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The longest race of the season also is worth the most points for NASCAR Cup Series drivers. Thanks to an extra stage, the Coca-Cola 600 can be worth as many as 70 points for drivers, as the event is divided into four equal stages of 100 laps apiece at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It also means an extra playoff point available. It shouldn't be a surprise that Kevin Harvick has the most stage wins this year with six, followed by Brad Keselowski (four), Ryan Blaney (three) and then Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. with two apiece. Here's how the lineup breaks down for the race Sunday night: 1. Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota): Charlotte is the only track -- tracks, if including the Charlotte road course to be used in September -- on the circuit where Busch has not won a Cup points race. Interesting stat: Busch has more race wins (three) than stage wins (two) this year. 2. Joey Logano (Team Penske No. 22 Ford): First top-five starting spot in past four starts at Charlotte for Logano, who has not had a top-5 finish in the four Charlotte races since his win in October 2015. 3. Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota): He has 13 top-10 finishes in his past 15 Charlotte starts. 4. Erik Jones (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota): Jones matches his best starting spot of the season. He started fourth at Fontana earlier this year. 5. Brad Keselowski (Team Penske No. 2 Ford): He has not led a lap in his past five Charlotte starts. 6. Ryan Newman (Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet): This is his best starting spot since qualifying second at Atlanta. 7. Jamie McMurray (Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 Chevrolet): He was fifth at Charlotte last October and could use a repeat to boost his frustrating season. 8. Ryan Blaney (Team Penske No. 12 Ford): Team owner Roger Penske was selected for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and his drivers all qualify in the top eight. A good week so far. Blaney could use something good -- he has a 23.2 average finish at Charlotte. 9. Aric Almirola (Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford): He started on the pole in this race six years ago. He has a career best of 10th in 11 Charlotte starts. 10. Daniel Suarez (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota): This qualifying effort is not a surprise -- he was sixth in the Charlotte race last October. 11. Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet): Traditionally, Larson doesn't qualify great at Charlotte, where he has an average starting spot of 23.1. 12. Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet): He's the defending winner of this race and he started 22nd in that event. 13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford): Stenhouse doesn't have a top-10 in 12 Cup starts at Charlotte. 14. Paul Menard (Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford): Menard sits 25 points outside of a playoff spot. He needs consistent top-15 finishes (and some stage points) to make a run. 15. Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota): This was only the third time all year that he didn't make the final round of qualifying. 16. Kurt Busch (Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Ford): He had made the final round of qualifying for seven consecutive races before this week. 17. Matt Kenseth (Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford): It was his first group qualifying effort for the year. His car never got through tech a couple of weeks ago at Kansas. 18. Chris Buescher (JTG Daugherty Racing No. 37 Chevrolet): Buescher has started in the top 20 in five of the past seven Cup races. 19. David Ragan (Front Row Motorsports No. 38 Ford): A 13th at Kansas lifted him to 25th in the standings, his highest this season. 20. Ty Dillon (Germain Racing No. 13 Chevrolet): He had not made the second round of qualifying in five consecutive races. 21. William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet): The best starting spot of the Hendrick team, in his first Cup start at Charlotte. 22. Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet): He finished second at Charlotte last October. The way he's been running, he probably would love just a top-5. 23. Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet): Johnson's eight wins at Charlotte are more than any other driver. 24. Darrell Wallace Jr. (Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Chevrolet): His past three Xfinity races at Charlotte did not go well, so he's looking to turn his fortune around at this track. 25. Ross Chastain (Premium Motorsports No. 15 Chevrolet): This is the best starting spot of the season for Chastain, who continues to earn respect as a driver. 26. Kasey Kahne (Leavine Family Racing No. 95 Chevrolet): In 28 Cup starts at Charlotte, he has started worse only two other times. 27. Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet): A disappointing starting spot for Bowman, who qualified on the front row at Charlotte in October 2016. 28. Clint Bowyer (Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Ford): Bowyer has zero top-10s in his past nine Charlotte starts. 29. Michael McDowell (Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford): McDowell has top-20 finishes in two of his past three Charlotte starts. 30. AJ Allmendinger (JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 Chevrolet): He would probably take a repeat of Kansas, where he finished 16th. 31. Matt DiBenedetto (Go Fas Racing No. 32 Ford): He had his best Charlotte result last October when he finished 23rd. 32. Parker Kligerman (Gaunt Brothers Racing No. 96 Toyota): This is Kligerman's first Cup race since 2014. 33. Corey LaJoie (TriStar Motorsports No. 72 Chevrolet): LaJoie's 24th-place finish at Kansas a couple of weeks ago was a season best. 34. Gray Gaulding (BK Racing No. 23 Toyota): Gaulding has three consecutive top-30 finishes. 35. Landon Cassill (StarCom Racing No. 00 Chevrolet): He had qualified better in his previous two races. 36. Timmy Hill (Carl Long Motorsports No. 66 Toyota): Hill finished 32nd in this car two weeks ago at Kansas. 37. Jeffrey Earnhardt (Premium Motorsports No. 55 Chevrolet): Earnhardt competed in the first five races in the No. 00 car and makes his return after missing the past seven events. 38. B.J. McLeod (Rick Ware Racing No. 51 Chevrolet): McLeod competed in the Cup race last October at Charlotte and finished 32nd. 39. Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford): Harvick never made a qualifying lap after not getting through tech. Harvick is one of five drivers since 1980 to win five of the first 12 races: Jeff Gordon (1997), Dale Earnhardt (1987), Bill Elliott (1985) and Darrell Waltrip (1982). All of them won at least 10 races and all but Elliott won the championship in those seasons. 40. J.J. Yeley (NY Racing No. 7 Chevrolet): Jonathan Cohen, who owned the Xtreme Motorsports car a couple of years ago, is making his return as a car owner with Yeley behind the wheel.
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