There have been eight consecutive different winners at Charlotte Motor Speedway although one name stands out: Kasey Kahne. The first-year Hendrick Motorsports competitor won May’s Coca-Cola 600 and is the most recent to win twice (2008) at the track. Kahne has four victories overall and owns the third-best Driver Rating (97.5) at the 1.5-mile intermediate track behind Johnson (111.0) and Kyle Busch (107.5). He ranks fourth in Chase standings, 36 points behind Keselowski.

Eight of May’s Coca-Cola 600’s top-10 finishers ultimately qualified for the Chase. Hamlin finished second with Greg Biffle fourth and Keselowski fifth. Johnson was 11th. He shares the most Charlotte wins (six) with NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip.