Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Stewart’s last-lap flat gives Kahne Coca-Cola 600 win

David Poole Charlotte Observer

CONCORD, N.C. – Kasey Kahne made it a Charlotte sweep in dramatic fashion Sunday night, winning the Coca-Cola 600 eight days after winning the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in a wild finish.

Kahne had the lead before having to make a splash-and-go fuel stop with just less than 20 laps to, but when everyone had got the gas they needed to finish he was nearly five seconds behind Tony Stewart’s No. 20 Chevrolet.

But with only about two laps left, Stewart’s car slapped the wall in Turn 2. His car slowed dramatically and Kahne sped by on his way to his first points victory since winning the Bank of America 500 here in October 2006.

“We were one of the best cars all night long,” Kahne said. “They had us beat at times tonight and at times we had them beat. … Hopefully, we’ve got it turned around now. It’s a big night.”

Kahne became the sixth driver to win the all-star race and then the Coca-Cola 600 in the same year. Darrell Waltrip did that in 1985, Davey Allison in 1991, Dale Earnhardt in 1993, Jeff Gordon in 1997 and Jimmie Johnson in 2003.

Greg Biffle pitted late and squeezed by Kyle Busch to finish second. Busch, who started from the pole, was third.

Jeff Gordon also conserved fuel to get fourth while Dale Earnhardt Jr. rebounded from hitting the wall while leading with just more than 100 laps to go to extend his fuel mileage and get fifth.

Carl Edwards ran out of gas on the final lap and wound up ninth. Stewart was the first car a lap down in 18th.

Stewart had been right on Kahne’s rear bumper on Lap 384 when Kahne dove to pit road. More lead-lap cars began to peel off on the subsequent laps, with Stewart coming in on Lap 388 and Kyle Busch coming a lap later.

Dave Blaney was the last man to stop, with seven laps to go, giving the lead over to Stewart.

The driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet was five seconds clear of Kahne and, it seemed, home free.

But not on this night. As is often the case in Sprint Cup racing’s longest event, this Coca-Cola 600 was about survival.

Some of the cars that looked strongest at various points during the race wound up suffering problems that scuttled their hopes for victory.

Kurt Busch led 64 of the first 137 laps, but he lost a right-front tire on his No. 2 Dodge on Lap 162 and hit the wall, forcing him back into the pack.

Brian Vickers was strong early, too. He led 61 of the first 181 laps in the No. 83 Toyota, but just after Jimmie Johnson took the lead away on Lap 182, Vickers’ left-rear wheel buckled under the car and came flying off as Vickers went spinning into the outside wall.

The tire and wheel crushed David Gilliland’s hood as it bounded away. It then dribbled down the banking, hopped the inside wall and skipped over a fence into a fan’s campsite in the infield. Nobody was injured.

Then, trouble found Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt Jr., looking to end a winless streak that had reached 73 races coming into this event, led 16 laps in the first half of the race. Then, his No. 88 Chevrolet really seemed to take off as it got dark and the track cooled off.

Earnhardt passed Elliott Sadler just after a restart on Lap 229, and by Lap 240 he was 3.8 seconds ahead of second-place Burton. But that disappeared when J.J. Yeley hit the wall on Lap 244 to bring out the yellow.

Kyle Busch, who had lost ground when he had to make an off-sequence pit stop earlier, completed his rally by taking the lead off pit road. But on Lap 260, Earnhardt Jr. went to the high side to reclaim the lead and went on to build a lead of nearly 3 seconds over Tony Stewart, who had moved past Kyle Busch for second.

But on Lap 297, Earnhardt Jr. went into the outside wall with a flat tire and then got drilled in the rear end by J.J. Yeley’s Toyota.

Earnhardt Jr., who had led 76 laps to that point, scurried to pit road, trying to get his car repaired enough to keep racing while staying on the lead lap, and NASCAR originally levied a one-lap penalty saying he’d been running too fast around safety equipment.

NASCAR then rescinded that penalty, but Earnhardt Jr. had to restart at the end of the lead lap anyway for pitting while pit road was closed. He was 20th for a restart on Lap 306 with Stewart leading Kahne.

Five cars stacked up well behind the leaders on that restart, bringing out the yellow again. The next time the green flew, Stewart held the lead only until Lap 312 when Kahne swept past him into the top spot.