Superb competition at Charlotte makes a case for a championship race – Speedway Digest

The historical high temperature in Concord, North Carolina, in early November is 66 degrees.

Why is that statistic relevant to stock car racing?

NASCAR is considering possible venues for its season-ending Championship weekend, which will start to move in rotation next year with a return to Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Phoenix Raceway, which has hosted Championship races in all three of NASCAR’s national series for the past five years, will remain in the mix.

With weather clearly a major consideration in the placement of the title races, Las Vegas is another city that immediately comes to mind. The average high temperature in November in Sin City is 66 degrees.

In determining the rotation for the Championship 4 races, weather clearly is a major consideration, but it isn’t the only one. The quality of the product on the track also should be an important element in the selection.

And if what fans saw in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 is an indication, Charlotte Motor Speedway deserves a place in the championship lineup.

After William Byron dominated the first two stages of the race in fading daylight, the track changed, as it always does. Denny Hamlin arrived at the front of the field to challenge Byron, who had won the second stage by more than seven seconds.

Over the last 300 miles of NASCAR’s longest race, Byron and Hamlin battled back and forth, swapping the lead 14 times—nine times in the third stage alone.

Hamlin would attack. Byron would defend. Hamlin would edge ahead at the start/finish line by thousandths of a second. Byron would charge through the first two corners and regain the top spot.

It was sustained, close competition at the highest level.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, crew chief Phil Surgen made an adjustment to Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet that brought the car to life for the final run.

With Hamlin out of fuel and out of the picture after an unscheduled pit stop, Chastain was relentless in his pursuit of Byron, who led 283 of the 400 laps. On Lap 394, Byron’s car tightened up in Turns 3 and 4.

Seizing the opportunity, Chastain carried his momentum into Turns 1 and 2, dived to the inside and cleared Byron’s Chevrolet off the corner. Chastain went on to win one of the most memorable races of the last four years.

Notably, the Coca-Cola 600 produced some of the most compelling racing of the Gen 7 era, and it happened in front of a packed house.

Let’s hope Charlotte Motor Speedway gets the consideration it deserves when NASCAR decides which venues are worthy of the championship races.

Let’s table the “Double” for the time being

Kyle Larson’s second attempt at the Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 double ended in disappointment—twice.

Larson crashed on Lap 92 at Indy, spinning in dirty air behind Takuma Sata. Out of the 500 early, Larson had plenty of time to arrive at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the start of the Coke 600, but he slapped the wall during the opening run and damaged the front suspension of his Chevrolet.

Later, on Lap 42, Larson spun through the infield grass, and on Lap 246 of 400, he was collected in a five-car wreck off Turn 4 and eliminated from the race.

As unflappable as Larson appears, he was clearly chagrined by the wreck at Indy. After the accident at Charlotte, he was already evaluating the wisdom of trying to run both races on the same day.

“I don’t know, it’s so fresh right now I don’t really have a good answer for you,” Larson said. “The double is just a tough undertaking. The window of time is too tight. Even if I didn’t wreck, I don’t think I would have made it here on time and probably would have had to end that race short anyways.

“So, I don’t really think it’s worth it. But I would love to run the Indy 500 again. Just doing the double, I think, is just logistically too tough.”

Larson is right. With a 12:45 starting time for the Indy 500, circumstances have to fall into line perfectly for a driver to complete both races, and in Larson’s two attempts, rain worked against him.

When Tony Stewart completed all 1,100 miles in 2001, the Indianapolis 500 started at its traditional time of 11 a.m. A 12:45 p.m. start means weather can’t be a factor at Indy, and nothing is more undependable than spring weather in the Midwest.

In addition, pulling off the double requires an enormous commitment of time, money and personnel on the part of Hendrick Motorsports.

It’s a glamorous undertaking that generates a treasure trove of publicity, but the cost is too high, given the risks inherent in the process.