Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
Lowe's Motor Speedway
5/27/2007
This year's Coca-Cola 600 brought about one of the season's most exciting finishes to date. Stretching his fuel mileage, Casey Mears was able to hang on to capture his first career Nextel Cup victoy in 156 starts, continuing Hendrick Motorsports domination in 2007. In a fitting tribute on Memorial Day weekend, Mears coasted his National Guard Chevrolet down pit road and into victory lane.
J.J Yeley, Kyle Petty, Reed Sorenson and Brian Vickers rounded out the top 5, each taking the chance of staying out and earning their first top 5's of the year. With nothing to lose and only points to gain, these drivers gambled on going the distance and made it pay off.
Pit stops began Lap 391, when Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. hit pit road for fuel. The majority of leaders came to the service of their crews between Lap 391 and Lap 395. After pitting from the lead with just eight laps to go, Tony Stewart was left wondering, along with many others, who exactly was in the lead.
With teams constantly thinking big-picture racing, drivers close to that treacherous 35th in Owner's Points mark were able to gamble on fuel and stay out, while those in the top 12 of points were forced to pit road, waiting for everything to cylce back around.
The first caution of the day came out on lap 45, when Greg Biffle hit the wall and took his #16 Ford Fusion to the garage, finishing 43rd. Biffle went on to blame the tire Goodyear brought to the track for his misfortune. "I think we have the worst tires in racing, period," Biffle told NASCAR.com's David Caraviello. Unfortunately for some, the tire issues did not end with Biffle's crash.
One lap after taking the green flag on the restart, a cut tire that came off of Jimmie Johnson's car caused drivers to check up, creating a multi-car crash reminiscent of the 'Big One' at Talladega, collecting close to fifteen cars. Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Reed Sorenson, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, Kyle Petty, Scott Riggs, Dave Blaney, A.J Allmendinger, Juan Pablo Montoya, Elliot Sadler, Brian Vickers, Kasey Kahne and Johnson were all involved.
After a bit of a clean up, the restart came on lap 60, with Kurt Busch leading the field to the green. Jeff Gordon and Tony Raines made contact coming off turn four, sending Gordon sliding through the grass, across the track and hard into the outside wall collecting A.J. Allmendinger, while Raines spun hitting Jeff Burton. Hitting nose-first and lifting the rear wheels in the air, Gordon's poor luck at Lowe's Motor Speedway continued Sunday coming home 41st, and failing to finish his fifth straight race at the track.
Once the field was wittled away, many drivers that have struggled this season emerged to be contenders. Brian Vickers was a top-5 car for most of the afternoon, taking the lead on lap 114, the first time a Toyota had led at Lowe's Motor Speedway. In a very impressive run, Vickers powered his #83 Red Bull Toyota to the front, leading 76 laps on the day. Vickers, whose car was best during the transition from day to night, developed power steering issues and was forced to fight the wheel the remainder of the night. With nothing to lose, the Red Bull team led by crew chief Doug Richert, went for the win and hoped the rest would be forced to pit road. Coming home fifth, Vickers moved to 39th in Owner's Points, despite qualifying for only 6 of the 12 races run this year.
In appropriate fashion, Ryan Newman began his 200th career start by leading the field to the start of the annual Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, with teammate Kurt Busch right beside him. This was indeed a special occasion for team owner Roger Penske, as his driver Helio Castroneves also won the pole position for the 91st running of the Indianapolis 500.
The promising day for Penske Racing soon went sour, when after pit stops on lap 173 Ryan Newman's Alltel Dodge began smoking. Newman would finish his milestone start in 39th place. Teammate Kurt Busch did not fare so well either. Spinning between turns 1 and 2, Busch was able to avoid making contact with anything. The 2004 champion was not as lucky after a restart on lap 296, when he spun down the backstretch slamming the inside wall, relegating him 32nd.
This week it is on to Dover International Speedway - my home track - for the sixth Car of Tomorrow (COT) race. Expect the Hendrick cars to be strong once again, while Joe Gibbs Racing hunts for their first victory of the year. The high-banked mile long concrete monster that is Dover, will surely test the limits of the COT and perhaps the patience of many drivers.
Coca-Cola 600
Lowe's Motor Speedway
5/27/2007
This year's Coca-Cola 600 brought about one of the season's most exciting finishes to date. Stretching his fuel mileage, Casey Mears was able to hang on to capture his first career Nextel Cup victoy in 156 starts, continuing Hendrick Motorsports domination in 2007. In a fitting tribute on Memorial Day weekend, Mears coasted his National Guard Chevrolet down pit road and into victory lane.
J.J Yeley, Kyle Petty, Reed Sorenson and Brian Vickers rounded out the top 5, each taking the chance of staying out and earning their first top 5's of the year. With nothing to lose and only points to gain, these drivers gambled on going the distance and made it pay off.
Pit stops began Lap 391, when Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. hit pit road for fuel. The majority of leaders came to the service of their crews between Lap 391 and Lap 395. After pitting from the lead with just eight laps to go, Tony Stewart was left wondering, along with many others, who exactly was in the lead.
With teams constantly thinking big-picture racing, drivers close to that treacherous 35th in Owner's Points mark were able to gamble on fuel and stay out, while those in the top 12 of points were forced to pit road, waiting for everything to cylce back around.
The first caution of the day came out on lap 45, when Greg Biffle hit the wall and took his #16 Ford Fusion to the garage, finishing 43rd. Biffle went on to blame the tire Goodyear brought to the track for his misfortune. "I think we have the worst tires in racing, period," Biffle told NASCAR.com's David Caraviello. Unfortunately for some, the tire issues did not end with Biffle's crash.
One lap after taking the green flag on the restart, a cut tire that came off of Jimmie Johnson's car caused drivers to check up, creating a multi-car crash reminiscent of the 'Big One' at Talladega, collecting close to fifteen cars. Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Reed Sorenson, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, Kyle Petty, Scott Riggs, Dave Blaney, A.J Allmendinger, Juan Pablo Montoya, Elliot Sadler, Brian Vickers, Kasey Kahne and Johnson were all involved.
After a bit of a clean up, the restart came on lap 60, with Kurt Busch leading the field to the green. Jeff Gordon and Tony Raines made contact coming off turn four, sending Gordon sliding through the grass, across the track and hard into the outside wall collecting A.J. Allmendinger, while Raines spun hitting Jeff Burton. Hitting nose-first and lifting the rear wheels in the air, Gordon's poor luck at Lowe's Motor Speedway continued Sunday coming home 41st, and failing to finish his fifth straight race at the track.
Once the field was wittled away, many drivers that have struggled this season emerged to be contenders. Brian Vickers was a top-5 car for most of the afternoon, taking the lead on lap 114, the first time a Toyota had led at Lowe's Motor Speedway. In a very impressive run, Vickers powered his #83 Red Bull Toyota to the front, leading 76 laps on the day. Vickers, whose car was best during the transition from day to night, developed power steering issues and was forced to fight the wheel the remainder of the night. With nothing to lose, the Red Bull team led by crew chief Doug Richert, went for the win and hoped the rest would be forced to pit road. Coming home fifth, Vickers moved to 39th in Owner's Points, despite qualifying for only 6 of the 12 races run this year.
In appropriate fashion, Ryan Newman began his 200th career start by leading the field to the start of the annual Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, with teammate Kurt Busch right beside him. This was indeed a special occasion for team owner Roger Penske, as his driver Helio Castroneves also won the pole position for the 91st running of the Indianapolis 500.
The promising day for Penske Racing soon went sour, when after pit stops on lap 173 Ryan Newman's Alltel Dodge began smoking. Newman would finish his milestone start in 39th place. Teammate Kurt Busch did not fare so well either. Spinning between turns 1 and 2, Busch was able to avoid making contact with anything. The 2004 champion was not as lucky after a restart on lap 296, when he spun down the backstretch slamming the inside wall, relegating him 32nd.
This week it is on to Dover International Speedway - my home track - for the sixth Car of Tomorrow (COT) race. Expect the Hendrick cars to be strong once again, while Joe Gibbs Racing hunts for their first victory of the year. The high-banked mile long concrete monster that is Dover, will surely test the limits of the COT and perhaps the patience of many drivers.