first look at charlotte

I'm not going to do a write-up on the All Star race.  It's a totally new rules package that has no relation to anything they've ever used at Charlotte before.  There is a restrictor plate, enlarged spoiler and a different splitter.  There is no comparison to anything they have run in the past, so there's no reason to look at historical results.  I expect the thing to be totally unpredictable and pretty wacky and I have no interest in putting any money into it.

Looking ahead to the 600, here are a few guys with good to great Charlotte histories who I am starting to focus on.  As always, a lot will depend on practice and qualifying position:

• Martin Truex -- He has really dominated the last two 600 races.  In 2016, he won and led 392 of 400 laps.  (CRAZY!)  Last year, he finished 3rd and led 233 of 400 laps.  He was the fastest car much of the night last year, but lost out to Austin Dillon who made one less pit stop and used some extreme fuel savings to edge the field.
  
• Denny Hamlin -- I always worry about pit road penalties for Hamlin, especially in such a long race with so many stops.  But, he's finished in the Top 5 the last two 600 races.  And he's been in the Top 5 in 4 of the last 5 Charlotte races overall.
  
• Kevin Harvick -- How could he not be on the list?  He is on some roll right now.  And he's finished in the Top 10 in 9 of the last 10 Charlotte races and 13 of the last 15.  He's been consistently strong there for a very long time.
  
• Jimmie Johnson -- Team Hendrick (and Jimmie in particular) always run well at Charlotte.  Their race shop is literally just down the street from the track.  Jimmie won in October 2016.  He was 3rd in the 600 in 2016.  Last year in the 600, he was leading late on the same fuel savings strategy that Austin Dillon used.  But, Johnson ran out with about two laps left and limped home 17th.
  
• Ryan Newman -- The 600 fits his profile of being a very consistent guy who just keeps grinding.  He's finished in the Top 10 in 4 of the last 5 600 races.
  
• Chase Elliott -- In 2 of the last 4 Charlotte races, Chase has finished 2nd (Fall 2017) and 8th (May 2016).  But in the other 2, he had wrecks and finished 38th (May 2017) and 33nd (Fall 2016).  In both races where he wrecked, he qualified 3rd.  So, he's always had good speed here.  It's just been some pretty bad luck that skews his average finishing position to be way worse than it probably should be.
  

We'll have much more coverage for the 600 in the coming days.