Turn 4 Transitions
Friday, May 28, 2010
By Natalie Anthony
Post Questions
& Comments to:
NASCARNATALIEANTHONY@yahoo.com
Coca Cola 600
May 30, 2010 (Sunday) 5:00 pm – Fox
David Reutimann - 2009 Coca
Cola 600 Winner!
Happy Memorial Day!
Congratulations
to Ryan Newman for making a career 9th
pole at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (LMS).
Ryan doesn’t hold the track record for the most poles at the Lowe’s
track, but he is the only active driver in the NASCAR line-up who has the most
at LMS and actually has a shot at beating David Pearson’s record of 14 poles. Even though Ryan is going to start NASCAR’s
longest race of the season up front, it is hard pressed to say that he will not
remain there. Out of Ryan’s nine poles,
he has never taken a winning trophy home with his beer sponsored pole award.
The
nature of the track has not changed over the years, but the way that it is
attacked by the driver’s point of view has been altered dramatically. No more can a driver expect to complete this
endurance race on talent and equipment alone.
The Coca Cola 600 is NASCAR’s equivalent to Boston’s 26 mile marathon. There is not a runner alive that will tell
you that skill and awesome sneakers will win the race. Conditioning of both the mind and body have
to take place well before the start of any long distance race whether your feet
are pounding the asphalt or a gas pedal.
Most of the NASCAR driver’s spend many hours during the week working out
in the gym or exercising in the outdoors to give them that added advantage on
the race track. I don’t know how many
times I have heard that NASCAR driver’s aren’t athletes. My response is always the same; “You drive
178 miles per hour for 600 miles non-stop with 24 degrees of banking and always
turning left and you tell me how well you think you are going to do. You wouldn’t be able to finish.” Enough said.
That is exactly the point of athleticism, if a driver doesn’t have the
stamina to race that long, then you will not see him finishing anywhere near
the Top 15 and more than likely that driver will be lapped down by the lead
cars.
Joey Logano may have more than hard earned stamina through intense regimented
workouts in the gym; Joey may just have unadulterated youth. Joey has raced at LMS only two times and each
time he brought the Home Depot car home in the Top 10. Teammate to Joey Logano,
Kyle Busch is one of the younger drivers and he
has every aspect of his young age and freakish talent to get him a good finish
this weekend. Brother Kurt Busch won the All Star race at LMS and is 2nd
in the line-up for the start of Sunday’s race, but the younger brother will
finish higher in the ranks at the end of the Coca Cola 600. Kasey Kahne may be in his early thirties, but to look at
him you would think that he is barely legal to be sponsored by Budweiser, so
Kasey has the prominence of youth, but the experience of a more seasoned driver
to get him a great finish. Kasey, just
like Joey Logano has finished in the Top 10 his last
two races at Charlotte.
Track Stats
Coca Cola 600
(May 25, 2009)
Top 10
Results
1. David Reutimann
2. Ryan Newman
3. Robby Gordon
4. Carl Edwards
5. Brian Vickers
6. Kyle Busch
7. Kasey Kahne
8. Juan Pablo Montoya
9. Joey Logano
10.Matt Kenseth
Bank of America
400
(October 17,
2009)
Top 10
Results
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Kasey Kahne
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Joey Logano
6. Clint Bowyer
7. Casey Mears
8. Kyle Busch
9. Martin Truex Jr.
10.Kurt
Busch
Home
