Starting Lineup | Past Charlotte Race Winners
Several drivers have a good opportunity to score their first career Coca-Cola 600 victory Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
None of the first 11 drivers in Sunday’s starting lineup have ever won NASCAR’s longest race starting with the man who will lead the field to green in Kyle Busch, who is looking for his first CMS points-race victory.
“It’s important to me. I’d love to get that knocked out of the way and to be finished with it until another new track comes up on the circuit. It’s been a trying time here over the course of my career and to have it come to fruition in a points race, the last I checked I have a trophy at home that says, ‘winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway,’ so I’ll take that to my grave with me if I do never get a points win here. That will be my saving grace I guess,” Busch said of his 2017 All-Star Race win.
Outside front-row starter Joey Logano and his Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski, who will take the green flag from the fifth starting spot, would welcome the chance to bring newly-minted NASCAR Hall of Fame member Roger Penske a victory in the crown jewel event.
“The Coke 600, to me, is a crown jewel event,” Logano said. “I think of the Daytona 500, Brickard 400, Coca-Cola 600 are three of the biggest races we have all year. We’ve won here in the fall race, but it would be special to win the 600-mile race.”
Daniel Suarez finished second in last week’s All-Star Race and the sophomore driver has steadily improved this year. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver would love to score his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win Sunday in Charlotte.
“I can tell you that if we can put ourselves to running in the top five every weekend, we can win any time,” Suarez said. “Once you are in the top five around those guys, those crazy restarts, you don’t have to be the best car to win a race. That has happened several times. Obviously, if you have the best car, you must win the race, right? I feel like it can happen any time. We just have to run in the top five.
“Charlotte has been a good place to me. I feel good mentally and physically, so why not?”
All four of the JGR drivers qualified in the top 10.
