone who did well last week wants to follow up with a solid performance, and those who had trouble are trying to have a good day or win while hoping the other have a Humpty Dumpty type of run. We’ll see how that all plays out and then know who will need to do what when we go to Talladega next week. Until then, keep the shiny side up!
Our Picks For This Week!
Kevin Abraham |
Alabama Fitz |
Jim Fitzgerald |
PattyKay Lilley |
Brian Marchetti |
Darrell |
Nate |
Who is YOUR pick to win this week?
Correctly choose the winner before the green flag drops on Saturday, and you'll be entered into a drawing to win some racing stuff!