"Get Your Carbs Up, It's Charlotte!"

 

Super Sunday for race fans....ya got that thing at Indy, where they start qualifying right after Santa parks his sleigh....Then you got 600 miles at Charlotte!

600 miles?....It's 300 from DC to my hometown in Watkins Glen, and that takes 6 hours to complete (only 5 1/2, if I don't have the old lady and dog in the car!).

I can't even hallucinate what 600 miles at Charlotte must be like to drive! The drivers start carb loading on Thursday, lotsa pasta and chicken, just so they have enough energy to fall out of the car after the 600.

It's a long night for everyone.

The physical demands on the driver are mind-numbing. The crew works and waits to fix and adjust the car all night. The engine builders start gnawing toenails, after their fingernails are gone in hope the engine doesn't go nite, nite, termite! The fans start putting a package on around noon (most are aiming with their face by the start), and keep popping the top until the checkered flag.

Like I said "It's a long night for everyone!"

Topics you'll hear a lot of during the race:

Three-Peat? Jimmie Johnson is the likely favorite, and with good reason. Having won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2003 and 2004, he's aiming to bag three consecutive race titles, which would make series history.

Mark Martin hopes to be the sixth driver to claim an all-star, Coca-Cola 600 sweep. Darrell Waltrip (1985), Davey Allison (1991), Dale Earnhardt (1993), Jeff Gordon (1997) and Jimmie Johnson (2003).

Ricky Rudd should make his 58th career start at Lowe's Motor Speedway this weekend. He trails only Richard Petty, who holds the track record with 64 starts at Lowe's.

Kyle Petty should make his 725th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup start this weekend.

The race starts around 5:30 and there is a huge difference in the track from day to night. "You get more grip at night, for sure," said Dave Blaney, "but the car tends to be a little more free at night. You just try and hang on during the day and not to be too far off one way or the other. All that really matters is being good when it counts."

Lowe's Motor Speedway is famous for jump-starting careers, that's where Jeff Gordon got his first win in 1994. At the time, he became only the fourth driver to win the Coca-Cola 600 from the pole in the event's 34-year history.

Mark
www.NascarStockCar.com