Kasey Takes Coke 600
Written by John Davison · May 26, 2008
CONCORD, N.C. – Kasey Kahne had a nearly perfect month of May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, getting voted into the Sprint All-Star race by fans going on to win the million-dollar special race last Saturday evening, then taking the measure of the rest of the field in this Sunday’s Coca Cola 600 race, leading second-most laps in the 400-lap test and beating out Greg Biffle by over ten seconds at the finish.
The longest race on the NASCAR calendar proved, like Saturday evening’s Nationwide Series race, to be a fuel mileage contest, taking Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr into the top five after other cars pitted late for fuel, while they conserved gas. Earnhardt suffered the indignity of a flat tire that sent the No. 88 Chevy into the wall and into the path of J.J. Yeley. Hard work by the crew and brilliant strategy enabled the third-generation racing star to salvage a fifth-place finish when most comments had him out of the race at the time. “We got lucky at the end,” quipped Earnhardt. “Got gas and made it last. They beat us real bad last year.
“I don’t know what happened getting in Turn Three,” he continued. I think we blew a right rear tire. I hate it for my guys, we were running really strong,” he added. “It was gas mileage man. I was working that throttle or not working the throttle actually and made it work. Made it last more than it should,” said the most popular driver in the field.
Following the race, runner-up Biffle commented: “I experienced some tings with the car that was kind of new for me. We made some slight adjustments, put tires on it. The thing got so loose like something was broke on the thing, I couldn’t drive it.” He added that he almost wrecked at least one time, leading the team to pit under green and tighten the car up slightly. “It just drove completely different from one run to the other,” he added. “I think we got some issues going on maybe with the way the car lands in the corner or bump stops or something,” he added.
‘Rowdy’ Kyle Busch started on pole for the 2008 Coca Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and stepped out to a lead of over a second after only three laps, with Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the top five, all within less than two seconds in the first four laps.
Today’s field includes Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish and Formula One race winner Juan Pablo Montoya. Joining them on the mile and a half ‘quad-oval’ are winner of three 600s Jimmie Johnson, plus more. At the 25-lap mark, Vickers had closed on Busch, followed by Earnhardt Kurt Busch and Johnson, while Biffle dropped back in the field to sixth.
Brian Vickers grabbed the lead just after the 30-lap mark, towing Johnson along with him as Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota faded. Jimmie Johnson then swept around Vickers on lap 48 to take the lead.
Robby Gordon became the first car to pit, followed by Kasey Kahne, as wholesale pit stops began around the 50-lap point in the 400-lap race. When all the pit stops cycled through, David Ragan led a pair of rounds before Johnson regained the lead, nearly two seconds ahead of Vickers.
After Earnhardt took second from Vickers, Robby Gordon got too high in Turn Three, clipped the wall and brought out the first caution of the race. A huge gamble by Kurt Busch send him onto the track after only fuel, the same as Earnhardt and Johnson, allowing Johnson to keep the lead ahead of Kurt Busch, Earnhardt, Kyle Busch and Vickers. This caution lasted four laps, with Paul Menard the ‘beneficiary. On the restart, Kurt Busch drove around Johnson to the lead, while Earnhardt and the younger Busch set off pursuing Johnson. Johnson ceded positions to Earnhardt and Kyle Busch. Before the caution, Kyle Busch reported that the alternator on the No. 18 Toyota appears to have failed, running the car on battery power only.
Kurt and Kyle Busch ran one-two as the race approached the 80-lap mark, with less than a half second separating them, but Earnhardt and Vickers both soon moved around the younger Busch.
A series of green-flag pit stops saw Kurt Busch leave the pits trailing spilled fuel, which flashed into flames briefly. Kyle Busch has had handling woes, sending him down a lap before managing to get back on the lead lap just before:
Lap 161, and Kurt’s right front tire failed, sending the No. 2 Dodge sliding into the wall just about eight laps before a scheduled stop and bringing out the second caution for the race for the debris off his car.
As the field approached the green on lap 166, Vickers led Johnson, Earnhardt. Kahne and Carl Edwards. Kenseth, Jeff Burton, Dave Blaney, Ryan Newman and Kyle Busch filled out the top ten. Just at the end of the first green flag lap, Robby Gordon pushed Juan Pablo Montoya down into the grass on the front straight, sending the ex-Formula One driver sliding through the grass. This caution gave Mark Martin the free pass back to the lead lap, putting only twenty cars on that circuit.
Vickers, Johnson, Earnhardt, Kahne and Edwards held the top five on the restart, then Johnson took the lead from Vickers and Kahne easily moved around Earnhardt. Brian Vickers’ car lost the left-rear wheel, which smashed into David Gilliland’s hood before bouncing down the track and across the inside fence, landing on a popup camper parked along the fence. Under caution, Earnhardt led Kahne, then Burton, Kenseth and Blaney in the top five. Investigation showed that the wheel had been left loose on the pit stop. No injuries resulted from the wheel bounding into the infield.
Jeff Gordon got a free pass back to the lead lap on lap 223 when a piece of metal on the front straight brought out the race’s sixth caution. Kahne, Earnhardt, Kyle Busch, Burton and Reutimann held the top five spots. The middle segments of this race are typically not filled with action, but are played as a holding pattern, awaiting the final laps of the race.
Just before the 300 lap mark, leader Dale Jr. had a tire go down and eased into the outside wall in Turn Three and J. J. Yeley drove into the No. 88 car before spinning down the track. “Junior” rode the outside wall all the way around to the first turn before getting to the inside and pitting the next time he hit Turn Four. Kyle Busch pitted before the pits opened to get new batteries installed, accepting the penalty of restarting at the end of the longest line. Earnhardt managed to get his wounded ride into the pits for service, probably too fast, but also the penalty is only restarting at the end of the longer line. “I was running up in the same spot and I don’t know why he (Earnhardt slowed down as fast as he did, whether he was trying to get to pit road, but he came to an abrupt stop there,” explained Yeley. “I was just trying to get off the fence and get down out of the road and couldn’t get turned quick enough and I ran into the back of him.”
Tony Stewart won the competition in pit road, getting onto the track in first position, but NASCAR announced that Earnhardt would be penalized one lap for passing emergency vehicles at speed. Then, after reviewing videos, NASCAR rescinded the penalty. This is the eighth caution of the race, ending after 40 laps total under yellow. The restart proved problematic, with a slow leader causing a backup that sent Hamlin spinning on the front straight and causing another caution immediately. Carl Edwards’ car received damage to the right front fender, and Regan Smith benefited from the free pass. The cars of Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, Dave Blaney, Reed Sorenson and Carl Edwards were the five cars involved.
This restart was much more successful with no repeat of the previous melee. Kasey Kahne’s crew, working steadily on the car after hard contact with the wall earlier, has moved him into contention for the lead. Just a lap into the green flag run, he moved around Tony Stewart for the lead. David Ragan’s start today has equaled his father’s start total.
Lap 329 saw Patrick Carpentier spin off Turn Two and down the back straight, bringing out the tenth caution. Jimmie Johnson headed Stewart, Kahne, Sadler and Kyle Busch under the green, but the yellow flew again before the pack could exit Turn Two, for debris on the front straight. The running order at the green was Johnson, Stewart, Kahne, Sadler and Busch. Jeff Gordon used the caution to make a quick fuel stop, possibly saving time or a pit stop later in the race.
“Smoke” faded to fourth after only two laps, with Kahne and Busch passing him. Dale Earnhardt Jr has touched the wall again, but no damage resulted. Kyle Busch moved around Kahne into second. Just a couple of laps later, he moved around Johnson on the outside and into the lead. Johnson’s crew reported that the engine in the No. 48 car had a problem, as he dropped back from Busch.
On lap 353, smoke erupted from Johnson’s tailpipes and he pulled to the pits before retiring the car and climbing out of the Hendrick Motorsports car. “I’m not sure what went on,” said Johnson after exiting the car. “About three or four laps before I came to pit road, it dropped a cylinder and we were just running around on seven cylinders. I knew it was just a matter of time before it went and sure enough it went.”
With 39 laps left in the race, Kahne moved around Busch to take the lead, with Tony Stewart over two and a half seconds farther back, then Sadler and Burton in the top five.
Kahne pitted on lap 384, letting Stewart into the lead, stopping for fuel only. This pit cycle pointed out the wide range of fuel mileage achieved by different teams, as Hornish stopped for less than five seconds, joined by Bobby Labonte, then Tony Stewart, who led Dave Blaney and Kyle Busch into the pits. Busch stopped for only a couple of seconds of fuel and a chassis adjustment. Jeff Gordon has moved to eighth place with ten laps left in the race, with Denny Hamlin leading Dave Blaney, Stewart, Kenseth and Kahne.
Hamlin pitted for fuel, stopping for only 3.3 seconds, as Blaney took the lead, then Stewart, Kahne, Edwards and Jeff Gordon in the top five. But Blaney pitted with seven laps to run, handing the lead to Stewart, over five seconds ahead of Kahne. This has moved Earnhardt into fifth place.
Five to go and the order is Stewart, Kahne, Edwards, Busch and Gordon. Stewart had a flat right front, sending him up the track and almost into the wall but allowing Kahne into the lead as Hamlin hit the wall and coasted into the pits.
Kahne became the sixth driver to take the 600 after winning the All-Star, joining Davey Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt. Sr.
Greg Biffle followed Kahne home, then Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Gordon’s new teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr after Earnhardt slammed into the wall early in the race. “Had a fun night” was his description, though many would think otherwise.
“It was a crazy one for us,” said Jeff Gordon of his race, after finishing fourth. “Steve Letarte, he made some great calls and made the car better,”
“It’s nice to be here,” said Kahne in Victory Lane, as Elliott Sadler joined him to congratulate the other Evernham driver.
“We just saved gas at the end,” reported Earnhardt.
Unofficial Finishing Order, Coca Cola 600
Fin, St, Driver, Car, Pts, Laps, Notes
1, 2, Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge, 190/5 pts, 400 laps, Running
2, 4, Greg Biffle, No. 16 DISH Network/DishDVRs Ford, 175/5, 400, Running
3, 1, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, 170/5, 400, Running
4, 18, Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, 160/0, 400, Running
5, 6, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, 165/10, 400, Running
6, 14, Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet, 155/5, 400, Running
7, 12, Matt Kenseth, No. 17 R+L Carriers Ford, 151/5, 400, Running
8, 9, Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Best Buy/Garmin Dodge, 147/5, 400, Running
9, 30, Carl Edwards, No. 99 Office Depot Ford, 138/0, 400, Running
10, 28, David Reutimann, No. 44 UPS Toyota, 134/0, 400, Running
11, 23, Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Cheerios/Trix/Lucky & Friends Dodge, 130/0, 400, Running
12, 5, David Ragan, No. 6 AAA Insurance Ford, 132/5, 400, Running
13, 20, Sam Hornish Jr. *, No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge, 124/0, 400, Running
14, 19, Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet, 121/0, 400, Running
15, 7, Mark Martin, No. 8 U.S. Army “Salute the Troops” Chevrolet, 118/0, 400, Running
16, 8, Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, 120/5, 400, Running
17, 11, Dave Blaney, No. 22 Caterpillar Toyota, 117/5, 400, Running
18, 31, Tony Stewart, No. 20 The Home Depot Toyota, 114/5, 399, Running
19, 37, Regan Smith *, No. 01 DEI/Principal Financial Group Chevrolet, 106/0, 399, Running
20, 27, A.J. Allmendinger, No. 84 Red Bull Toyota, 103/0, 399, Running
21, 38, Ryan Newman, No. 12 Alltel Dodge, 105/5, 399, Running
22, 17, Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Dodge, 97/0, 399, Running
23, 15, Jamie McMurray, No. 26 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford, 94/0, 399, Running
24, 16, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, 96/5, 399, In Pit
25, 39, Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniel’s/USO “Toast to the Troops” Chevrolet, 88/0, 398, Running
26, 41, Travis Kvapil, No. 28 Lumber Liquidators Ford, 85/0, 398, Running
27, 29, Michael Waltrip, No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota, 82/0, 397, Running
28, 13, Scott Riggs, No. 66 Haas Automation Chevrolet, 79/0, 397, Running
29, 21, Casey Mears, No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet, 81/5, 396, Running
30, 42, Juan Montoya, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge, 73/0, 396, Running
31, 26, Sterling Marlin, No. 40 Wii Fit/Target Dodge, 70/0, 396, Running
32, 40, Michael McDowell *, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, 67/0, 395, Running
33, 33, Ken Schrader, No. 33 Camping World/RVs.com Chevrolet, 64/0, 395, Running
34, 24, Martin Truex Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet, 61/0, 395, Running
35, 43, Johnny Sauter, No. 70 Haas Automation Chevrolet, 58/0, 395, Running
36, 36, Kyle Petty, No. 45 Coca-Cola celebrates 2008 Olympics Dodge, 55/0, 389, Running
37, 34, Patrick Carpentier *, No. 10 LifeLock Dodge, 52/0, 363, Out of Race
38, 35, J.J. Yeley, No. 96 DLP HDTV Toyota, 49/0, 353, Running
39, 10, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, 51/5, 351, Out of Race
40, 32, David Gilliland, No. 38 FreeCreditReport.com Ford, 43/0, 343, Running
41, 25, Paul Menard, No. 15 Johns Manville/Menards Chevrolet, 40/0, 244, In Pit
42, 3, Brian Vickers, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, 42/5, 184, Running
43, 22, Robby Gordon, No. 7 Jim Beam Dodge, 34/0, 181, Out of Race
*: Rookie
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