Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images file

Jimmie Johnson's mastery of Lowe's Motor Speedway could very well continue on Sunday night in the 600-mile Nextel Cup race at the Charlotte track, writes Johnny Benson of MSNBC.com.

Kasey Kahne swept the two Cup races at LMS last year, but based on his year to date it's not looking like he'll win for a third straight time in Charlotte. At times this season Kahne has run really well while at other times he hasn't impressed. So far 2007 has been hit or miss for Kahne, who knows he has to start making up ground in the standings as he is 30th in points.

Keep on eye on Kurt and Kyle Busch as well as Denny Hamlin. Their resumes at LMS don't stand out, but strong runs from all three could be part of Sunday night's story. Also, Dale Earnhardt Jr. races without crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who was suspended until July following a technical violation at Darlington.

Based on what I saw from Johnny Sauter in the All-Star event (he finished in the top 10), he's my darkhorse for this race.

Keys to success at Lowe's Motor Speedway
Racing the 600 miles at Charlotte -- the longest event on the Cup schedule -- has always been a very difficult test for drivers and teams as the event starts out in daylight and finishes under the lights.

The teams must adjust to the changing conditions if they are going to have a shot at winning. And with a new surface having been put down a couple of years ago, there's no question a very difficult challenge has gotten even more difficult.

I recently tested at LMS and the track has better grip now than it has had since the resurfacing. The surface has seasoned some more and the groove is starting to widen out so there will be some side-by-side racing. Probably after 300 or 400 miles the track will become friendlier for side-by-side racing.

There will be a bottom groove and eventually an outside groove and drivers will have to run both at least at some point in the event. But the drivers who best hug the bottom line should be the ones battling it out for the win.

As they have in the past hard tires could again prove a factor. With them it's very difficult to get good grip on the track for the first four or five laps after a tire change. With such a hard tire sometimes an issue called "chatter" comes into play. That's basically a vibrating sensation in the tires and it can be severe enough that drivers will be running on flats and not immediately realize it.