Coca-Cola 600

Site: Concord, N.C.

TV: 2 p.m. on Fox 28

Track: Lowe’s Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles, 24 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 600 miles, 400 laps.

Last year: Casey Mears stretched his fuel to the finish line to win the Coca-Cola 600 for his first Cup victory. Mears ran strongly all race and took the lead when others ducked onto pit road. Mears and his team gambled and pushed their Chevrolet to the finish, running out of gas moments after he took the checkered flag.

Fast facts: Dale Jarrett finished 21st in the All-Star race to wrap up his storied career. The 1999 champion won 32 times, including three Daytona 500s. … Jeff Gordon won the most recent points race at Lowe’s, taking the Bank of America 500 on Oct. 13. His first Cup win came in the 1994 event. … The No. 40 Dodge will be back for this week’s race, with Sterling Marlin likely behind the wheel instead of Dario Franchitti. Franchitti was injured earlier this month in a wreck at Talladega, and has missed three Cup starts. … Jimmie Johnson has won five times at Lowe’s – including three consecutive 600s, from 2003-2005. His statistics at the speedway over the last three years far outpace the rest of the field. His Driver Rating is a series-high 120.2, which is 26 points more than second-place Kyle Busch (94.3).