NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Marathon Ready To Roll
Brad Keselowski will start from the pole tonight at Charlotte Motor Speedway ...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted May 29, 2011   Charlotte, NC
Brad Keselowski the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)
At 6:19 p.m. ET, the green flag will fall at Charlotte Motor Speedway to kick off the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule.

The marathon will test the stamina of cars, drivers and crews, as well as the strategies they use. Following are some of the key questions to look for as the hot afternoon turns to night:

WILL ROUSHKATEERS ROCK? — The Roush Fenway Racing squad made a mockery of the Sprint All-Star Race, with Carl Edwards winning and all four team drivers finishing in the top eight. They’ve been fast in practice and qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600, too. Clearly, they are the team to beat tonight.

“I’m really excited. We ran extremely well in the All-Star Race and we brought our car that we finished fourth with in Texas,” said Greg Biffle. “... I think we have a great opportunity to run 600 miles here and be pretty good at the end.”

WILL PENSKE PICK IT UP? — Roger Penske’s NASCAR operation has had an erratic season so far, with Kurt Busch complaining loudly of the team’s shortcomings. But Brad Keselowski put the Blue Deuce on the pole for tonight’s race and Busch is the defending event winner, so they could make some noise.

“The list of things that I think we need to improve is still very large,” said Keselowski. “I think everyone on our team would agree with that and we’re still where we’re at right now (winning the pole). That’s really special.”

HOW ABOUT HENDRICK? — The entire Hendrick Motorsports team had a very disappointing All-Star race weekend at the team’s home track. Expect them to pick it up tonight. Jimmie Johnson will start on the outside of Row 3, with Jeff Gordon 11th, Mark Martin 13th and Dale Earnhardt Jr. 25th.

“We're going for broke to get the Ws now,” said Gordon. “We're certainly not thinking about wild card. All we're thinking about is making our car go faster every weekend, trying to get ourselves in position to get those good finishes and hopefully get those wins.”

FIRST-TIME FUN? — Of the top 15 Coca-Cola 600 qualifiers, 12 haven’t won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race this year. Second-qualifier AJ Allmendinger, David Ragan (8th) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9th) haven’t won at all, with Stenhouse making his first Cup start today. Odds suggest that we could well end up with an eighth different winner in 12 races this year. David Reutimann, who won this race two years ago, was tops in Happy Hour, so he could be a factor, too.

“I’d love to go out there and win the 600, but, for me, if we go out there and run inside the top 10 all day and have a solid top-10 finish, for us, that’s a big step in the right direction,” said Allmendinger. “I know that our race team has the capability to go there and be a Chase-contending team. ... If we can have a great run here at Charlotte and build momentum and go to Kansas and have another great run, then everything is gonna be good. I know where our race team is and I know where we need to get better at.”

TICKET TO RIDE? — It’s been a tough season so far for Joe Gibbs Racing. By this point last season, Denny Hamlin had already scored three victories and earned five top-five finishes. This year? One top-five, no victories. Teammate Joey Logano is 28th in points and Kyle Busch, while running well, was popped for going 128 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone earlier this week. This team feels like it’s about to either breakout with a monster victory or implode.

“We’ve got nothing but excited guys coming in here for this weekend’s race, the Coca -Cola 600,” said Busch. “And being the longest race of the year, we’ve definitely been ready for it and looking forward to being able to get out on the race track, have some good results and maybe win this thing and bring home my first Cup win at Charlotte.”

RCR READY? — Like Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing wasn’t happy about its showing in the All-Star race, but this weekend has gotten off on a better track. Jeff Burton, who is still looking for his first top 10 of the year, qualified fifth and was fifth in Happy Hour.

“It’s one of the most fun races we do all year,” said Burton. “It’s a long race. It’s a tough race, but that’s why it’s fun. ... A lot can happen in those (extra) 66 laps. You’re looking at an extra pit stop. A plethora of things can happen – engine fatigue, part fatigue and driver fatigue.”

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION — If the Coca-Cola 600 comes down to a late-race caution or even a green-white-checkered finish, track position will be critical. Being in the right place at the right time is more important than having the fastest car or the freshest tires.

“It’s not always the same recipe that wins these races and puts you in track position and you’re able to keep that track position,” said Clint Bowyer. “It has to do with a lot of things. The tire that you bring, the situation on a re-start; re-starts are so important. You’ve got to be able to get going on a re-start.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
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