2008 Bank Of America 500 at Lowes Motor Speedway

2008 Bank Of America 500 at Lowes Motor Speedway:

This Saturday night the 2008 Chase for the Cup visits Lowes Motor Speedway for the 2008 Bank of America 500. When the Sprint Cup stars were here in May Kasey Kahne won both the Sprint All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600. This weekend he could become the first driver ever to sweep the three major Lowes Motor Speedway events.

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office (800) 455-FANS or (704) 455-3200

Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)

The Track:

Lowes Motor Speedway is a mile and a half tri-oval with 24 degrees of banking in the turns. The track is fast and even though there is a preferred groove there is still enough room for a faster car to get by.

Lowes Motor Speedway is the home track for NASCAR. The majority of the teams are based within 30 miles of the speedway and everybody brings their best stuff to Lowes because everybody wants the bragging rights of winning their home race.

Race Distance:

334 Laps = 501 Miles

The Big Picture:

Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle were involved in the second Big One and left Jimmie Johnson alone at the top of the standings. Johnson's 72 point advantage over Carl Edwards is by far the largest lead any driver has seen so far in the 2008 Chase.

Drivers now effectively eliminated from the Championship battle now include everyone from fifth place Clint Bowyer on back.

1. Jimmie Johnson -0
2. Carl Edwards -72
3. Greg Biffle -77
4. Jeff Burton -99
5. Clint Bowyer -152
6. Kevin Harvick -171
7. Tony Stewart -203
8. Jeff Gordon -232
9. Matt Kenseth -245
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -249
11. Kyle Busch -331
12. Denny Hamlin -335

Storylines:

Race are still buzzing about last week's controversial Talladega finish. Regan Smith crossed the finish line first but Tony Stewart was declared the winner when NASCAR determined that Smith passed below the yellow line.

NASCAR issued a statement this week clarifying their ruling however some big questions remain. What is the difference between clean blocking and forcing someone below the yellow line? I expect that we will hear more about last week's thrilling Talladega race this week.

Media Coverage:

TV: ABC Saturday, October 11th, 7:00PM Eastern.

Radio: PRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Actual Race: 7:40PM Eastern

Recent Events:

2007 Winner: Jeff Gordon

2007 Polesitter: Ryan Newman

Last Year:

An late green flag with just five laps to go set up some fireworks in 2007. Jeff Gordon was leading but his car sputtered on the restart which allowed second place Ryan Newman to take over the lead.

Newman crashed two laps later which set up a green-white-checkers finish. The top three were racing on fumes but Jeff Gordon had enough to bring home the win and extend his 2007 Chase point lead.

Predictions:

Given his incredible statistics at Lowes Motor Speedway one driver clearly stands out among all current drivers. I have to go with Jimmie Johnson to win. This is an obvious pick.

In fourteen career starts at Lowes Motor Speedway Jimmie Johnson has five wins, eight top fives and eleven top tens. Jimmie Johnson owns Lowes Motor Speedway and has to be everybody's favorite for another great run this Saturday night.

For my backup this week I am going with Jeff Gordon. Gordon won this race in 2007 and was fastest among all testers when Sprint Cup drivers were here last month. Jeff Gordon hasn't had a winless season since he was a rookie in 1992. He is a solid pick to break his losing streak on Saturday night.