TV: FOX, 6:45 p.m. EDT

Laps: 400
Track length: 1.5 miles
Race length: 600 miles

Qualifying record: Dale Earnhardt Jr., 186.034 mph, 2000
Race record: Bobby Labonte, 151.952 mph, 1995

DRIVERS TO WATCH

Johnny Benson -- One of the more consistent drivers after 12 races; has finished in the top 10 seven times; best result was third in Texas; fourth in the standings, 17 points behind Rusty Wallace for third; looking for first career Winston Cup win.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Pole winner last year drove on to a fourth-place finish; dominated a good portion of the race, leading 175 of 400 laps; set track qualifying record mark of more than 186 miles per hour; standing still in 10th place of the standings the last three races; finished seventh at last week's non-points event The Winston at the speedway.

Jeff Gordon -- His seven poles and four wins at Lowe's Motor Speedway are most among active drivers; winning The Winston last week tied him with the late Dale Earnhardt with three at the event; crashed on the first lap as track was wet and stated the HANS device may have saved him from major injury on the impact; race was delayed by more than two hours; used backup car to win; three-time winner of the 600-mile race; has finished in the top five in seven of 11 points races this year, including victory in Las Vegas and three second-place finishes; narrowed the lead of Dale Jarrett to 14 points in the Winston Cup standings.

Bobby Hamilton -- One of nine different winners this year; won the Talladega 500 to be part of The Winston event; was his fourth career win; ninth in the points standings.

Dale Jarrett -- Points leader after 12 races by 14 points over Jeff Gordon; won three races and has finished in the top five six times, including last week at The Winston; won the Coca-Cola 600 in 1996 and was fifth the past two years.

Matt Kenseth -- Lowe's Motor Speedway was the site of his first career Winston Cup victory at last year's Coca-Cola 600; only two top-10s in 12 races this season, with sixth at the Virginia 500 being his highest finish.

Bobby Labonte -- First career Winston Cup victory came at the Coca-Cola 600 in 1995; knows his way around the 1 1/2-mile speedway, having finished second the last two years in this race and third in 1998.

Tony Stewart -- Will attempt a 1999 repeat of doubly duty on May 27, running the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600; did quite well that year by finishing 10th in the Indy 500 and fourth at Charlotte; has been red hot in the past five races, including The Winston where he finished third; won the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond and finished in the top seven the previous three races; up to eighth in the series points standings.

Rusty Wallace -- A two-time winner in Charlotte, including the Coca-Cola 600 in 1990; scored six top-10 finishes this year, including career win 54, tying Lee Petty for seventh on the all-time list; third place in the series standings, 62 points behind Dale Jarrett.

* Race changed from 400 miles to 600 miles