Racing Marathon’s Main Event - The Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 Race Primer

It’s the most exciting motorsports weekend of the year with Monaco, Indianapolis and the Coca-Cola 600. The latter is the main event and final show of the weekend, NASCAR’s longest race of the season and one of the sport’s crown jewels.

It’s the only race on the Sprint Cup schedule that fully captures the complete embodiment of what it means to win in NASCAR.

It’s grueling, lengthy, and intense, often requiring a fair amount of luck.

At 400 laps (and 600 miles) the Coca-Cola 600 is NASCAR’s longest race. It begins in the late afternoon in the setting sun and ends at night, providing one of the circuit’s most drastic track changes.

At such drastic lengths, the Coke 600 is often prone to May showers, with many events getting delayed or postponed. That alone washes the track of valuable grip and alters race strategy throughout the field.

The length, location, and history make it one of NASCAR’s big four races (the others are Daytona, Darlington, and the Brickyard). It’s one of the most coveted trophies and one of its oldest. The World 600 traces its history all the back to 1960.

The Hall of Fame Ceremony was held Monday night, fitting when you consider that only the elite win the 600, with four of seven driver-hall of famers having won the event.

Other winners include Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Bobby Labonte. You get the drift. You don’t win by fluke in the Coca-Cola 600.

Read about the 2011 contenders after the jump!

Five-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson has six Charlotte victories. He won five times in a six-race stretch at the track - taking the 2003 Coca-Cola 600 and sweeping the spring and fall races in 2004 and 2005. He also won the 2009 fall race.

Phew. But I’m not done yet.

Five-time also has 14 Top-10s, an average finish of 9.8 and a series-best driver rating of 114.7. He’s as close to a favorite as the Coca-Cola 600 has.

Could Matt Kenseth win back-to-back points paying races? He’s trending in the right direction and has the pedigree to win the 600, having previously won at the track in 2004. His driver rating at CMS is 89.4, sixth-best in Sprint Cup and averages a 15^th place finish in 23 starts at 1.5-mile oval. He has six top-5s and 12 top-10s and was especially competitive at this year’s All Star Race. Look for Matt Kenseth near the top with less than 100 laps to go.

How about a surprise pick - a dark horse candidate, if you will?

Joey Logano has just four points-paying starts at Charlotte but has taken to the intermediate-mainstay like no other youngster. In just two seasons, Logano averages an 8.5 place finish with a driver rating of 102.8, third-best in Sprint Cup racing.

His average running place, 9.6, is second-best in the series, insists he’ll never be far from the leaders. A win would make Sliced Bread an instant Chase contender and turn the young Connecticut-based driver’s season around.

Charlotte tends to favor veteran drivers and Mark Martin definitely fits the bill. Even at 53 years old, Martin remains one of the most athletically fit drivers in the garage.

Martin is one of the top statistical performers at Charlotte, with four wins, 18 Top-5s, 23 Top-10s and a driver’s rating of 92.6. His average finish of 15.7 is only marred by incredible bad luck, 13 DNFs in 52 starts. Martin should be a factor if he keeps his nose clean.

The Coca-Cola 600 will be held at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29 with the FOX television broadcast starting at 5:30 p.m. EST.