Nascar Sprint Cup Charlotte Motor Speedway Live Streaming May 2011. The Coca-Cola 600 has always been one of the most challenging events on the NASCAR calendar, but in the current age of parity, it has become more difficult still. Buoyed by free passes and wave-arounds, running well is no longer a guarantee of a strong finish as more and more cars cross under the checkers on the same lap as the leader. Last year in this race, after 600 grueling miles were in the books, 24 drivers remained on the lead lap, which meant that a mistake in the closing stages could be devastating for both the NASCAR driver who made it and the unlucky fantasy owner with him on the roster. That number was helped along by eight caution flags, and the yellow flag is bound to wave fairly often in the space of four and a half hours this week, as well.
The similarly configured, 1.5-mile tracks can also be prone to surprises. Kurt Busch was having an up-and-down year when the series rolled into Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2010. He had finished outside the top 15 in two of his three previous attempts and that erratic behavior was the standard for the season. It didn't keep him from dominating the Coke 600, however, as he qualified on the outside of the front row and led 252 of the 400 laps. That success kick-started his summer; Busch went on to earn four more top-10s in the next five races and his only bad result came on the road course of Infineon Raceway.
No one has more momentum for now than Carl Edwards and that was enough to propel him to a strong showing at Darlington Raceway a couple of weeks ago -- a track on which he normally struggles. Likewise, Charlotte hasn't always been his strongest course, but he has been the master of several other high-speed tracks such as Atlanta, Texas and Michigan. Last week, he was the driver to beat once again at Dover until more than a half-dozen drivers gambled on two tires and mired him in the pack. It's hard to know how the end of a 600-mile race will resolve itself, but it's a good gamble that Edwards will be in the hunt in the final run to the checkers.
When Johnson started stumbling at Charlotte, Kyle Busch was right there to take his place. As soon as the driver of the No. 48's 11-race top-10 streak ended in the fall of 2007 (with a 14th), Busch picked up the mantle and has been wearing it since. His top-10 streak stands at seven consecutive races and includes five top-fives and a worst result of only eighth. Last year, he finished third in the Coke 600 and was second in Charlotte's 500-mile race in the fall, which gives him momentum and a great set of notes. His performance in the Camping World Truck Series race last weekend was impressive and worth noting because he did not have the fastest truck all night. Busch even spun with a too loose condition early in the race, but he overcame the handicap by sheer force of will and passed Bowyer in the closing laps for the victory.
