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Racing at NASCAR's Most Beloved Track!!!

What:Coca Cola 600(Race 13 of 34)
Where:Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC
When:Saturday, May 29; 7:30pm (TBS)

(Don't want to read my insightful and witty comments? Click here to go straight to making your picks.)

Race 13 finds us at everyone's favorite track: the Lowe's Motor Speedway known to racing fans as Charlotte Motor Speedway). The grand finale of speed week at Charlotte is the Coca-Cola 600, and I have one thing and one thing only to say to you: Bobby Labonte will win this race. That's my guarantee from me to you. Barring a bad engine or a rendevous with Joe "Y2K caused it" Nemechek, I am 100 percent positvely sure Texas Thunder will win. With that said, let's go on to the rest of the field.

Last weekend NASCAR held the Winston at LMS. The Winston, as y'all know, is sort of an all-star race. It's a fun event because drivers don't have to worry about points or crummy drivers. None of this Sterling Marlin/Derrick Cope/Kevin Lepage nonsense. Besides the prestige of winning an all-star-like event, the Winston allowed NASCAR's best to test out their Charlotte cars. They tweaked setups, perfected pit strategies, and generally got a feel for the track at night. What they learned last Saturday will really help them this Saturday.

But not everyone came away from the Winston with a good car setup. Some of the top boys, including B. Labonte, DJ, J. Burton, Wallace, and Martin bought some Carolina concrete. Whatever they'd learned about their cars got rubbed out - literally. This obstacle is serious one for NASCAR's longest race (no other race is 600 miles), but it's not the biggest one.

There's only one thing a driver's had to do to win at Charlotte the last five years: beat Jeff Gordon. LMS has become his track, and the only way to beat him has been to hope he runs near Ricky Rudd one lap too long (surprise surprise, Rudd and brother-in-wrecks Irvan both finished their run in the Winston by saying "it was just one of them racin' things"). Gordon was about as strong as he's ever been at this year's Winston, just barely missing out on the big prize (Texas Terry Labonte got that gold ring). He's always got a great car, and it looks like they've got that baby dialed-in a week in advance.

But there's one catch to golden boy Gordon's success at Charlotte, indeed to his success anywhere. Chris "What, I graduated and now I have to get a job?" G. informed me that changes in paint schemes have always spelled poor performances for Gordon. I guess it's sort of like how some women feel self-conscious about changes in hairdoos. Either way, the last report I've received says that Gordon will be wearing a special paint scheme for the CC 600, so don't expect him to run the show the way he usually does.

So who else can you go with? As has often been the case this year, you're going to start with a long list of strong contenders. Anyone who ran the Winston is a threat, including (shudder) Sterling Marlin and Darrell Waltrip. Last night I dreamed that DW got collected early in the CC 600, so we'll see if I'm right about that. Barring any more such dreams, the field is wide open. I received a great deal of derision for my support of the number 20 Home Depot team earlier in the year, but I don't see how anyone can go against Stewart now. Buddy Baker agrees with me that TS may get a win this year, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him up front for a few laps this Saturday. And as much as I hate to say it, you may want to consider the nauseator for a pick. Maybe I should add a slot for "begrudging pick." We'll see.

Well, if you want a good list of drivers to choose from, just go to nascar.com and check out the results of the Winston. That should give you some ideas. Now let's get pickin'.

Hold on, hold on. Remember our Star Wars prediction? I asked you to guestimate how much money the new movie would make between it's opening (Wed.) and the end of the weekend. I warned you that it was a five-day total, not just the three-day weekend total. The word from CNN is that "The Phantom Menace" made $102.8 million from Wednesday to Sunday. Only Duncan and William made the bold pick of over $100 million. Way to go, fellas. And Nathan, I'm very, very disappointed in your lack of faith in the movie. I'd like you to think of something deep that Yoda said, and pretend like I'm saying it to you now. All I can remember is "Do or do not. There is no try," and that doesn't really apply here.

Instructions

First of all, choose your name from the pull-down list. Then pick the names of the drivers that you think will finish in the top five. After that, you get to make your surprise pick, where you'll name a guy who isn't high in the points, but you think has a shot to get into this week's top five. It doesn't have to be one of the names you've already put in your top five. Now that the season is in full swing, let's use the current Winston Cup Points standings. Click here to check out the nicely done standings page at nascar.com. Remember, your surprise pick can't be any of the names listed in the TOP TEN of the points standings.

And hey, don't forget to pick a DNF. That's the guy you think will get a big fat Did Not Finish.

Click on the upside-down triangle at the right margin of each blank to see a list of drivers, then select a name. No typing necessary. Don't forget to tell me your name!

What's your name?

Name of First Place Driver:

Name of Second Place Driver:

Name of Third Place Driver:

Name of Fourth Place Driver:

Name of Fifth Place Driver:

Name of your surprise pick:

Choose your "DNF of the Week"

Controversial Question of the Week

I've been in deep discussion with Tim "Vodka & Cream Soda" S. and Duncan "Flav-o-Flav" S. about the NASCAR Winston Cup points system. They both would like to see more emphasis placed on winning individual races rather than on winning the cumulative points race. One thing they say is that a driver who consistently comes in third place should not be so highly rewarded for never winning. They say that drivers would be more aggressive and races therefore be more exciting if winning individual races meant more. Duncan suggests giving the winner a 50-point bonus.

What do you think of all this? Is winning individual events more important than the points race? Do you like the idea of changing the points system to favor the winner more? Explain your viewpoint, making as many perjorative remarks about other players as possible.