Jeff Gordon is the pole-sitter for the Bank of America 500, the fifth race of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night at 7:45, while Sprint Cup points leader Jimmie Johnson will start at Hendrick Motorsports' home track in the No. 10 spot.

Gamblers interested in investing in the outcome of this race should know that Johnson has won at Charlotte six times and he won five consecutive races from 2003-05. Chevrolet has won 10 of the last 15 races but has notched only one win in the past four races at CMS.

Who will win the Bank of America 500?

For all intents and purposes, Chase drivers who are more than 150 points out of first place have little or no shot of drinking from the Sprint Cup this year. This effectively eliminates the bottom six drivers; Carl Edwards (-162), Jeff Burton (-177), Kyle Busch (-187), Greg Biffle (-215), Matt Kenseth (-241), and Clint Bowyer (-247). While it’s not impossible for Edwards to make a run at the lead like he did in 2008, it is improbable. Consider that all Johnson needs to do to win his fifth straight Sprint Cup is avoid mechanical failure and finish within the top five in the final six races.

Johnson is set as the +400 favorite to win the Bank of America 500 despite qualifying 10th. Johnson is the defending champion and won the race in Oct. 2009 from the pole. Last week he was considered a virtual ‘lock’ to win at Fontana, and if the track had stayed green Johnson would have. He led three times for 22 laps, but fell to third after the final caution and finished behind Bowyer and race winner Tony Stewart.

Realistically, there are only five drivers that are likely to catch Johnson, who extended his lead to 36 points ahead of Denny Hamlin, 54 points ahead of Kevin Harvick and 85 points in front of Jeff Gordon. Stewart is currently in fifth place and 107 points behind Johnson thanks to his win last Sunday at California.

Neither Hamlin nor Harvick have won at Charlotte. Harvick has three top-10 finishes and one top-five finish in 19 starts (way back in 2003). Harvick finished 11th in May but will need to finish much closer to the front if he hopes to keep pace with Johnson at CMS. Meanwhile, Hamlin has posted similar numbers with three top-10 finishes and no top-five finishes in 10 starts. Hamlin finished 42nd last October and 18th in May.

Listening to Kyle Busch fume after his engine blew up at Fontana, you'd think he has given up on the Chase. While the Sprint Cup might be out of his reach, there are still six races and with nothing to lose expect to see Kyle push the envelope and give the fans some bump-n-runs to cheer about. Kyle has finished in the top-five in his last four Charlotte races and we are likely to see the wreck-em or win-em racing that is his trademark. Kyle will start from sixth on the grid (which is the third row in NASCAR parlance). 
    
Pick! Kyle Busch, No. 16, +700

Bank of America 500 - Long Odds Lucky Dog Pick

Kurt Busch will make history by going for the season sweep at Charlotte on Saturday night. No driver has won all three Charlotte races in a single season and Bush already has the won the last two races, the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600. Busch is in sixth place and 140 points behind Johnson. Busch was 10th in this race last October, but has four to-five finishes in and five top-10s in 20 starts at CMS. Busch will drive a new car for the race, Chassis PRS-738, so he won't bring the chassis that won the last two races, but the new chassis is supposed to be faster. We'll see, but I cannot think of a better long-odds pick for the BofA 500 than the elder Busch.    

Pick! Kurt Busch, No. 2, +1500

Bank of America 500 - Top Three Finish

Despite starting this race from the pole I am convinced that Crew Chief Steve Letarte is still unable to put together a race from start to finish without something fouling up the plan. At Charlotte Gordon is in prime position to break his 59-race winless streak, the longest losing streak of his 18-year career. And it could happen at Charlotte where drivers who seek the clean air are rewarded. Winning his 69th pole of his career is a great place for Gordon to start Saturday night, and perhaps to pick up some crucial points on Double-J. Gordon did not run well at CMS in May, but finished fifth at Kansas. He has everything going for him this Saturday, but the way he has been unable to close races I wouldn't be surprised to see him finish in the top three.

Pick! Jeff Gordon, No. 24, +150

Bank of America 500 - Odds to Finish in Top Three*
Charlotte Motor Speedway - Oct.16, 2010 7:45 pm EDT

Jimmie Johnson +120
Jeff Gordon +150
Carl Edwards +175
Kyle Busch +225
Kevin Harvick +450
Denny Hamlin +450
Greg Biffle +450
Tony Stewart +450
Kurt Busch +450
Matt Kenseth +600
Mark Martin +750
AJ Allmendinger +750
Jeff Burton +750
Kasey Kahne +750
Dale Earnhardt Jr +900
Joey Logano +900
Clint Bowyer +900
David Reutimann +900
Martin Truex Jr +1200
Ryan Newman +1200
Paul Menard +1200
Jamie McMurray +1500
Juan Pablo Montoya +1500
Marcos Ambrose +3000
David Ragan +3000
Reed Sorenson +3000
Elliott Sadler +3000
Brad Keselowski +6000
Sam Hornish Jr +6000
zx Field (Any Other Driver)+15000
Regan Smith +30000
Scott Speed +30000
Bobby Labonte +30000
Travis Kvapil +150000

Bank of America 500 - Odds to Win*
Charlotte Motor Speedway - Oct.16, 2010 7:45 pm EDT

Jimmie Johnson +400
Jeff Gordon +500
Carl Edwards +600
Kyle Busch +700
Kevin Harvick +1500
Denny Hamlin +1500
Kurt Busch +1500
Tony Stewart +1500
Greg Biffle +1500
Matt Kenseth +2000
AJ Allmendinger +2500
Jeff Burton +2500
Mark Martin +2500
Kasey Kahne +2500
Joey Logano +3000
David Reutimann +3000
Dale Earnhardt Jr +3000
Clint Bowyer +3000
Ryan Newman +4000
Martin Truex Jr +4000
Paul Menard +4000
Jamie McMurray +5000
Juan Pablo Montoya +5000
David Ragan +10000
Reed Sorenson +10000
Marcos Ambrose +10000
Elliott Sadler +10000
Brad Keselowski +20000
Sam Hornish Jr +20000
zx Field (Any Other Driver) +50000
Bobby Labonte +100000
Scott Speed +100000
Regan Smith +100000
Travis Kvapil +500000