2011 NASCAR Bank of America 500 Picks & Predictions
By Anthony Rome
(The Spread) - This weekend NASCAR heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for Saturday night's Bank of America 500.
Charlotte Motor Speedway is one of three quad-oval, 1.5-mile tracks that feature 24 degrees of corner banking. Looking back and reviewing results from the other two cookie-cutter venues, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway will point you to the best drivers for this type of track.
Matt Kenseth 12/1
Matt Kenseth has been a consistent top-five performer at 1.5-mile tracks all season, and he has always run well at Charlotte. Kenseth has five straight top-15 finishes at the track, including a sixth-place finish last fall. His 14th place run at Charlotte in May is very misleading. He led the most laps and had the car to beat until fuel mileage jumbled up the running order in the closing laps. Look for Kenseth to get back in the hunt Saturday night with a win.
Kurt Busch 12/1
Kurt Busch has been a thorn in our side all year but it's hard to pass on him this week since he has had some very good runs here. In his last six starts at Charlotte, he has four top-10 finishes, including one win. His overall history is terrible at Charlotte but he’s been the best 1.5-mile track racer in 2011 and this is just the type of race he needs to get back in the chase.
Live Longshot
Kasey Kahne 20/1
Kasey Kahne has always run well at Charlotte and is one of the better drivers when it comes to these 1.5-mile cookie cutter tracks. Kahne is a three-time winner here and he’s a master of the high line around the track. Earlier this year Kahne finished 22nd but he was much better than that. On the last restart of the race, he restarted on the front row but as soon as the green flag waved he ran out of gas. After last week’s strong showing on a similar track, look for another solid run Saturday night.
2011 Bank of America 500 Information
Race Date: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011
Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, NC
Pre-Race: 6:30PM ET
Green Flag: Approx. 7:46PM ET
TV Coverage: ABC
Radio Coverage: PRN
Track Type: Oval (334 laps)