Backstretch Motorsports

CONCORD, N.C. — For Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle, the finish of Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 was a replay of the May 17 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Kahne took the checkered flag with Biffle chasing him for the final three laps, but what happened in the first 397 laps of the 400-lap marathon featured more subplots than an Agatha Christie novel.

Seizing the moment when Tony Stewart blew a tire while leading on Lap 397, Kahne streaked to the finish 10.203 seconds ahead of Biffle, who recovered from a loose wheel and a lost lap early in the race to claim the runner-up spot.

Kyle Busch ran third, despite a litany of problems that included a failing battery — which the No. 18 team changed under caution on Lap 298 — and a lost lap for an unscheduled pit stop when Busch thought he had a tire losing air. Busch extended his series points lead to 94 over sixth-place finisher Jeff Burton.

Gambling on fuel mileage after spending most of the race mired in traffic, Jeff Gordon ran fourth, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who survived a blown tire and getting hit from behind on Lap 297. Nursing his battered No. 88 Chevrolet to the finish, Earnhardt solidified his third-place standing in the points, 139 behind Busch.

Thanks to quick work in the pits on a gas-and-go stop on Lap 388, Stewart held a lead of more than five seconds over Kahne, but on Lap 397 Stewart blew a right front tire in Turn 1, surrendering the lead to Kahne less than a half-lap later.

“I was thinking second, and then I saw Tony slow up,” said Kahne, who won for the eighth time in his career and for the first time since October 2006 at Lowe’s. “I thought he was out of gas, and I couldn’t believe it.

“He went into Turn 1 and he was high (in the corner), and when I came off Turn 2 he was low and slow.”

Kahne is the sixth driver to win the Coca-Cola 600 and the all-star race in the same year and the first to do so since Jimmie Johnson in 2003.

Disappointed two weeks in a row, Biffle would have preferred a closer race at the end of the 600, but he took his second straight defeat to Kahne philosophically.

“Overall, I was probably more frustrated last week not getting the win, because I felt like I had the fastest car,” said Biffle, who is 11th in the Cup standings. “Tonight, I didn’t feel like I had the fastest car. I had a really good, solid car and just kept passing and got the track position where we were at the end.

“But I would have liked a chance to race Kasey. We got pretty fast there the last 50 laps of the race.”

The race changed dramatically on Lap 297, with Earnhardt in the lead and cruising, three seconds ahead of Stewart, his closest pursuer. As he rolled through Turn 3, however, the right rear tire on Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet blew, bouncing him off the Turn 4 wall. As Earnhardt slowed, J.J. Yeley plowed into the back of his car.

Earnhardt managed to stay on the lead lap, thanks to the work of his pit crew and a generous call from NASCAR, which opted to hold Earnhardt a lap for endangering a safety crew, then rescinded the penalty after a review of videotape.

“We got lucky at the end,” Earnhardt said. “Got gas and made it last. I don’t know what happened getting in to (Turn) 3. I think we blew a right rear tire. I hate it for my guys. We were running really strong — I sure want to get me a win here.”

Notes: Stewart finished 18th, the first car one lap down, and held on to the eighth spot in the Cup standings. … Jimmie Johnson tumbled three spots to ninth in the points standings when his engine failed late in the race. He finished 39th with his first DNF of the season. … Brian Vickers led four times for 61 laps, but a broken left rear wheel sent him hard into the Turn 2 wall on Lap 185. The tire bounced off the wall and into the infield, slightly damaging a camper. No one was hurt. … David Ragan’s stay in the top 12 lasted one race. He finished 12th and dropped to 13th in the standings. Kahne moved back into the top 12 in 12th, 56 points ahead of Ragan.

NASCAR Race Number 12
Unofficial Race Results for the Coca-Cola “600″ - Sunday, May 25, 2008
Lowe’s Motor Speedway - Concord, NC - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 400 Laps - 600 Miles - Purse: $6,648,557

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Total Award Status Times Laps
1 2 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 400 190 5 $422,766 Running 6 66
2 4 16 Greg Biffle Dish Network Ford 400 175 5 $248,600 Running 1 2
3 1 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 400 170 5 $240,700 Running 3 61
4 18 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 400 160 $197,011 Running
5 6 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy 400 165 10 $152,925 Running 5 76
6 14 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 400 155 5 $167,433 Running 1 1
7 12 17 Matt Kenseth R&L Carriers Ford 400 151 5 $163,341 Running 1 1
8 9 19 Elliott Sadler Best Buy Dodge 400 147 5 $147,695 Running 1 3
9 30 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 400 138 $160,425 Running
10 28 44 David Reutimann UPS Toyota 400 134 $116,375 Running
11 23 43 Bobby Labonte Honey Nut Cheerios/Trix, Lucky 400 130 $143,891 Running
12 5 6 David Ragan AAA Insurance Ford 400 132 5 $115,100 Running 1 2
13 20 77 Sam Hornish Jr. # Mobil 1 Dodge 400 124 $147,325 Running
14 19 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 400 121 $146,636 Running
15 7 8 Mark Martin U.S. Army Chevrolet 400 118 $136,908 Running
16 8 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 400 120 5 $97,250 Running 2 64
17 11 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 400 117 5 $117,993 Running 1 2
18 31 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Toyota 399 114 5 $152,961 Running 4 23
19 37 01 Regan Smith # Principal Financial Grp/DEI Chevrolet 399 106 $104,850 Running
20 27 84 AJ Allmendinger Red Bull Toyota 399 103 $92,225 Running
21 38 12 Ryan Newman alltel Dodge 399 105 5 $133,375 Running 1 1
22 17 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 399 97 $123,639 Running
23 15 26 Jamie McMurray IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford 399 94 $102,100 Running
24 16 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 399 96 5 $127,266 Running 1 1
25 39 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel’s/USO Toast to the 398 88 $106,675 Running
26 41 28 Travis Kvapil Lumber Liquidators Ford 398 85 $117,989 Running
27 29 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 397 82 $103,108 Running
28 13 66 Scott Riggs Haas Automation Chevrolet 397 79 $103,783 Running
29 21 5 Casey Mears CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet 396 81 5 $104,300 Running 1 1
30 42 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Texaco/Havoline Dodge 396 73 $117,683 Running
31 26 40 Sterling Marlin Wii Fit Dodge 396 70 $97,025 Running
32 40 00 Michael McDowell # Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 395 67 $100,558 Running
33 33 33 Ken Schrader Camping World Chevrolet 395 64 $86,725 Running
34 24 1 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats 395 61 $119,183 Running
35 43 70 Johnny Sauter Haas Automation Chevrolet 395 58 $85,500 Running
36 36 45 Kyle Petty Coca-Cola Dodge 389 55 $94,922 Running
37 34 10 Patrick Carpentier # LifeLock Dodge 363 52 $85,150 Engine
38 35 96 J.J. Yeley DLP HDTV Toyota 353 49 $93,035 Running
39 10 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 351 51 5 $149,861 Engine 5 35
40 32 38 David Gilliland freecreditreport.com Ford 343 43 $84,815 Running
41 25 15 Paul Menard Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet 244 40 $92,705 Overheating
42 3 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 184 42 5 $90,875 Accident 4 61
43 22 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam Dodge 181 34 $92,891 Engine
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 160,000, Kasey Kahne won the Coca-Cola 600, his eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to green flag, the following drivers dropped to the rear for the reasons indicated: #66 Scott Riggs (back up car), #70 Johnny Sauter (back up car).
Failed to Qualify: (5) 34 Jeff Green, 50 Stanton Barrett, 21 Jon Wood, 78 Joe Nemechek, 08 Tony Raines.
Time of Race: 4 Hrs, 25 Mins, 09 Secs. Average Speed: 135.772 MPH Margin of Victory: 10.203 Seconds
Caution Flags: 11 for 50 laps: Laps: 63-66 (#7 accident turn 4); 163-166 (Debris); 169-174 (#42 spun frontstretch); 186-192 (#83 accident turn 1); 194-196 (#00 spun backstretch); 225-228 (Debris); 245-248 (#96 accident turn 2); 298-305 (#88, #96 accident turn 4); 307-309 (#1, #11, #22, #41, #99 accident frontstretch); 331-334 (#10 accident turn 2); 336-338 (Debris).
Lead Changes: 37 among 16 drivers: Ky. Busch 1-33; B. Vickers 34-46; J. Johnson 47-51; D. Ragan 52-53; J. Johnson 54-62; D. Earnhardt Jr. 63; C. Mears 64; J. Johnson 65-66; Ku. Busch 67-119; G. Biffle 120-121; B. Vickers 122-126; Ku. Busch 127-137; B. Vickers 138-162; D. Earnhardt Jr. 163; B. Vickers 164-181; J. Johnson 182-185; K. Kahne 186; D. Earnhardt Jr. 187-206; K. Kahne 207-225; E. Sadler 226-228; D. Earnhardt Jr. 229-245; R. Newman 246; Ky. Busch 247-259; D. Earnhardt Jr. 260-296; T. Stewart 297-299; K. Kahne 300; T. Stewart 301-311; K. Kahne 312-331; J. Johnson 332-346; Ky. Busch 347-361; K. Kahne 362-383; T. Stewart 384-387; J. Burton 388; M. Kenseth 389; D. Hamlin 390; D. Blaney 391-392; T. Stewart 393-397; K. Kahne 398-400.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) Ky. Busch 1,860;(2) J. Burton 1,766;(3) D. Earnhardt Jr. 1,721;(4) D. Hamlin 1,596;(5) C. Bowyer 1,578;(6) C. Edwards 1,538;(7) K. Harvick 1,517;(8) T. Stewart 1,511;(9) J. Johnson 1,493;(10) J. Gordon 1,486;(11) G. Biffle 1,483;(12) K. Kahne 1,454.
Coors Light Pole Award : Kyle Busch, #18 (185.433 mph) DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Kasey Kahne, #9
DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Kasey Kahne, #9 EA Sports Move of the Race : Kasey Kahne, #9
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Jimmie Johnson, #48 (179.988 mph, Lap 340) Mahle Clevite Engine Builder : Kasey Kahne, #9
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : David Reutimann, #44 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Elliott Sadler, #19 (.524 sec Average Improvement)
Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Sam Hornish, #77 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Kasey Kahne, #9
USG Improving the Finish : Carl Edwards, #99 (21 Places) WIX Lap Leader : Dale Earnhardt, Jr, #88 (76 Laps)
Next Race: Jun. 1, 2008 - Dover International Speedway