From a marathon to a sprint. From NASCAR’s longest race to the shortest ever at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile oval. From four 100-lap stages to three stages of 55, 60 and 93 laps, respectively.
After a grueling 607.5 miles on Sunday (including a five-lap overtime), NASCAR Cup Series drivers will compete in a dash on Wednesday night in the Alsco Uniforms 500 at CMS (8 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). That’s 500 kilometers, by the way; the event measures 312 miles (208 laps), barely more than the first two stages of the Coke 600.
The shortest distance previously run in a Charlotte Cup race—other than two 100-mile qualifying events in 1961—was 341 miles in the 2009 Coca-Cola 600, when David Reutimann picked up the first of his two career wins in a rain-shortened race.
Racing on Wednesday nights has become the new normal, as NASCAR remains committed to running a full schedule of 36 points-paying events.
“It has been really interesting and fun to have these midweek races,” said Tyler Reddick, who parlayed seventh- and 13th-place finishes in the two Darlington races and a ninth in the 600 into a 43-point lead over Cole Custer in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.
“They keep us on our toes, even though it’s the same track being raced so close together. Both Darlington and Charlotte are tracks affected by temperature and day-versus-night conditions, so it almost comes off as two different places.”
Brad Keselowski won the Coca-Cola 600 after midnight on Monday, thanks to a rain delay of more than an hour that interrupted the first stage of the race. It wasn’t until almost 2 a.m. that runner-up Jimmie Johnson was disqualified and placed 40th after inspectors found that the rear alignment of his No. 48 Chevrolet exceeded post-race tolerances.
Johnson will be particularly motivated on Wednesday night. So will Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who had victory in his sights at Darlington and at Charlotte, only to see winning chances in both races disappear—at Darlington thanks to Kyle Busch’s bumper and at Charlotte thanks to a late, ill-timed caution.
Source: NASCAR Wire Service
