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Bucket list: Earnhardt seeking Coca-Cola 600 victory

NASCAR is trying to inject some excitement into Charlotte Motor Speedway, where recent races have been relatively predictable, even boring: When a lead vehicle breaks free from the pack, it’s been almost impossible to catch. It’s now a marathon with a bonus.

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Behind Larson was Ryan Blaney with a lap of 185.861 miles per hour.

The all-star event was open only to the best of the best in NASCAR, but the racing turned out to be the worst of the worst. Other than that, it was nothing more than a conga line of cars.

When he was a kid, Marcus Smith would get out of school early on the Thursday before the 600-mile NASCAR race held at the racetrack his family owns in Concord. Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick has finished either first or second in four of his six starts here, leading more than 100 laps twice.

Dixson, who now sits in second place overall in the Indy vehicle point standings, just 10 points behind the current leader Simon Pagenaud, is listed as the overall favorite to win the 2017 Indianapolis 500 at +600. “It really just kind of sealed … it brought some closure, I guess, to his career”. Both Truex Jr. and Keselowski have been red-hot this season, clinching playoff spots with two wins each. Richmond will host a playoff race next year, and the regular-season finale will be in Indianapolis.

This is because Larson was late getting to the track on time for Thursday’s qualifying session.

It’s no surprise after those incredible numbers that Johnson, Truex and Larson are now listed as the top-three favorites for Sunday night’s race (6 p.m. ET, Fox). He later went on to place second in Saturday’s Hisense 4K TV 300, his third top-five finish in the Xfinity Series this year.

Kyle Busch standing next to his auto prior to Thursday evening’s qualifying session.

“The opportunity’s there and presents itself and starting up front”. While it wasn’t a points paying race, it won him a cool Million bucks and even if you thought the race was boring, for the most part, it’s hard to argue the wonderful move Kyle made on the final restart. “It’s big and you could lose a lot of points [with pit-road mistakes]”.

With an official victory now on his résumé, the 23-year-old driver will look to secure his first ever Monster Energy win in today’s Coca-Cola 600.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said the Charlotte track hasn’t aged well since it was last paved. “This is a track that I’ve gone to and watched hundreds of races since I was born”. I don’t know if somebody stepped over one of the lasers or triggered a reset or whatever, but we sat on there for about a minute or so and waited for it to restart and then we passed and just didn’t have enough time.

Busch said he won despite not having the best vehicle. Chase Elliott will start third, followed by Matt Kenseth, Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin. We have been running well and tonight was no different.

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There are others who’d like to see the sentimental favorite win this one.

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