Top spot unlucky for most, not Kahne

By John Watson
Kannapolis Citizen
In a race many thought would be boring, Kasey Kahne added some excitement in the closing laps as he put the finishing touches on the “Memorial Day Classic” also known as the Coca Cola 600. Winner of last week’s All-Star Race, Kahne piloted his red No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger to Victory Lane for the second straight week of racing at Concord’s Lowes Motor Speedway.
Gillette-Evernham Racing parlayed momentum and a little opponent misfortune into a huge victory that brought home its first points victory since October 2006, also at Lowes Motor Speedway. Car owner Ray Evernham felt that last week’s unprecedented run to victory was the beginning of a momentum shift that could carry the 9 team through the season and into the Race for the Chase.
No one had been hotter entering the weekend than Kyle Busch, despite last week’s engine failure at the halfway point of the All-Star race. Busch rides a wave of momentum that has seen him win two of the last three races. He finished second in Richmond only after the controversial wreck involving fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr.
As the current points leader, Busch entered the Coca Cola 600 as a favorite to win, but would fight an alternator problem early in the event and a tire issue later that kept him from claiming back-to-back points race victories. Busch would climb back from a lap down to clinch the third spot, his fourth consecutive top three finish.
“It’s unfortunate, but we’ll take it and go on,” said Busch. “The guys did an awesome job on pit row tonight. We had a tire go down there. They did a good job changing the battery there.”
Despite conventional wisdom, it looked as if the lead wasn’t where you wanted to be as tire failures changed several race leaders’ fortunes for the worse.
Kurt Busch was on cruise control on lap 162 when his right front tire went flat, sending the “Blue Deuce” into the wall. On lap 185, Brian Vickers saw his left rear tire dismount, sending him hard into the wall down the front stretch and into turns one and two while the wheel traveled through the grass, jumped the inner wall and bounced off a fan’s pop-up camper. Security recovered the wheel, and no one was injured.
The damage of the impact was not confined to just the number 83 Red Bull Camry, but the race was red flagged while NASCAR safety crews went to work to repair the safer barrier.
Tire woes for race leaders didn’t end there as the Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 National Guard Chevy Impala turned the wrong direction on lap 296 after battling Kasey Kahne for the lead on and off. Earnhardt lead a race-high 76 laps and, though his car suffered damage to the entire right hand side, his pit crew got to work and kept him on the lead lap. Their efforts paid off as Earnhardt and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. turned to strategy rather than speed to salvage a top 5 finish.
Tony Stewart was the last leader to pay the price for running up front. With an impressive 5.5 second lead and only three laps standing between him and certain victory, Lady Luck looked elsewhere as the familiar orange Home Depot Toyota made an unscheduled pit stop to service a blown right front tire.
Stewart, who celebrated his 37th birthday on Tuesday, declined comment after the race and resigned himself to his hauler, obviously frustrated after being relegated to an 18th place finish.
Crew chief Greg Zipadelli said, “It’s just stupid. I don’t know, we must have run over something, small leak or something. But I’ll just say we lost a tire with a 5æ-second lead. I don’t even know what to say, I’m so frustrated. I feel bad for everybody.”
Kahne was the benefactor of the tire woes for Stewart as he was running in second at the time of the incident, inherited the lead and never looked back. Kahne was as surprised as anyone as he set his sights on claiming the checkered flag.
“Tony Stewart had the win right there and had a little problem, so we definitely had some help,” said Kahne.
He was jubilant in Victory Circle and now sits in the crucial 12th position in points. Keeping the momentum and building on his win is the next task.
Other notable drivers included Greg Biffle of Roush-Fenway Racing, who finished behind Kahne for the second consecutive week.
Jeff Gordon struggled all night with a mediocre car but took advantage of a pit opportunity on lap 337 while still under caution. Gordon played the fuel strategy game with little to risk at that point knowing most of the leaders would have to pit at least one more time to make it to the end. Gordon’s strategy paid off as the leaders did, indeed, have to make “splash and go” pit stops with only a handful of laps remaining. The Dupont Chevy moved from 19th to rally to an impressive and much needed fourth-place finish.
Teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. employed a similar tactic and followed Gordon to the checkered flag in fifth. While Hendrick Motorsports continues to struggle for wins with only one thus far, three of their four drivers are entrenched in the top 10 in points. Dale Jr., leads the group at third in the standings with Johnson and Gordon at ninth and 10th respectively.
Quietly having a very solid season is the Richard Childress Racing organization. Driver Jeff Burton finished sixth at LMS, cementing his second position in the points. While teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer both struggled in the 600, all three RCR cars remain in the top 10 in points with Harvick picking up two spots to move from ninth to seventh with Bowyer remaining in the fifth position.
NASCAR now moves on to Dover International Speedway in Dover Delaware, an exciting one-mile track where teams will continue to march towards the Race for the Chase.