Charlotte Coca Cola 600 Confidence Rankings Top 10 Picks

1) Kasey Kahne – Kasey Kahne should be on everyone’s fantasy NASCAR radar this week. He’s won the Coca Cola 600 three times and is the defending champion. What makes Kahne so good in this particular event is his ability to adjust his racing line as the track changes. In the Coca Cola 600 I think he’ll likely run the low line early but as darkness comes he’ll move up and become a rim rider. In last years Coca Cola 600 he started in 7th, led 96 laps and tied Greg Biffle for the best driver rating. In the race tomorrow he’ll be starting slightly better (6th). Today in practice the #5 car looked fast and that’s a bad sign for the competition. He had the best 5 lap average and 10 lap average in Happy Hour.This season on 1.5 mile tracks Kahne has been good. He’s finished second twice and has had a result in the top 11 every race.

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2) Matt Kenseth – Matt Kenseth is the type of driver who I like in long races like the Coca Cola 600. He doesn’t abuse his equipment and he’s around at the end. Another attribute I like about Kenseth is that he understands his chassis better than most drivers. That allows him to communicate with his crew chief intelligently so they can keep up with the track as it changes. I can’t stress how important that is in this race. Also it’s important to note his crew chief will be back this week. Charlotte has been a good track for Kenseth. He won his first race here in the 2000 Coca Cola 600 and returned to victory lane in fall 2011. He’s also been consistent. Since 2009 he hasn’t finished lower than 14th. Everyone knows how good he’s been on 1.5 mile tracks this season. On them he has two wins, a 5.3 average finish and has led 215 laps. At the conclusion of practice #2 Kenseth was interviewed and he said he had a good car. On Sunday night he’ll be starting in third.

3) Jimmie Johnson – You can’t go wrong picking Jimmie Johnson at Charlotte. Five-time has won here six times with his most recent in 2009. Just last week Johnson won at this very track and earned his record 4th All-Star race win. In the Coca Cola 600 Jimmie Johnson wanted to use that chassis but it was unavailable (didn’t get it back to the shop until Tuesday from NASCAR). Instead he’ll be using a new chassis. This new hot rod incorporates all the lessons learned in the Gen6 car. Last season at Charlotte Jimmie Johnson was very good. In the fall he led 53 laps and finished 3rd and in the Coke 600 he had a top five car but had problems late on pit road (had a top five car). This season on 1.5 mile tracks Johnson has been very good. He has a 5th place average finish, 6.3 average running position and is one of only three drivers who’ve finished in the top ten every race. At the conclusion of Happy Hour Johnson was interviewed and said he’s very happy with his car.

Others posts of interest this week = 10 Lap Average Big Board, Happy Hour Notes, Happy Hour Speeds, Practice #2 Notes, Practice #2 Speeds, Happy Hour Live Blog