Local Look: Charlotte

Event: UAW-GM Quality 500

Local papers covering: Charlotte Observer, Winston-Salem Journal, Greensboro News and Record

The deal: David Poole of the Charlotte Observer says statistically speaking, qualifying doesn't mean nearly as much as it used to.

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Before 1999, 83.7 percent of Cup races held at tracks that are still on the schedule were won from top-10 starting spots. In almost six full seasons since the 1999 Daytona 500, that percentage is 49 percent.

Why we care: When Johnson won from the pole in May at Charlotte, he became the first pole-winner to win a Cup race at Charlotte since Gordon won the 1998 Coca-Cola 600 after starting first. Remarkably, the last time Charlotte's fall race was won from the pole was 1982 when Harry Gant did it.

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The deal: Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal says Elliott Sadler is a distant 143 points down in the race for the Nextel Cup championship, but right now he's making the biggest waves and looking strong.

Elliott Sadler

"This is one of the tracks that I excel at," Sadler told the paper of Lowe's Motor Speedway, the site for Saturday's UAW-GM Quality 500. "I usually qualify good, and we led a bunch of laps in the spring. I was running third or fourth in the fall, and we got caught up in somebody else's stuff. So I've got a lot of confidence."

Why we care: Sadler is fourth in the standings, a 19-spot improvement over his 23rd-place finish in last season's standings.

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The deal: Dustin Long of the Greensboro News and Record says while several of his contemporaries are making retirement announcements, Ricky Rudd says he's not ready to talk about that just yet.

Ricky Rudd

"To me, right now, racing is fun. I don't feel like there's an immediate timeline when I can still run good now," Rudd told the paper. "We've run bad for a year and a half and, believe me, if weighs heavily on your mind. All of a sudden, you start thinking, "Is it me?'

"All of a sudden you hop in a good race car that goes around the corner and you get those questions sort of re-answered and it sort of rejuvenates you a little bit and makes you want to hang around a little longer.'"

Why we care: The 48-year-old Rudd finished second to Joe Nemechek on Sunday at Kansas Speedway for Rudd's third consecutive top-12 finish.

That is Rudd's best streak since a similar run last fall. He has not had four consecutive top-12 finishes since early in the 2002 season.

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The deal: Greer Smith of the High Point Enterprise says Tony Stewart refuses to buy into talk that the chase for the NASCAR Cup is turning into a three-man race.

Tony Stewart

"No one gave us much of a chance when we came from 43rd in the Daytona 500 to win the championship in 2002," Stewart said. "So it's not impossible. We're close enough in points that we can be as high as second after Charlotte.

"Six races to go is a long time. And you have to take it one day at a time because something on qualifying day can directly impact you on the day of the race."

Why we care: Stewart has reason to be optimistic that he can make up ground. He is the defending champion in the 334-lap event and has led 414 laps (with six top-5 finishes) in 11 LMS starts.

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