Heads up: Charlotte weekend

Here are the hot topics, trending news and key story lines to get you ready for this weekend's races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

WEATHER

Hurricane Matthew could make this weekend very soggy. Or, Matthew could take a turn and not affect Charlotte weather much at all. Right now, the National Weather Service says a high of 73 and partly sunny Thursday, with Sprint Cup Coors Light Pole Qualifying scheduled for that evening at 7:20 p.m. ET. Rain is expected to roll in Friday afternoon after 3 p.m. ET, with a 60-percent chance of rain. The chance of rain rises to 70 percent Friday evening -- the XFINITY Series Drive for the Cure 300 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC is scheduled for 8 p.m. -- and settles at 60 percent Saturday.

All of this is subject to rapid changes, however, with Matthew's path uncertain.

KEY TIMES



Sprint Cup Series: The Sprint Cup Series holds its first practice Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App), with Coors Light Pole qualifying at 7:20 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App).

 The Bank of America 500 is at 7 p.m. ET Saturday (NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

XFINITY Series: The XFINITY Series opens practice Thursday at 3 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App) and qualifies Friday at 4:45 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App). The Drive for the Cure 300 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC is Friday at 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).



CATCH DRIVERS LIVE



We'll stream every driver press conference in the Charlotte media center at NASCAR.com/presspass. Click here for a full schedule. Click here to tune into the live stream.

LAST TIME

The Bank of America 500 in 2015 was rained out and postponed until Sunday, but Joey Logano didn't suffer any ill effects from the delay. Logano led 227 of 334 laps en route to the first victory of his dominating Round of 12 in which he won all three races (Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega). 

YOU SHOULD KNOW


• Joey Logano returns to the race where his (shortlived) 2015 postseason dominance began. Logano swept the Round of 12 a year ago, but hasn't been nearly as triumphant this season, with just one win at Michigan in June. Still, in Logano's last eight races this season, he's had only one finish outside the top 10, and that was a near miss (11th). Is he on the verge of rediscovering last year's magic?

• Martin Truex Jr. has won three of the last five races (Darlington, Chicago and Dover), which now gives him more wins this season (four) than in the rest of his career, combined. And who can forget how Truex Jr. led all but eight laps at this track in May at the Coca-Cola 600? He's en fuego.

• This is a cut-off race for the inaugural XFINITY Series Chase, with only Elliott Sadler and Daniel Suarez guaranteed trips to the Round of 8 by virtue of their first-round victories. Early title favorites Ty Dillon (ninth) and Erik Jones (10th) currently are on the outside looking in, and a Charlotte win would guarantee a spot in the next round.

THE FAVORITE

Martin Truex Jr. Is there anyone hotter right now? Truex Jr. won at both Chicago and Dover in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup's opening round. Now, he's returning to the track where he had one of the most dominating performances in NASCAR history when he led 392 of 400 laps at the Coca-Cola 600 in May. It's hard to bet against him right now.

Others to consider: Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson.

THE SLEEPER

Austin Dillon. When Dillon needed a clutch performance last week in Dover, he came through with an eighth-place finish that pushed him through to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup's Round of 12. Charlotte is Dillon's second-best track, with a 12.8 average finish. Is he ready for a breakthrough?


Others to consider: Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin.

STAFF PICKS

Martin Truex Jr.: 3
Jimmie Johnson: 2
Kevin Harvick: 2
Brad Keselowski: 1
Kyle Busch: 1

Radioactive:Dover-"That was [expletive] brilliant, guys.Nice work.

Check out all the best scanner audio from the Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Best Dover scanner sound:'That was [expletive] brilliant, guys.Nice work.'

Jamie McMurray saw his chance to advance in the Chase go up in smoke after blowing an engine in Sunday's elimination race at Dover International Speedway.Listen to McMurray's reaction and all the best scanner sound from the Monster Mile with this week's edition of "Radioactive."

Todd Parrott returns as Sprint Cup crew chief

Veteran crew chief Todd Parrott will return atop the pit box this weekend.

Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing announced Wednesday afternoon that Parrott would serve as the crew chief for its No. 95 Chevrolet for the remainder of the season.

As a crew chief in the Sprint Cup series, Parrott guided drivers to 31 victories, 144 top fives and 230 top 10s. He was the crew chief for Dale Jarrett’s 1999 championship.
Before the 2015 season, Parrott had been hired as the Xfinity Series competition director at Richard Childress Racing, which has an alliance with Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing
Here’s the release from the No. 95 team:

Team leadership at Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing has announced that Todd Parrott will assume crew chief duties for the No. 95 entry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the remainder of the 2016 season.  Dave Winston will move to a race engineer role within the organization.

“Todd brings a depth of knowledge to our team and I’m excited to have him on top of the pit box at all of our races for the remainder of 2016,” said Jeremy Lange, VP of CSLFR.  “Todd has been calling the races while Ty Dillon has been in the car and we’re pleased to be able to continue our alliance with Richard Childress Racing and use their resources to help our growing team.”

Parrott has more than 20 years of experience in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage and won a championship with driver Dale Jarrett in 1999.

NASCAR America:Scan All from Dover

After a hectic weekend, NASCAR America gives you all access to the Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover in Scan All. Relive the race through the best radio communication from the race.

Lesson learned: Joey Logano admits he should have called Matt Kenseth last year

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nearly a year after a retribution-seeking Matt Kenseth sent Joey Logano’s championship hopes crashing into a wall, Logano admits he would have changed one thing about what happened between the two drivers.

He would have called Kenseth.

A year ago, Kenseth spun after contact from Logano in the final laps at Kansas during the Chase as they raced for the win. Logano celebrated. Kenseth seethed.

Kenseth said that day that Logano’s decision “strategically” wasn’t the best. Logano called it hard racing, noting how Kenseth blocked him.

But any comments they made were done through the media. Logano admitted he wasn’t sure what good a call would do, fearing Kenseth was “going to be more mad (and) I could make this worse.’’

So Logano never called, never texted and never reached out to Kenseth, who stewed and made his move three weeks later at Martinsville.

Already upset after contact with Logano’s teammate, Brad Keselowski, Kenseth later turned his wrecked car into Logano’s. Kenseth’s move took Logano out of the lead, costing Logano a possible win and advancement to the championship round. Logano’s Chase ended in that round.

Tuesday, Logano talked about that incident and what he’s learned since.

“I think you grow from every situation you’re put in,’’ he said at a media event promoting Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “In all honesty, what would I do different? I probably would have picked up the phone. Maybe we would have disagreed then and nothing changed, but at least I called. I didn’t know what I was going to say, and I didn’t think it was anything he wanted to hear.’’

Logano said his attitude also has changed in recent years.

He admits his attitude used to be more like “I’m here to win, and I don’t care if someone doesn’t like me.’’

That was evident in previous confrontations with Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin.

That’s not how Logano views things now.

“I over-communicate more,’’ Logano said. “If someone gave me extra room on the race track one day, I make sure they know, thank you.’’

Logano said he texted Stewart a thank you note after Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway. Stewart’s pit stall was in front of Logano. Because Logano was in front of Stewart throughout the race, Logano would exit his stall when Stewart was still in his under caution. Logano said Stewart gave Logano “plenty of room” to exit his stall.

Logano also become more friendly to other drivers, particularly younger drivers in the series.

“It has been fun to build those relationships up and create those friendships,’’ he said. “It’s easier now because a lot of the guys are my age. You have a lot in common. You’re able to talk to them about stuff that is not racing, which is kind of fun.’’

Logano admits they’re still competitors and things can happen between them but he now better knows how to diffuse a tense situation and prevent it from escalating.

Jeb Burton back in No. 98 for Xfinity Series race at Charlotte

Jeb Burton will compete in his 14th Xfinity Series race of the year this weekend in the Drive for the Cure 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Burton, the son of former Sprint Cup driver Ward Burton, will make his third start in the No. 98 Ford Mustang of Biagi-DenBeste Racing. Burton drove the No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports in the first 11 races of the year. For Biagi-DenBeste Racing he has started at Indianapolis and Richmond, with a best finish of 12th at Indy.

“Our goal this weekend is to maintain good track position and get another top-10 finish,” Burton said in a press release. “I’m ready to be back racing and bring home a top finish for the whole organization.”

Biagi-DenBeste Racing has one win this year. Aric Almirola took the No. 98 to victory lane in the July race at Daytona International Speedway for the team’s second win in the Xfinity Series in 210 starts.

Burton will be making just his 16th career Xfinity start. His last start for Richard Petty Motorsports came in the May race at Charlotte, where he finished 11th.