It’s time for the only night race of the Chase as the Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts its traditional Fall event with the running of the Bank of America 500 Saturday night.
The Charlotte race is the middle event of the Contender Round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup and after last week’s bracket buster race at Kansas, several championship favorites find themselves in jeopardy, needing a victory to keep their hopes alive. The Bank of America is the last chance for the Chasers to lock themselves into the next round before having to rely on the Talladega lottery to advance. That makes the Bank of America 500 extremely important to win and the temperature sensitive Charlotte track combined with the cooler temperatures under the lights should make for an interesting and exciting event.
Here are some drivers and storylines to watch for on Saturday night…
Jimmie Johnson
Back in May, Jimmie Johnson and the #48 team came to Charlotte in need of a victory to quiet the talk they had missed a step and were no longer the force they once were, and they promptly rattled off a convincing win. The May Charlotte victory propelled them to wins in two of the next three races. It’s now Fall and thesix time champ comes to Charlotte on the ropes after last week’s Kansas crash leaves him in desperate need of a win to keep his hopes for a seventh championship alive. Is there a better place for the #48 team to go when they needa pick-me-up than Charlotte? Johnson has won here five times and they dominated the ‘600’ here in May. Historically Jimmie Johnson and this team have responded well when the pressure skyrockets. They’ve never been under pressurethis intense however, and we’re about to find out just what they are made of this season. At 6-1 odds, a Charlotte victory is not out of the question and it would make a strong statement that while the #48 may be down, they are not out.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Like his teammate Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. also finds his championship hopes in doubt after his Kansas problems left him outside the elimination cut-off in 11th place in the points. However, unlike Johnson, Dale Jr. hasn’t had a good Charlotte track record of late as his average finishing position is a dismal 20.8 and he hasn’t scored a top five finish since 2008, his first with Hendrick Motorsports. Charlotte is home to Junior Nation and it’s guaranteed they will be out in force to passionately will their driver to victory. Earnhardt is listed at 15-1 odds this week and has his work cut out for him but he is probably the only driver not as worried about Talladega as his superspeedway track record is pretty good. In any case, a strong run this week at Charlotte is needed if Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to seriously contend for the 2014 Sprint Cup.
Carl Edwards
Once again Carl Edwards doesn’t get any love from the odds makers who have tabbed him a 30-1 shot to win at Charlotte this week. That’s fine with Carl and the #99 team as lately it seems all the naysayers have provided a shot of motivation for the team even though Edwards will part ways with them at season’s end. Edwards was fourth at Charlotte in May and his 11.4 average finishing position is second best. He has scored top ten finishes in five of the last six Charlotte races and as he told a radio reporter after Kansas, every time he hears he is going to be eliminated, he tries extra hard to prove everyone wrong. After just kind of hangingaround all season, Bulletin Board material could be just what this team needs to make a legitimate shot at the title.
Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch heads to Charlotte in uncharted territory as for the first time he has escaped Kansas with his title hopes intact. That alone has to give Busch and the #18 team new life but combined with the recent strides the Joe Gibbs organization has made to close the gap between themselves and the Penske and Hendrick cars, Busch has to be considered a championship threat. He has yet to win at Charlotte but does have top five finishes in four of the last six races here and he’s listed at 12-1 odds this week. Busch’s performance on the 1.5 mile tracks has been good this year as well with a second place at Kentucky to go along with third place results at Texas and last week at Kansas. Erasing the Kansas demons has thrown Kyle Busch’s name into the mix when looking at who the favorites are for the Sprint Cup this year.
Kasey Kahne
How many times can Kasey Kahne pull himself back up into Chase contention? It’s been a common theme with Kahne and the #5 team this season as many times they have found themselves outside looking in only to rebound with a strong run or victory to somehow make the cut. Kahne is currently 9th in the standings, one spot out of the cut-off and he comes to a favorite track in Charlotte, where he owns four victories and has the third best average finishing position at 11.5. Kahne also won at Atlanta, the last race contested at a track similar to Charlotte and he’s listed at 15-1 odds this week. Kahne has been teetering on the edge of eliminationall season and so far has been able to pull off the Houdini act to remain in contention.
The show continues Saturday night in Charlotte…