NASCAR 2012 Bank of America 500 Race Picks & Predictions
By ATSSportsline.com
CONCORD, NC (ATS Consultants) - The fifth race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup heads to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500 on Saturday.
Last week, Matt Kenseth survived a 25-car accident on the final turn of the last lap to win at Talladega. Jimmie Johnson is tied with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for most victories in Charlotte with six. This will be the 108th Sprint Cup race at Charlotte. 14 races have won from the pole, the last by Johnson in October of 2009. Six of the last nine races at Charlotte have come from the top-7.
Denny Hamlin 5-1
Hamlin has a Driver Rating of 113.5 and a 5.0 average finish. He has top five this year at tracks similar to Charlotte in Atlanta and Texas. Last time at Charlotte, Hamlin finished second to Kasey Kahne.
Kevin Harvick 20-1
Harvick won the 600 at Charlotte last year and finished sixth in the fall race. Since 2001, the 36-year-old driver has collected one win (2011 Coca-Cola 600), two top-five and seven top-10 finishes. Harvick maintains an average starting position of 19.3 coupled with an average finishing position of 18.1. He will be tough-to-beat again on Saturday.
Long Shot
Ryan Newman 75-1
Newman has nine poles in 22 career starts at CMS. He should qualify strong and a top 20 finish is expected. He has nine poles, four top-five finishes and eight top-10s in 23 starts at the 1.5-mile oval Charlotte Motor Speedway. His nine poles are the most of any active Sprint Cup driver. Although Newman doesn’t have a points-paying Sprint Cup win at Charlotte, he does have three victories at CMS – an ARCA win (October 2000), a win in the NASCAR All-Star Race (May 2002) and a win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (October 2005).
Bank of America 500 Race Information
Race Date: Saturday, Oct. 13
Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
Start Time: 7:30pmET
Green Flag: Approx. 7:46pm ET
TV Coverage: ABC
Radio Coverage: Motor Racing Network (PRN/Sirius NASCAR Radio)
Track Type: 1.5 miles oval, 344 laps, 500miles
Last year’s top 5
1. Matt Kenseth (Start: 2)
2. Kyle Busch (25)
3. Carl Edwards (3)
4. Kasey Kahne (8)
5. Marcos Ambrose (12)
Past Winners
2011 Matt Kenseth, Ford, 146.194mph
2010 Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 137.658mph
2009 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 133.699mph
2008 Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 133.699mph
2007 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 125.868mph
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