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500 and 600

by Serendipitous | Published on May 22nd, 2008, 10:22 am | Sports
500 and 600. Two numbers and two meanings... at least for me anyway. :)

First, the IRL's Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 are this weekend. Second, and of course as luck would have it, my 500th Greensboring post would sync up with the Sprint Cup race that is 600 miles!!! :evil:

So here it comes! The Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. A race to rival the Indianapolis 500. A race to see which NASCAR fans and drivers can hold up through an extra 100 miles.

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Here's a Coca-Cola 600 history lesson from Wikipedia.
The event was started as an attempt by NASCAR to stage a Memorial Day weekend event that would rival the open-wheel Indianapolis 500 in fan interest and it has succeeded, gaining larger TV ratings than the Indianapolis race from 2002-2004. It was not until 1974, however, that both races competed head-to-head on the same day[1]. Prior to 1974, the two races were held on different days of the week, and on a few occasions, some drivers drove in both; this continued even after the 600 was moved to the same day, albeit to a smaller degree.


Any previous winners have a good shot?
Let’s start with last year’s winner, Casey Mears. He not only celebrated a Coca-Cola 600 victory, but it was also his first career win. Based on this year’s stats so far, I’m not sure that we’ll see a repeat win from him this year. One can always hope!

Kasey Kahne won the 600 in 2006 and is coming off his 2008 All-Star Race victory. He’s 13th in the standings and is “in it to win it” but I don’t know if he’s going to hold off some of the other drivers.

And with LMS being “Jimmie’s house”, there is always a chance that with 3-consecutive Coca-Cola 600 wins (2003-2005) Jimmie Johnson will get it back from Casey and Kasey.

Then there’s Jimmie’s teammate, Jeff Gordon, who is also a 3 time winner. Sure, Jeff has a chance to win too. :| Other previous winners / current drivers include Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth. Check out the Wiki article for more names; I've prolly forgotten some!

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What can we expect to see this year?
I dunno. But what I would like to see is someone putting Kyle Busch in his place. I’ll admit two things: 1) I’ve seen him do less stupid things on the track compared to previous years, and 2) He is a very talented driver. HOWEVER his attitude has GOT to go. He was already my least favorite driver before the run-in with Dale Jr, but the I Hate Kyle klub has grown since Kyle frakked with Jr Nation and what could've been the end of Jr's winless streak.

Is 3 a magic number?
3 is a magic number according to SchoolHouse Rocks! and your elementary school math teachers. :lol:
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is currently 3rd in the standings. Maybe this 600 (ooh! it is evenly divisible by 3) will end the streak of 70-some-odd races without a win. Maybe Dale Jr will go on to be a 3-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600, like his father, the driver of the 3 car.

Three. Tres. Trois.
Trinity. Triology. Trio.
:mrgreen:

Okay, so maybe I’m just getting a little silly here, throwing you a bunch of number three bulls#it, much like throwing chicken bones at the track (or my still unfulfilled dream of throwing a punch at Kyle Busch)...all because it's fun and you can make coincidence seem significant when it's really not . :twisted: The one thing that doesn’t change is the Coca-Cola 600 is this weekend… and (coincidentally to see 3 races), I am soooooooooooooo there!

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Congrats on reaching your 500th post. May you have many thousand more. 8)

While racing isn't my "cup-o-tea," I rather expect that this weekend is about to you like March Madness is to me. Enjoy! :mrgreen:
May 22nd, 2008, 11:52 am
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SouthernFriedInfidel
 
Location: 5th circle of hell -- actually not very crowded at the moment.
Congrats on the 500! Condolences on the 600! 8)
"You can't put the civil rights of a minority up for a majority vote."
May 22nd, 2008, 3:57 pm
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Sanjuro
Expert...on everything...
 
This will only be my 3rd race. (LOL wow, another 3... and I'm not even trying to cite more three's!)
May 23rd, 2008, 7:59 am
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Serendipitous
This is my world and I am the world leader...pretend.
 
Location: in the now

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