Kasey Kahne, who is ninth in the Chase standings, won at Lowe's in May so he will be seeking a season sweep at Charlotte. Kahne was 23rd in this event last year, and his average Cup finish at Lowe's is 18.8.

Tony Stewart is not in the Chase, but I still figure him to have a good shot at a win on Saturday night. The defending Cup champion has nine top-10s in 15 starts at Lowe's, where his average Cup finish in 13.7.

My darkhorse is Scott Riggs, who won the pole in May at Lowe's, and who had a chance to win the race before a mistake in the pits cost him.

Keys to success at Charlotte
The track has changed so much after being repaved last winter that it's totally different than it was before the resurfacing.

Last year at this oval, laser-grinding took place eliminating bumps and making the track super smooth and super fast. But in last fall's Charlotte Cup race, blown tires were a major issue.

The tire used in May's race was durable enough to get the job down and stand up to the increased speed created by the smoother track surface. There was no repeat of a rash of blown tires, but some drivers felt the tire was too hard and they did not have enough control of the car in the corners.  

Goodyear has conducted tests this year to help arrive at the proper compound to use on Saturday night. Goodyear is going with a slightly softer left-side tire on Saturday night so there should be more grip for the cars than there was in the May race.

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This new tire combined with the fact that the track surface that has had time to sit will make for some key unknowns in this race. There is no practice test under the lights, so that only adds to the uncertainty.

Another key factor is the forecast calling for extremely cool conditions on Saturday night. With hard tires, the cooler the track surface, the less grip the hard tires provide.

All in all, it should be a very interesting 501-mile race.

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