A snoozer? NASCAR wants no part of it this Sunday at Charlotte

If ever NASCAR needed an exciting race it's this Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.

Now that open-wheel racing is back under one roof, the Indianapolis 500 run earlier in the day will generate much more interest than it has in nearly a decade.

Intermediate tracks? Carl Edwards has no problems on them. (Getty Images)

With Danica Patrick back in the spotlight as a legitimate contender to win the race and a newly replenished roster of established stars and up-and-coming drivers, this year's 500 will give NASCAR a run for its money in the attention department.

And if the 500 turns out to be a thrilling race with one of the several compelling storylines coming to fruition, not the least of which would be Patrick standing in Victory Lane, the last thing NASCAR needs is a 600-mile stinker in Charlotte.

Unfortunately, things don't look very promising at this point.

Last week's All-Star Race was a complete snoozer with drivers continuing to blame the new Sprint Cup car for a lack of passing or side-by-side competition.

The four-segment, 100-lap race was pretty much a single-file parade all the way to the end including when eventual winner Kasey Kahne finally took the lead, only after not taking tires on the final pit stop to move up to the top spot.

Once in front, Kahne cruised to the checkered flag while the rest of the field followed one car behind the other.

"It was nearly impossible to get a handle on what this car wanted to do despite the adjustments we made during the night," said Greg Biffle, who came home second to Kahne. "That was only 100 laps. Sunday we have 400 and 600 miles. It should be interesting."

The Coca-Cola 600 is always a difficult challenge for drivers and teams because of the changing conditions they face in the longest race of the season.

The race begins in the late afternoon sun and then finishes under the lights, making for a long day of adjustments and changes to ensure a car runs competitively in the different environments.

"It's going to be a long, long night," said Jeff Gordon. "It's going to be tough; it always is. Six hundred miles here is quite an experience and you've got to survive. You've got to go from day to night conditions and you've got to be there and good on the lead lap when it really counts."

Now throw the finicky new Cup car into the equation and Sunday's race becomes an even tougher holiday weekend drive.