NASCAR Racing Player Stories

Danica Patrick is the top rookie qualifier for the Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The lap speed of 190.826 mph in the No. 10 Chevrolet SS was 24th fastest; best of the 2013 ROTY contenders attempting to qualify for Sunday night's race.

Denny Hamlin won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 54th Annual Coca-Cola 600 with a lap of 27.604 seconds, 195.624 mph. This is the No. 11 Toyota Camry driver's 14th pole in 267 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. This is his second pole and seventh top-10 start in 2013. This is Hamlin's first pole in 16 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Camping World Truck Series regular John Wes Townley tops the speed chart in the Happy Hour practice session for the Nationwide Series History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He ran a fast lap of 181.087 in the No. 25 Toyota Camry. No. 29 Kenny Wallace, No. 2 Brian Scott, No. 66 Steve Wallace and No. 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. rounded out the top five of the 25 cars out on the track. The No. 37, driven by Matt Dibenedetto, was the slowest in the final practice session.

Kurt Busch led the first practice for the Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His lap of 190.846 mph in the No. 78 Chevrolet SS was the quickest of the 44 cars out on the track for the first practice session. No. 18 Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kasey Kahne, No. 48 Jimmie Johnson and No. 43 Aric Almirola were the rest of the top five on the speed chart. No. 35 Josh Wise was the slowest.

Kenny Wallace had the best 10-lap consecutive average speed in the second practice for the Nationwide Series History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His average of 177.647 mph in the No. 29 was best of the 13 cars that ran 10 consecutive laps on the track for this session. No. 54 Kyle Busch, No. 12 Sam Hornish Jr., No. 20 Brian Vickers and No. 22 Joey Logano are the rest of the top five on this list.

Eddy Wood hope for clear skies this week so his family team can reach a milestone 1,400 Sprint Cup starts, dating back to Glen Wood's first appearance in NASCAR's elite division, at Martinsville Speedway on May 17, 1953, driving a 1953 Lincoln. If it rains and qualifying is cancelled, the team would miss the race. Competing on a limited schedule, they made fewer attempts to qualify for races this season than the other teams not otherwise locked into the starting field. Charlotte would appropriate, as the team got its first superspeedway victory there in the 1960 National 400 with Speedy Thompson at the wheel. Crew chief Donnie Wingo also is hoping the weather works out in the team's favor, as he and driver Trevor Bayne are looking forward to getting the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion back into Sprint Cup action.-Wood Brothers Racing

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got his first Sprint Cup start at Charlotte in 2011 in the famed No. 21 finishing an impressive 11th-place. The two-time Nationwide champion earned one of the two transfer spots in the Sprint Showdown to qualify for his first All-Star race last weekend. He finished 16th in the 90-lap showdown. The Car: Chassis RK-827 is the same chassis that the No.17 team ran in Texas cutting a left rear tire early in the race resulting in a 40th-place finish.-Roush Fenway Racing

Bobby Labonte's first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career win occurred during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28, 1995. His second win at Charlotte, took place on October 8, 2000. He has six runner-up finishes. In 40 starts at the 1.5-mile home track, he has two victories, three poles, 12 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes and has led 807 laps. His average start is 15.675 and his average finish is 15.500.-JTG Daugherty Racing

In his previous 12 starts at Charlotte, Juan Pablo Montoya has led five laps and earned one top-10. His best start and finish came in 2009 when he started ninth and came to the checkered in eighth. The driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet has an average starting position of 26.2 and an average finishing position of 23.8 at the 1.5-mile oval. At intermediate tracks (tracks greater than one mile, but less than two miles), Montoya has 110 starts with two pole awards, nine top-five finishes, 18 top-10 finishes and leading 348 laps.-Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

Jamie McMurray returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway, the site of his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) victory, where he has made 21 starts in NSCS competition. In those 21 starts, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet SS has accumulated two wins (2002, 2010), five top-five, eight top-10 finishes and led 238 laps. He has an average start and finish position of 23.1 and 17.6, respectively. His best start at the 1.5-mile oval was fifth in 2002. At intermediate tracks (tracks greater than one mile, but less than two miles), McMurray has 183 starts, collecting two victories (Charlotte: 2002, 2010), 20 top-five finishes, 48 top-10 finishes and leading 843 laps.-Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

Greg Biffle has 20 starts in the Cup series at Charlotte, but a win has eluded him. He has finished in the top-five five times and has eight top-10 finishes. The Car: Chassis RK-849 was brand new when it hit the track in Texas and went on to earn Biffle's one top-five finish so far this season. The No. 16 is part of a three-car tribute with the No. 17 and No. 99 to honor military service men and women this Memorial Day weekend.-Roush Fenway Racing

Carl Edwards enters the Coca-Cola 600 second in the series points' standings and will return to Charlotte for his 17th Sprint Cup career start. In his previous starts, Edwards has five top-five and ten top-10 finishes. His average start is 18.2 and average finish is 12.0. According to NASCAR's Loop Statistics compiled over the last 16 races, Edwards has turned 118 of the track's fastest laps, made 632 quality passes (sixth most) and has a driver rating seventh best among active drivers. The No. 99 Blue Team will roll out RK - 821 which ran last weekend at the All- Star race, where Edwards started from the pole.-Roush Fenway Racing

Elliott Sadler has 12 Nationwide Series starts at the 1.5-mile Charlotte track, with one pole award, four top-five and five top-10 finishes, as well as 16 laps led. The veteran driver also has NASCAR Sprint Cup Series experience at the track with 25 starts, one pole award, one top-five and three top-10 finishes, as well as 192 laps led. He made one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start in 2010, where he start fourth, finished fifth and led 31 laps.-Drivers Choice Marketing

Sprint Cup regular Kyle Busch had the best 10-lap consecutive average speed in the first practice for the Nationwide Series History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His average of 175.485 mph in the No. 54 was best of the seven cars that ran 10 consecutive laps on the track for this session. No. 3 Austin Dillon (175.428 mph), No. 12 Sam Hornish Jr. (175.282), No. 22 Joey Logano (174.987), No. 32 Kyle Larson (174.351), No. 18 Matt Kenseth (173.990) and No. 77 Parker Kligerman (173.879) are the rest on this list.

Sprint Cup regular Joey Logano led the first practice session for the Nationwide Series History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His lap of 178.247 mph in the No. 22 Ford Mustang was quickest of the 43 cars out on the track for this session. No. 99 Alex Bowman, No. 54 Kyle Busch, No. 18 Matt Kenseth and No. 6 Trevor Bayne were the rest of the top five on the speed chart. Matt Dibenedetto in the No. 37 was the slowest.

David Ragan cites the Coca-Cola 600 right up there with the rest of NASCAR's historic races: the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Southern 500. Only the 600-miler is an even greater test of the endurance of both the driver and the car. "Half-way into the Coca-Cola 600, you're 300 miles in. And in a typical race you don't have much longer to go. In fact, that's about the standard distance of a Nationwide race. But in the 600, they tell you you're just half-way and you've got to do 300 miles all over again. So, it is a long night."-Breaking Limits

Josh Wise will run his first Coca-Cola 600 this Memorial Day weekend and has been preparing both physically and mentally. Wise is a triathlete, with both Half Iron Man and Full Iron Man competitions on his schedule this year. He says his physical conditioning has him ready to run the extra mileage in Sunday night's Cup race. He's preparing mentally with racing simulators, video and a little help from his teammates.-Breaking Limits

The annual Coca-Cola 600 is one of David Gilliland's favorite races; it's also among the most challenging. Gilliland has 13 career starts at the 1.5-mile oval. His best finish came last fall when he finished 23rd at the October Sprint Cup event. He says adjustability is the key to making it through Sunday night's 600-mile event - being ready to adapt the car to the changing conditions over the course of the night. Gilliland also points to the importance of not losing focus and making mistakes during the extra 100 miles of the marathon race.-Breaking Limits

Timmy Hill, the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, has five previous NASCAR starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway as well as a start last weekend in the Sprint Showdown. Said Hill: "Charlotte is one of the few tracks that I have already had Sprint Cup experience at along with it being my favorite 1.5-mile track. My debut with FAS Lane Racing came in the fall race at Charlotte last year. This will be my first 600 mile race so patience and focus will be keys for me throughout the night."-Integrity Sports Marketing

The Coca-Cola 600 will mark Kyle Busch's 19th points-paying Sprint Cup start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has eight top-fives, 11 top-10s, and has led a total of 793 laps in the 18 Cup starts at Charlotte. His average Charlotte finish is 15.3. Busch will look to add to his impressive list of "doubles" this weekend at Charlotte as he has captured both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races on the same weekend eight times - twice this season. Both of Busch's Sprint Cup wins this season - Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. in March and Texas in April - were preceded by a Nationwide Series win the day before. Busch is competing in both series again this weekend at Charlotte.-True Speed Communication

Charlotte Motor Speedway will see a familiar face Saturday for the History 300, as Kenny Wallace climbs back behind the wheel of the No. 29 RAB Racing ToyotaCare Camry. Wallace has notched seven laps led, seven top-10, and 20 top-20 finishes in a span of 22 years racing at Charlotte. He will pilot RAB Racing chassis No. 40 in Saturday's NNS race. This chassis last saw action at Richmond in April, when Alex Bowman piloted this Toyota Camry to a 27th-place finish.-RAB Racing

In 24 Sprint Cup starts at Charlotte, Ryan Newman has four top-five finishes and eight top-10s. He has led 273 laps, has an average start of 6.9 and an average finish of 20.1 at CMS. He has nine poles at Charlotte - the most of any active Sprint Cup driver. Newman's first career pole came at Charlotte on May 27, 2001, in only his third Sprint Cup start. The feat tied Newman with Mark Martin for earliest career Sprint Cup pole. Although Newman doesn't have a points-paying Sprint Cup win at Charlotte, he does have three victories at the track - an ARCA win (October 2000), a win in the NASCAR All-Star Race (May 2002) and a win in the Nationwide Series (October 2005).-True Speed Communication

This Saturday Trevor Bayne will try to improve on his third-place finish during last fall's NASCAR Nationwide Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS). Bayne is the strongest NNS passer at CMS, averaging 40.7 Quality Passes during a race (passing a car running in the top15 while under green). Chassis RK-763 last ran at Auto Club Speedway in March. The car spent much of the night in the top five before finishing ninth and recording one of Bayne's three top-10 finishes this season. This is the first of three races that the No. 6 Ford Mustang will feature new partner Pillow Pets.-Roush Fenway Racing

The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway will mark Danica Patrick's 22nd career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and her second at Charlotte. She started 40th and finished 30th in May 2012 at the 1.5-mile oval. Patrick competed in three NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Charlotte and scored two top-15 finishes. Last week, she started seventh and finished ninth in the non-points Sprint Showdown. Patrick then won the Sprint Fan Vote, which made her eligible for the Sprint All-Star Race. She started 22nd and finished 20th in the 90-lap exhibition race.-True Speed Communication

Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Air Force Ford team look to repeat last year's speed in the Coca-Cola 600. Almirola and team won the pole in last year's 600-mile event and finished 16th in his Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway debut. In just his second start at the 1.5-mile track, Almirola started 15th and drove to the 12th position. The No. 43 team has prepared chassis No. 848 for the Coca-Cola 600. Almirola drove the chassis at Kansas Speedway in April where he started eighth and finished sixth.-Breaking Limits

Marcos Ambrose heads into Charlotte looking for the speed he found last year when the team qualified on the outside pole for the Coca-Cola 600. Ambrose has eight starts in point races at Charlotte. He tallied two top-10 finishes and a best finish of fifth with Richard Petty Motorsports in 2011. In last season's Coca-Cola 600, a broken wheel hub ended the team's hopes of finishing up front.-Breaking Limits

In Austin Dillon's lone Nationwide Series appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2012, he earned an 11th-place finish after starting second. The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion has two starts at Charlotte in the Truck Series, earning his best finish of seventh in the May 2011 event. Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 119 in the History 300. He raced this Chevrolet Camaro to a third-place finish, after starting third, at Texas Motor Speedway in April.-Richard Childress Racing

The 2013 Coca-Cola 600 marks Burton's 39th start at the 1.5-mile Charlotte facility and his 667th-career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Throughout the years, he has amassed three wins, eight top-five and 15 top-10 finishes at the track, leading 435 laps. Burton has made six previous visits to Charlotte's Victory Lane across Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series competition. He owns two Coca-Cola 600 race trophies from wins in 1999 and 2001, the 2008 Charlotte 500 race trophy, hardware from three Nationwide Series victories (2000, 2002 and 2007) and one Nationwide Series pole award (2001).-Richard Childress Racing

Paul Menard has 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His best start of fifth and best finish of eighth both came in 2010. The Wisconsin native has completed 4,044 of 4,246 laps attempted (95.5 percent) at the 1.5-mile track. In last year's 600-mile race Menard started the No. 27 Chevrolet from the ninth position and fought a tight-handling race car thought the event, ultimately finishing 15th.-Richard Childress Racing

Fastenal is proud to honor military service men and women, both active and retired, with a three-car tribute on the No. 16, 17 and 99 Ford Fusions at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600. These three cars, known as the Fastenal Tribute Cars, will feature the names of current Fastenal employees who served in the military. David MacFadden (First Sergeant, U.S. Army) will be displayed on the hood of the No. 99, and Brian Ashbee (Chief Quartermaster, U.S. Navy) and Anthony Phillips (Private First Class, U.S. Army) will see their names on the hood of the No. 17.-Roush Fenway Racing

Fastenal is proud to honor military service men and women, both active and retired, with a three-car tribute on the No. 16, 17 and 99 Ford Fusions at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600. These three cars, known as the Fastenal Tribute Cars, will feature the names of current Fastenal employees who served in the military. David MacFadden (First Sergeant, U.S. Army) will be displayed on the hood of the No. 99, and Brian Ashbee (Chief Quartermaster, U.S. Navy) and Anthony Phillips (Private First Class, U.S. Army) will see their names on the hood of the No. 17.-Roush Fenway Racing

Fastenal is proud to honor military service men and women, both active and retired, with a three-car tribute on the No. 16, 17 and 99 Ford Fusions at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600. These three cars, known as the Fastenal Tribute Cars, will feature the names of current Fastenal employees who served in the military. David MacFadden (First Sergeant, U.S. Army) will be displayed on the hood of the No. 99, and Brian Ashbee (Chief Quartermaster, U.S. Navy) and Anthony Phillips (Private First Class, U.S. Army) will see their names on the hood of the No. 17.-Roush Fenway Racing

In 24 Sprint Cup starts at Charlotte, Kevin Harvick has scored one win (2011), two top fives and seven top-10 finishes. He's completed 97.3 percent of the laps run in the race since 2001 (8,286 of 8,518). Harvick holds an average starting position of 18.9 and an average finish of 18.0 at the 1.5-mile track. Double Duty: In addition to driving the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet in Sunday's race, Harvick will drive RCR's No. 33 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet Camaro in Saturday's History 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.-Elevation Group PR

No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota driver Clint Bowyer visited victory lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first time in October, 2012. He enjoyed the experience so much he'd like to do it again Sunday after 400-laps around the 1.5-mile track. Bowyer will make his eighth start in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. In seven previous attempts he has one top-10 (seventh in 2010) and three top-15s. He led three laps in 2010. On average he starts 21st and finishes 21st.-Michael Waltrip Racing

Charlotte Motor Speedway has been the site of several "firsts" for Jeff Gordon. This includes his first pole position (October 1993) and first victory (May 1994). Overall, the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has five wins, eight poles, 16 top-fives and 21 top-10's at the 1.5-mile track. Gordon posted his first of 65 career second-place finishes when he followed "The Intimidator", Dale Earnhardt, across the line here 20 years ago in his first attempt at the 600-mile race.-Performance PR Plus

In 56 starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Mark Martin owns four victories (600 race in 2002 and fall races in 1992,1995 & 2002) and 18 top-five finishes. He's led 1,185 laps and won poles at both races in 1991. Martin owns 40 Sprint Cup, 49 Nationwide and seven Camping World Truck Series victories. He's led 12,856 laps in Sprint Cup competition. Martin has started 862 Sprint Cup races, 236 Nationwide races and 25 truck events. He also owns 13 IROC wins in 47 starts.-Michael Waltrip Racing

On Saturday night in the Sprint Showdown, Casey Mears and the GEICO Racing team not only looked to transfer to the big show (Sprint All-Star race), but also to build their data notebook before next week's points race, The Coca-Cola 600. Mears brought home a top-10 finish in the Showdown. While the end result was not what the team had hoped for, they gained crucial information leading into the Coca-Cola 600. Mears (the 2007 winner) and the GEICO Racing team will now turn their attention to the longest race of the season, The Coca-Cola 600.-Player Management International

Jamie McMurray won the Sprint Showdown race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night. McMurray led all 40 laps of the preliminary event staged for drivers not already locked into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Only the top two finishers (Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the other) transferred into the main event. McMurray finished eighth among the 22 drivers starting the All-Star Race.

Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, his record-breaking fourth victory in 12 starts in the annual non-points race. He broke a tie for the all-time all-star race wins lead with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt. Johnson also won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in 2003, 2006 and 2012. He becomes the second driver to win back-to-back all-star races. The first was Davey Allison in 1991-92. This is Johnson's eighth top-five finish in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Brendan Gaughan won the Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race award at Charlotte. The award is given to the winner of the race or the next-highest finishing driver displaying the Mobil 1 decal. He earned the award for his second place finish in the N.C. Education Lottery 200 after leading 15 laps. The driver of the No. 62 Chevrolet Silverado moved up three spots to fourth in the 2013 NCWTS point standings.

Sprint Cup regular (No. 18) Kyle Busch won the 11th Annual North Carolina Education Lottery 200, his 31st victory in 107 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. This is the No. 51 Toyota Tundra driver's his first series victory and second top-10 finish in 2013. It was his first truck win since Sept. 24, 2011 at New Hampshire. This is Busch's fifth victory and seventh top-10 finish in eight NCWTS races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has more wins at Charlotte than any other track in the series.

Martin Truex Jr. is on the pole for Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Showdown race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 56 Toyota Camry driver will lead the field of 23 drivers attempting to race their way into the NASCAR non-points Sprint All-Star race which follows the Showdown. Only the top two finishers and one driver chosen by a fan vote will transfer from the Showdown to the All-Star main event.

Kurt Busch had the best 10-lap consecutive average speed in the final practice for the Sprint All-Star race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. His average speed of 185.133 mph in the No. 78 Chevrolet was best of the 12 cars that ran 10 consecutive laps on the track for this session. No. 48 Jimmie Johnson, No. 2 Brad Keselowksi, No. 55 Mark Martin and No. 5 Kasey Kahne are the rest of the top five on this list.

Kyle Busch led the one and only practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch's lap of 190.127 mph in the No. 18 Toyota Camry was the quickest of the 19 cars out on the track for the final practice leading to Saturday night's non-points race. No. 78 Kurt Busch, No. 20 Matt Kenseth, No. 2 Brad Keselowski and No. 16 Greg Biffle were the rest of the top five on the speed chart. No. 34 David Ragan, at 182.359 mph, was the slowest in this session.

Norm Benning does not qualify for the Camping World Truck Series N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. One of the `go-or-go-homers' required to qualify on speed, he ran a 37th fastest lap in the No. 57 truck. This was not good enough to make the 36-truck field.

Jamie McMurray had the best 10-lap consecutive average speed in the final practice for the Sprint Showdown race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. His average speed of 183.381 mph in the No. 1 Chevrolet was best of the three cars that ran 10 consecutive laps on the track for this session. No. 47 Bobby Labonte (180.178 mph) and No. 93 Travis Kvapil (178.910 mph) were the other two drivers on this list.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the lone practice for the NASCAR Sprint Showdown race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Stenhouse's lap of 188.811 mph in the No. 17 Ford Fusion was the quickest of the 23 cars out on the track for the final practice leading to Saturday night's pre-All-Star race. No. 1 Jamie McMurray, No. 31 Jeff Burton, No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 19 Mike Bliss were the rest of the top five on the speed chart. No. 52 Brian Keselowski, at 174.735 mph, was the slowest.

Matt Crafton had the best 10-lap consecutive average speed in Happy Hour practice for the Camping World Truck Series N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His average speed of 177.277 mph in the No. 88 was best of the nine trucks that ran 10 consecutive laps on the track for this session. No. 4 Jeb Burton, No. 18 Joey Coulter, No. 62 Brendan Gaughan and No. 92 Scott Riggs are the rest of the top five on this list.

Carl Edwards will make his eighth appearance in the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. In his previous starts he has one win, three top-five and four top-10 finishes. Roush Fenway Racing has won four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star races. Mark Martin won the event in 1998 and 2005, Matt Kenseth took the checkered flag in 2004 and Carl Edwards in 2011.-Roush Fenway Racing

Matt Crafton has the best 10-lap consecutive average speed in the second practice for the Camping World Truck Series N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His average of 175.124 mph in the No. 88 was best of the six trucks that ran 10 consecutive laps on the track for this session. No. 19 Ross Chastain (175.058 mph), No. 4 Jeb Burton (173.648), No. 2 Brad Keselowski (173.559), No. 01 Jake Crum (171.710) and No. 81 David Starr (171.388) are the others on this list.