SI.com's experts weigh in with the predictions for Sunday's race in Charlotte.
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LEWIS
FRANCK |
TIM
TUTTLE |
MARK
ZESKE |
| The winner of the Coca-Cola 600 will be ... |
Jimmie Johnson
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Jimmie Johnson
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Jimmie Johnson
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| Why? |
| Sure Kevin Harvick won the All-Star race, but
that was only 80 laps and 120 miles -- one-fifth of NASCAR's only grueling 600-miler. Even the oddsmakers in Las Vegas are making Johnson, who is aiming for his fourth win in five years at Lowe's Speedway, a four-to-one favorite.
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He has five wins and finished second twice to
Kasey Kahne last season at his sponsor's favorite track. Johnson also won at the sister track in Atlanta in April and at Las Vegas, also 1.5-miles, in March. Johnson, Chad Knaus and the Hendrick team have the high speed tracks figured out.
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Hard to bet against Johnson. The driver of the No. 48 Chevy and Kasey Kahne have dominated Lowe's Motor Speedway the past few seasons. Kahne is struggling in 2007, with his only top 10 coming at Daytona, leaving Johnson as the overwhelming favorite. In Johnson's first career start at Lowe's, he finished 39th in 2001, but has since reeled off 10 consecutive top-10 finishes. His worst in his last eight races at the track is third. He's won at Lowe's five times, soon to be six.
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| Keep an eye on ... |
Jeff Gordon
Another Hendrick Motorsports driver, the current Nextel Cup points leader looked very strong last weekend. He, and crew chief Steve LeTarte have this track dialed in.
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Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
How will the loss of No. 8 crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who begins a six-race suspension, impact Junior? He finished
fourth at Lowe's last fall and was 14th at Atlanta this spring. Based on those performances, Junior should be a top-15 runner at Lowe's. He's starting from fourth and was the top Chevrolet in qualifying.
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Jeff Gordon
Gordon has an interesting history at Charlotte during the last 10 years. In a string of five races starting with the 1997 season, Gordon finished in the top five in each. In the next five races, his best finish was 10th and he finished 29th or worse three times. Then came another strong stretch, where he finished eighth or better in five consecutive races. And for the last five, he's been in the back of the pack again, with his best finish being 24th. If the pattern follows, he'll be in the top five in this race.
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| Don't expect much from ... |
Greg Biffle
Although a new crew chief is expected to fire up the team back to its previous competitive form, the period of adjustment will take a little time.
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Kevin Harvick
He was 34th in the 600 and 18th in the fall race at Lowe's last year. He hasn't been strong on the 1.5-mile tracks this year, either, finishing 27th at Las Vegas, 25th at Atlanta, and 29th at Texas.
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Kyle Busch
He's one Hendrick Motorsports driver who hasn?t excelled at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Busch has only had six career starts there, but four have been 32nd or worse. He did finally grab a top-10 last fall, finishing sixth. This season, Busch has been up and down, and is as likely to finish second as he is 37th.
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| Mythical SI.com Cup |
TOTAL POINTS: 1,538
Last week: 190 (Jeff Gordon) |
TOTAL POINTS: 1,643
Last week: 190 (Jeff Gordon) |
TOTAL POINTS: 1,622
Last week: 190 (Jeff Gordon) |
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