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In The Know – Charlotte

NASCAR CUP SERIES OVERVIEW:

●  Event:  Coca-Cola 600 (Round 14 of 36)

●  Time/Date:  6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 28

●  Location:  Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway

●  Layout:  1.5-mile oval

●  Laps/Miles:  400 laps/600 miles

●  Stage Lengths  Stage 1: 100 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Stage 3: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps

●  TV/Radio:  FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

SHR FAST FACTS:

Kevin Harvick: 

Kevin Harvick is a two-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600. He took the trophy in 2011 and 2013. Harvick beat David Ragan by .703 of a second in 2011 and he beat Kasey Kahne by 1.490 seconds in 2013. Harvick led only two laps in 2011 and just 28 laps in 2013, but each of those tallies contained the only lap that mattered most – the last one

Aric Almirola: 

Almirola will be just as busy on the track as he will be off of it this week. Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET, Almirola will appear on FS1’s “NASCAR Race Hub.” Friday, Almirola will be the guest analyst in the booth for the ARCA Menards Series race at Charlotte, live on FS1 at 6 p.m. ET. Saturday, he’ll join Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Brad Keselowski in the FOX studio for the all-driver NASCAR Xfinity Series race broadcast.

Chase Briscoe: 

Briscoe will make his third Coca-Cola 600 start Sunday at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Best of his two previous starts in the season’s longest race was his fourth-place effort earned last May. It was a solid, top-five result, but it came after Briscoe spun while battling Kyle Larson for the lead on the penultimate lap.

Ryan Preece: 

In three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Charlotte, Preece has a best start of third and best finish of fifth, both of which occurred last May while driving for B.J. McLeod Motorsports in the No. 5 Ford. Preece’s lone NASCAR Truck Series start at Charlotte also came last May, when he started eighth and finished 11th for David Gilliland Racing.

OUR WEEKLY WRAPS:

WHAT OUR DRIVERS ARE SAYING:

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang:

Much is made about the Coca-Cola 600 being the series’ longest race. Because the race is so long, can it be a good thing where if you’re not where you want to be, you have time to make things right? Or is the other side of the coin being that it’s too long of a race to not be good?

“There’s just not a lot of room for error because somebody’s going to be good and you’ve got to put yourself in a position to stay on the lead lap. There are so many different areas of transition that you go through in that race because of the fact that the sun goes down after it starts hot and slick. Then as you transition into the night, you have to have something completely different in your car compared to what you had at the beginning of the race. So there’s a sacrifice you have to make at the beginning of the race to just basically try to keep yourself in a good position. Don’t make any mistakes, stay on the lead lap, and try and put yourself in a good position for the night because that’s when it really counts.”

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang:

Why is the Coke 600 such a crown jewel race?

“It’s a hundred miles longer than any other race we run, which provides a challenge in and of itself. On top of that, there is an extra stage, which gives us the opportunity to earn more points. The cars have less grip when the sun is out and they tend to slip and slide a lot more. As the sun goes down, the track gets more grip and we start going faster. That’s one of the very unique things about this race. What you have from a drivability and balance standpoint from the racecar at the beginning of the race is not what you have at the end. You’re trying to figure out what it takes to get your car to win at the end and you have to be good at all facets because there are a lot of points to be made.”

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang:

If you had the chance to run the 2022 Coca-Cola 600 again, would you do anything differently?

“I’d do some things differently. You know, I had (Kyle) Larson cleared with four or five laps to go and I didn’t take the spot. I probably could’ve been more aggressive there and maybe would’ve ended up winning the race.”

Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41  HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang:

What’s your mindset heading into this weekend’s race?

“It’s just trying to figure out where your car needs to be in the beginning in order to have it good at the end. We all talk about that because the track goes through temperature changes throughout the race with how long it is. Charlotte is one of the most temperamental racetracks that we go to, I feel like, from day to night, from track temperature and cooling off. It’s going to be extremely important to keep up with the racetrack and with communication on what you need, how much you need and at what point in the race it makes the most sense to make those adjustments. Mindset will be important, too, because when you’re at the end of Stage 1, you’re already 100 laps into the race but you’ve still got 300 more to go and, by the end of the second stage, you feel like you’ve completed an entire race, already. It’s just keeping your head in it, remaining patient and, as always, staying out of the messes so you can be up front and in position for the win at the end. We’ve seen a lot of Charlotte wins come during the last few laps, so you’ve got to be ready.”