Kahne Tames Early Hendrick Woes to Win Coca-Cola 600

Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR's Memorial day Sunday counterpart to the Indianapolis 500, 43 Sprint Cup Series cars were readied for a race into the night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The longest race on the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series calender, the Coca-Cola 600 started under the early evening sun with the #43 Ford of Aric Almirola leading the field to a green flag for 400 laps. In the Thursday qualifying, a strong effort by the Richard Petty Motorsports cars of Almirola and the #9 of Marcos Ambrose secured the front row positions at the 1.5-mile Charlotte track.

When green fell on the Coca-Cola 600, the Richard Petty Motorsport Ford Fusion stock cars would exchange the lead on three occasions in the first 6 laps. On lap 9, another member the Ford brigade would break Richard Petty Motorsports very early hold of the 400-lap event. The #16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford of Greg Biffle pass on Ambrose amounted to what would be 204 laps leading the Coca-Cola 600. After another brief exchange of the first spot with Marcos Ambrose's #9 car, Biffle's #16 Ford would lead from lap 23 for 90 consecutive circuits around the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval.

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Greg Biffle's domination in the first quarter of the Coca-Cola 600 was aided by the lack of a yellow flag slowing the NASCAR Sprint Cup field. Completing 113 caution-free laps opening the race, debris on the racetrack finally slowed the stock cars. After not seeing a caution for the race's first 169.5 miles, lap 113 to lap 179 would see the yellow flag pop out for what was four of the five caution periods during the Coca-Cola 600 event. All but one of the yellow flags in the event were a result of debris (Travis Kvapil's #93 Toyota scraping with the turn 4 wall on lap 174 was the only exception).

Past the halfway point of the event, the race-contending #9 Ford of Marcos Ambrose was brought to the garage due to a damaged hub on his racing machine. Though the determined Richard Petty Motorsports team were able to return Ambrose to the racetrack after losing just 13 laps to the garage, the effort by the #9 car resulted in a 32nd place finish for the Tasmanian driver. A similar hub failure was also connected to a loss of laps for the #22 Penske Racing Dodge of AJ Allmendinger.

The season for Kasey Kahne started with 4 finishes of 29th or worse in the first 6 races. After a 38th place finish at the Martinsville race, Kahne and the #5 Hendrick Motorsport team turned their fortunes around by placing in the top-8 in each of the five NASCAR Sprint Cup races leading up to the Cola-Cola 600. Taking the lead of the 2012 Coca-Cola 600 for the first time on lap 220, Kahne's #5 Chevrolet blazed to the front of the field just as the lights brightened the Charlotte Motor Speedway. A race Kasey Kahne had won twice before, the pursuit of his first win with Hendrick Motorsports was coming fruition in the second-half of the Charlotte Motor Speedway event.

In the last 180 laps of the Coca-Cola 600, it was largely a battle between the #5 Chevrolet of Kasey Kahne and the #16 Ford driven by Greg Biffle. On lap 357, the race's final lead change resulted in Kahne out front of the NASCAR Sprint Cup event. Crossing the line with a 4.3 second advantage over second-place, the win for the #5 Chevrolet is the second win of the season for Hendrick Motorsports. For driver Kasey Kahne, he has now won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race driving for all four active manufacturers on the 2012 stock car tour.

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Unseating Greg Biffle from the top-3 in the Coca-Cola 600, Denny Hamlin finished a strong second in the #11 Toyota and #18 car of Kyle Busch came across the line third for Joe Gibbs Racing. With Biffle finishing fourth, the Roush Fenway Racing driver holds onto the NASCAR Sprint Cup points lead by 10 points over teammate Matt Kenseth. Brad Keselowski's #2 Dodge rounded out the top-5 in a race that was completed at a record average speed of 155.687 miles per hour.

Winning the last two races on the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour, Hendrick Motorsports delivered a strong overall performance with all 4 cars in the top-11. Dale Earnhardt Jr finished 6th and Jeff Gordon's #24 Chevrolet finished 7th (only Gordon's 3rd top-10 result in a difficult 2012 season. While Johnson did not lead a lap during the 600-mile event, the #48 Hendrick Motorsports car was considered a contender for the throughout the course of the Charlotte Motor Speedway event based on the previous weekend's performance in the Sprint All-Star race. However, a late pit miscue by the #48 crew caused by a stuck fuel can resulted in a penalty that would prevent Johnson from climbing any higher than 11th place.

Next race for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour is the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway on June 3rd. Matt Kenseth is the defending winner of the last Spring race at the Dover 1-mile track.



2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Coca-Cola 600
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Race Results

1	5	Kasey Kahne	Quaker State Chevrolet
2	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Ground Toyota
3	18	Kyle Busch	M&M's Red-White-Blue Toyota
4	16	Greg Biffle	Fastenal Ford
5	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge
6	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	National Guard-An American Salute Chevrolet
7	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet
8	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet
9	99	Carl Edwards	Fastenal Ford
10	17	Matt Kenseth	Fastenal Ford
11	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Patriotic Chevrolet
12	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
13	15	Clint Bowyer	5-hour Energy Toyota
14	39	Ryan Newman	US ARMY Chevrolet
15	27	Paul Menard	Menards/Serta Chevrolet
16	43	Aric Almirola	US Air Force Ford
17	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Chevrolet
18	83	Landon Cassill	Burger King Real Fruit Smoothies Toyota
19	31	Jeff Burton	Wheaties Chevrolet
20	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet
21	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops/Arctic Cat Chevrolet
22	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Ford
23	20	Joey Logano	Dollar General Toyota
24	21	Trevor Bayne	Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Ctr. Ford
25	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
26	38	David Gilliland	Mod Space Ford
27	51	Kurt Busch	Phoenix Construction Services Inc Chevrolet
28	47	Bobby Labonte	Kingsford Charcoal Toyota
29	93	Travis Kvapil	Dr. Pepper Toyota
30	10	Danica Patrick	GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
31	32	TJ Bell	Green Smoke Ford
32	9	Marcos Ambrose	DeWalt Ford
33	22	AJ Allmendinger	Shell Pennzoil Dodge
34	55	Mark Martin	Aaron's Armed Forces Foundation Toyota
35	34	David Ragan	Al's Liners/Scorpion Coatings Ford
36	98	Michael McDowell	Presbyterian Healthcare Ford
37	95	Scott Speed	Jordan Truck Sales Ford
38	30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports Toyota
39	33	Stephen Leicht	Little Joe's Autos/Precon Chevrolet
40	36	Dave Blaney	SealWrap Chevrolet
41	87	Joe Nemechek	AM/FM Energy / SWM Toyota
42	74	Cole Whitt	Turn One Racing Chevrolet
43	26	Josh Wise	MDS Transport Ford

Ryan Newman Soars to Coca-Cola 600 Pole at Charlotte

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

The site of Ryan Newman's first ever pole, the Indiana native again proved to have the magic touch during the NASCAR Sprint Cup's month of May festivities at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Taking his #39 US Army Chevrolet to his 6th pole for the Coca-Cola 600, Newman's top spot in qualifying will allow him to start his 9th NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Charlotte. However, despite mastering qualifying around the 1.5 mile oval, Ryan Newman has yet to win a points-paying Sprint Cup event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

While auto racing mogul Roger Penske will be able to relish the start of the 2010 Indy 500 with his team's driver Helio Castroneves starting from pole, Penske missed out on a sweep for poles in the two major Memorial Day weekend racing events. The Miller Lite #2 Dodge of Kurt Busch hunted past Penske Racing driver Ryan Newman thanks to a late qualifying draw. Carried on the momentum of last Saturday's Sprint All-Star race victory, Kurt Busch fast time was just 4/100ths of a second slower than his former teammate.

Like Kurt Busch, All-Star Showdown winner Martin Truex Jr set himself on a noble quest after a second pole following his fast time at Dover in the last NASCAR Sprint Cup points race. Performing well season-long in his first year with the #56 NAPA Toyota of Michael Waltrip Racing, Truex Jr and the team are finally getting sizable recognition for their 2010 efforts.

Rounding out the top-five in Coca-Cola 600 qualifying is the #9 Dodge of Kasey Kahne followed by his future teammate Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson in the the #48 Lowes Chevy sporting special Memorial Day weekend colours. With Martin Truex Jr mustering the best time from a Toyota Camry stock car with 3rd fastest speed, 6th through 9th place shows that Toyota is sporting a strong hand. Leading this group was winner of last year's rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 David Reutimann for Michael Waltrip Racing followed by the all three Joe Gibbs Racing cars. The #11 FedEx Toyota of Denny Hamlin led Joey Logano and Kyle Busch.

Anticipation for NASCAR's longest scheduled race will be accompanied with busy preparation for the #12 Penske Racing team. Brad Keselowski is being sent to a backup car after his primary Dodge race car made significant contact with the turn 4 wall of Charlotte.

The race commemorating the 50th year of the 600 mile event at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Sprint Cup is scheduled for a 5:45 P.M. start time on Sunday
.

Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying
2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Charlotte Motor Speedway

Pos # | Car # | Driver | Sponsor/ Car Make

1) 39 Ryan Newman      U.S Army Chevrolet
2) 2 Kurt Busch       Miller Lite / Vortex Dodge
3) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Batteries Toyota 
4) 9 Kasey Kahne      Budweiser / Armed Forces Tribute Ford 
5) 48 Jimmie Johnson   Lowe's Memorial Day Tribute Chevrolet
6) 00 David Reutimann   Aaron's / Armed Forces Foundation Toyota
7) 11 Denny Hamlin     FedEx Office Toyota
8) 20 Joey Logano      Home Depot Toyota
9) 18 Kyle Busch       M&M's Pretzel Toyota 
10) 33 Clint Bowyer     Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet 
11) 5 Mark Martin      CARQUEST Auto Parts / GoDaddy.com
12) 31 Jeff Burton      Caterpillar Chevrolet 
13) 83 Casey Mears      Red Bull Toyota
14) 77 Sam Hornish Jr.   Mobil 1 Dodge 
15) 24 Jeff Gordon      DuPont Stars & Stripes Chevrolet 
16) 17 Matt Kenseth     Jeremiah Weed Ford
17) 66 Dave Blaney      PRISM Motorsports Toyota
18) 43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy Credit Card Ford 
19) 87 Joe Nemechek     NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 
20) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
21) 82 Scott Speed      Red Bull Toyota 
22) 36 Johnny Sauter    Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 
23) 29 Kevin Harvick    Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet
24) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ntnl Guard Honoring Our Soldiers Chevrolet
25) 21 Bill Elliott     Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Ford
26) 14 Tony Stewart            Office Depot / Old Spice Chevrolet
27) 1 Jamie McMurray   Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet 
28) 37 David Gilliland  Taco Bell Ford 
29) 64 Todd Bodine      Little Joe's Auto Sales Toyota 
30) 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota
31) 99 Carl Edwards     Scotts GrubEx Ford 
32) 78 Regan Smith      Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
33) 98 Paul Menard      Serta / Menards Ford
34) 47 Marcos Ambrose   Kingsford / Bush's Beans Toyota 
35) 6 David Ragan      UPS Ford
36) 7 Robby Gordon     Robby Gordon Motorsports Toyota
37) 12 Brad Keselowski  Penske Dodge
38) 71 Bobby Labonte    TRG Motorsports Chevrolet 
39) 19 Elliott Sadler   Air Force Ford
40) 16 Greg Biffle      3M Nexcare Products Ford 
41) 38 Travis Kvapil    Long John Silver's / Baja Fish Taco Ford
42) 34 Kevin Conway     Extenze Ford
43) 46 J J Yeley        Jake Owen Raborn Foundation Dodge