NASCAR Cup Series

DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET Met with media and discussed Memorial Day, running in the longest race of the year, how the Coca-Cola 600 compares to the All-Star race, and more.

The sunshine in turn three at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday hampered Trevor Bayne on his qualifying lap, but a sunny day was just what Bayne and the crew of his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion needed to qualify for the Wood Brothers’ 1,400th Sprint Cup start.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - Starting Position: 1st - How was your qualifying run? "We just ran real fast. The entire FedEx Office team just gave me an awesome car this weekend. We knew we had to improve from last week. We didn't improve the way we wanted. All these guys here sucked up and made a helluva run."

Behind the wheel of his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet SS, Kurt Busch posted a quick lap time of 27.661 to qualify second for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This will mark his fourth top-10 start of the 2013 season, and his sixth in 26 races on the 1.5- mile D-shaped oval.

Although he’s still recovering from a serious back injury that kept him off the track for a few weeks nothing was going to keep Denny Hamlin from winning the pole for Sunday’s Coca Cola 600. Hamlin turned the track at 195.624 mph, a new track record for the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

As NASCAR’s elite briefly battled Mother Nature and then each other, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the aftermath of the 2013 Sprint All-Star Race.

When you talk about the most prestigious races in NASCAR, the Coca Cola 600 is easily in the top two or three. Charlotte is the home for most of the teams which already gives this race importance but it is also the longest race on the NASCAR schedule.

Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart. Between them these active former champions have already claimed a dozen Cup crowns and 187 race victories. One day, hopefully a good number of years from now, this trio will gain entry into the Hall of Fame on their first attempt. Just as Maurice Petty and Dale Jarrett experienced this week.