2014 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Bank of America 500

Joey Logano won his fifth race of the season, his second of the Chase, and will move on to the Eliminator Round now. Three of the Chase drivers took a major hit in the point standings as they were involved in incidents on the track which took them out of contention in Kansas. These drivers now have their work cut out for them, but they can win one of the next two races and become automatically qualified for the next round. Also, Talladega is going to be a wildcard race and other drivers might get caught up in the ‘Big One’ and take a hit in points in the final race of this segment.

This week the series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is another 1.5 mile quad oval track. We will have to wait and see if their will be tire issues once again this weekend. I am sure that they will bring a different tire than the one they used at Kansas last weekend. Another thing about this race is that it is going to be 500-miles, so engines will be stressed a bit more and we might see a few drivers lose an engine during the race.

BANK OF AMERICA 500

Kevin Harvick: I am going to pick Kevin to have his luck change for the better this week and he will win this race. He has been fast all season long and could very well win another pole. He finished second in the spring race here and won the spring race in 2013. All they need is for everything to fall into place for him and he will visit victory lane and move on to the next round.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie is one of the drivers that took a big hit in the standings when he was involved in a wreck early in the race at Kansas. He won the spring race here and has won seven races altogether at Charlotte. This team always runs well here and they know their best chance of moving on to the third round is to win one of the next two races and this is the place that they have the better shot at getting that win.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff has been fast all season and has won five races here during his career. He has also finished in the top ten in over half of his starts at this track and should be able to do that again. Jeff started on the pole in this race last season and has finished seventh in his last two starts here.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has two wins at this track during his career and is another driver who has finished in the top ten in over half of his career starts at Charlotte. I really think this team is going to win a race this season and this could be the week that happens. He is so consistent that if he stays out of trouble he will be able to move on to the next round by virtue of his points.

Joey Logano: Joey has yet to win a race at this track, but he has never finished worse than twenty-third here. He has finished in the top ten in six of his eleven starts at Charlotte and now that he has a win in this round he can take a few chances and try to win another race. It must be a great feeling to not have to worry about the next two races and where you finish in those races.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey has four wins at this track and is another driver who has finished in the top ten in over half of his starts here. This is the type of track that Kasey really runs well at. The problem with this team is that they make too many mistakes on pit road, or can’t keep up with the adjustments to the car as the track changes during the race. They need to be flawless to pick up another win this weekend.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale had a fast car last week at Kansas until he blew a tire and hit the wall, which has put him in a hole. He will be good enough the next two weeks to get back into the top eight, but I’m sure they would just like to win one of the next two races and build some momentum as we get closer to the end of the season.

Carl Edwards: Carl has never won a points race at Charlotte in his career, but he has finished in the top ten in almost two-thirds of the races he has run here. They have struggled on the intermediate tracks most of the season and didn’t look real good last week at Kansas, but still managed to come away with a top five finish. If they can find a little more speed they will stay in contention for the championship.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is another driver that blew a tire and hit the wall at Kansas last weekend. Now they need to make something happen so they can qualify for the third round of the Chase. They have been fast all year and Brad has won a race at Charlotte in his ten starts here. I think this team qualifies in the top five this week and runs up front most of the race next Saturday night.

Kyle Busch: Kyle had a good finish at Kansas last week and he always runs well at Charlotte. He just needs to stay focused and not get frustrated early in a 500-mile race. He needs to trust that his crew chief will make the correct adjustments to make the car better as the race progresses and put him in contention late in the race.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Jimmie Johnson

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Joey Logano
• Brad Keselowski
• Carl Edwards
• Jamie McMurray

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Trevor Bayne
• Austin Dillon

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Brad Keselowski

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Kurt Busch