Charlotte
October 8, 2012
Saturday
night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is the halfway
mark of this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™. A wild Talladega
race – nothing unexpected there – allowed Brad Keselowski to increase
his standings lead to 14 points over five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
champion Jimmie Johnson and 23 points over Denny Hamlin.
The points leader after the first four races of the post season has become champion five times in the Chase era.
Johnson is the active king of Charlotte’s 1.5-mile track – six wins – but finished 11th
in May’s Coca-Cola 600, a race won by Hendrick Motorsports teammate
Kasey Kahne. Keselowski’s fifth-place finish marked his first NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series top five at CMS. Hamlin finished second.
Matt Kenseth, the Talladega winner, won last year’s Charlotte Bank of America 500.
Five
races remain on the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule beginning with
Friday’s Dollar General 300. Elliott Sadler holds a nine-point advantage
over reigning series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Sunoco Rookie of the
Year leader Austin Dillon is third, 25 points behind Sadler.
With
two off weeks on the schedule, Parker Kligerman has time to savor his
first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Talladega
Superspeedway. Kligerman became the season’s record, eighth first-time
winner. Championship leaders Ty Dillon and James Buescher both logged
top-five finishes at Talladega as Dillon retains a single-point
advantage when racing resumes Oct. 27 at Martinsville Speedway.
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