Once again stealing the thunder from what used to be the featured race on Memorial day weekend will be NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600. This weeks race will be the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600 and at right about the 38th running, NASCAR took advantage of Indy Speedway’s Tony George’s greed and lapped the now fledgling Indy Racing League.

What’s even more comical about how George sunk open wheel racing was how he opened his track up to NASCAR and allowed them to race on the fabled grounds that those in the past would have never allowed such dreadful cars on the bricks. How it all ties into this weeks race at Charlotte is that Jeff Gordon won his first career race in 1994 in the Coca-Cola 600 and then followed it up a few weeks later by winning the inaugural Brickyard 400. Soon after Madison avenue and the nation were getting to know the California kid racing stock cars by way of commercials and eating cereal with his face on the box.

Nice Job Mr. George, but thank you. You have helped make NASCAR what it is today.

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One of the really unique things about this specific race is the start time and the number of changes that goes on with the elements. The race starts during daylight, runs through twilight and the exciting finish happens at night. All three sequences put an enormous amount of pressure on the crews to be ready for adapting the cars to those changes and also deciphering what the driver is telling them through it all. Rarely will we see a driver be good in all three stages. Usually, as the track and temperature cools down, a few drivers emerge that weren’t as good early on.

So, the question is, who will be running the best once the sun falls? The best way to begin sifting through the candidates is look at how the All-Star race was run last week and also look at the three races run on the SMI sister tracks of Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Texas. We can also take a look at California’s race run in late February because it was run under the same three stages of lighting, along with Texas. I think I just named about 75 percent of the races run thus far this season, but there is relevance to each in this race.

The driver that stands out in three of the races mentioned is Matt Kenseth who looks pretty nice sitting at 15/1 to win this weeks race. Kenseth was dominant at California at twilight and night and also got a great performance from his crew throughout the race getting in for quick stops and doing the little adjusting needed to win and lead the most laps.

Kenseth ran mediocre in Atlanta, had a strong top 5 run in Texas, and then looked good again in last weeks All-Star race with a 2nd place finish. Kenseth was leading with two laps to go in last weeks race for over $1 million but had to lay down to Tony Stewart because of the crew’s decision to take only two tires. The strategy almost worked, but somehow that $1 million dollar decision may work to their benefit in making the right choice on race day where the points and wins count.

Kurt Busch is another driver that had an impressive 3rd place run last week mixed in with some success on the sister tracks. He’s actually been pretty good on all the tracks, so perhaps we should say he’s better equipped to win on these type of 1.5 mile high banked tracks. His most dominant run came in Atlanta where his car and team were perfect in every sense. That success in Atlanta didn’t translate over to Texas, but there are glimpses from last week that show he’s capable of winning his first career race in Charlotte, and also with the success Penske‘s engine program ran with in the fall Charlotte race last year where he ran third. That program is obviously still in tact and Busch should again expect a top 5 finish, and with odds at 12/1 he’s a must in any odds to win equations.

Jimmie Johnson was a hard charger with a 2nd in the last 1.5 mile race held in Texas, which is a good sign if you’re a Jimmie fan because at Vegas and Atlanta, places Johnson had always excelled at, he looked mediocre. If you’re a betting man, it may not be so good because 6/1 odds are hard to bet on for a driver to win. After going through a stretch of winning 5 of 6 races in Charlotte from 2003-05, Johnson’s average combined finish each year has progressively gotten worse on the track that is sponsored by his sponsor. In 2006 Jimmie finished 2nd in both races, then came 2007 with a 10th and 14th, and then last year with a 39th and 6th. Johnson should run much better for the remainder of the season, but tough to go with the 'chalk' this week.

The driver Johnson tried to chase down in Texas was Jeff Gordon, who’s last win before Texas came at Charlotte in 2007. Gordon will be the one favorite to watch among the big 3 of Johnson, Gordon, and Kyle Busch. His team is dialed in on these tracks right now and they’ve had a taste of winning and that is usually when the rest get easier for teams running on all cylinders. At 7/1, he’s still a tough choice but would have to go with him over Kyle and Jimmie.

With Stewart’s win last week, he’s nearly lumped in with the big 3. He currently sits 2nd in points and has a past win in Charlotte from 2003, the one Jimmie didn’t win during his three-year stretch of crushing the field. Last season we saw Kasey Kahne win the All-Star race and then follow it up with taking the Coca-Cola. It’s happened six times overall, with only Kahne, Gordon (1997) and Johnson (2005) still being active.

It’s a lot to ask of Stewart and his new team to go back to back, but the best thing I have seen out of this team is being ready when it counts late in the race. This team just sits back and relaxes for the first three-quarters of the race and then in their last pit stop they always seem to make the right call that makes Stewart’s car better, as in top 3 better. It likely is just that Stewart has been able to communicate exactly what the car needs to better; whatever the case is, all facets of this team are in sync.

Sam Hornish Jr. usually doesn’t get a lot of mention here, but has earned it based on the way he has run lately, as well as being the 2006 Indy 500 winner who will miss another Indy 500 because of his dedication to NASCAR. He really has taken the stock cars seriously and has learned something each time out.

Sam Hornish Jr. won’t be the only former winner of the Indy 500 not participating in this year’s because of his desire to learn and achieve more in NASCAR. Juan Pablo Montoya dominated the field in 2000.

Other than 1997 IRL Champ Tony Stewart, who came in and ran well right away, it’s proof that most can’t just jump into a stock car and be good right away. The car, as always, has much to do with the drivers early success, but it appears in most of the cases, other than Stewart, that lack of patience and willingness to learn after having so much success in their series has slowed their progression. Please note to Danica Patrick who is currently using her possible jump to NASCAR as leverage to get her deal signed for 2010.

Coca-Cola 600 fact: Both Dale Earnhardt Sr. & Jr. hail from North Carolina and started their first career Cup races in the Coca-Cola 600.

TOP 5 Coca-Cola 600 Finish Prediction:
 
1) #17 Matt Kenseth (15/1)
2) #2 Kurt Busch (12/1)
3) #24 Jeff Gordon (7/1)
4) #48 Jimmie Johnson (6/1)
5) #99 Carl Edwards (10/1)