2007 Coca-Cola 600
It was held on May 27, 2007, with 175,000 spectators in attendance, in Concord, North Carolina at Lowe's Motor Speedway, an intermediate track that holds NASCAR races.Before the race, Jeff Gordon led the Drivers' Championship by 231 points over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in second.Mears took the lead after Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin made similar pit stops, slowing to conserve fuel and winning.The Coca-Cola 600 was the twelfth scheduled stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, out of 36, and the event's 48th iteration.[14] The long distance makes it the most physically demanding event in NASCAR, and teams adapt to changing track conditions because the race occurs between late afternoon and evening.Towards the end of the second session, Hamlin lost control of his car and made heavy contact with an outside SAFER barrier; he was evaluated at the infield care center and was later released to continue testing.[22] He was joined on the grid's front row by his Penske Racing South teammate Kurt Busch, and was the second-to-last driver to record his lap.[21] After the qualifier, Newman said he felt pressure to achieve Penske's Racing South's first victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway: "He's only been trying here for like 20 years, so yeah it would be special.[24] During the session, teams were scuffing their tires; in the first minute, Bowyer crashed after he spun in turn two and switched to a back-up car in which he set five more lap times.[25] Later that day, Edwards led the final practice session with a time of 30.043 seconds; Biffle, Newman, Sadler, J. J. Yeley, Truex.Country and pop music singer LeAnn Rimes performed the national anthem, and sponsored contest award winners commanded the drivers to start their engines.[28] The first caution of the race was shown four laps later when Biffle hit the turn two wall after his right-front tire had been cut and dropped debris on the track.[1][28][30] Kurt Busch, who made a 10.4-second pit stop for fuel and no tires, maintained the lead on the lap-52 restart ahead of Hamlin, Kenseth, Earnhardt and Johnson.[31] Both drivers slid, collecting Gilliland, Sadler, Juan Pablo Montoya, Green, Bowyer, Truex, Marlin, Johnny Sauter, Kyle Petty and Harvick, all of whom had damage to their cars.[1] Johnson and Stewart made pit stops to repair the damage to their cars; both rejoined the race in eighteenth and twenty-fifth positions.[28] The third caution was prompted on the same lap when Tony Raines lost control of his car and slid sideways into Jeff Gordon, and both drivers were sent into the infield grass.Ten laps later, Newman, who was in eighth position, reported his car was "extremely tight" after the adjustments made at his pit stop.[1][28] Racing resumed on lap 146 with Vickers leading Kyle Busch, Earnhardt, Yeley and Stewart as daylight began to fade.[28] Ten laps later, debris was spotted in the turn two groove, causing the sixth caution,[1] during which all the leaders made pit stops.[2][28] On lap 185,[2] Kurt Busch nudged the turn two wall with his right-rear side and spun on the backstretch, triggering the seventh caution.Fifteen laps later, the eighth caution was triggered when Edwards's car suffered a cut right-rear tire,[28][30] slowed on the track and spun at turn four while driving cautiously to the pit road.Kyle Busch's car had a replacement battery fitted and Vickers topped up with more fluids; both drivers rejoined in twelfth and thirteenth positions.One lap later, Kenseth passed Johnson to take over first place, while Kyle Busch made heavy contact with the wall on his right side; a caution was not needed.The race's tenth caution was triggered two laps later when Kahne lost control of his car and hit the turn two right-hand side wall.[28] Mayfield spun 360 degrees on the front stretch and went into the infield grass after trying to avoid a slower car on his right on lap 291, causing the eleventh caution.[28] The thirteenth (and final) caution of the race was triggered on lap 337 when Vickers hit the turn two wall, damaging his car's right-hand side, sustaining a cut right-front tire and dropped debris onto the track.[32] Mears conserved fuel after slowing his pace following persuasion by his crew chief Darian Grubb; he maintained his lead for the remaining two laps to win his first race in the Nextel Cup Series.[33] Kurt Busch, who led 107 laps (more than any other driver) was frustrated after his lap-298 crash: "How in the world we can be so strong during the day here and almost in an instant go completely in the opposite direction is beyond my comprehension.[42] Stewart's crew chief Greg Zipadelli was disappointed his driver could not take the victory: "If we hadn't had an opportunity to win, I'd say that finishing sixth and leading laps would be awesome, But sitting where we are right now, it seems that everything is stacked against us.[35] After retiring from the race on lap 221, Elliott blamed himself for the collision with Ragan, saying he waited too long to react and was heavily committed to driving down the racetrack.
2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup SeriesLowe's Motor SpeedwayConcord, North CarolinaPole positionRyan NewmanPenske Racing SouthKurt BuschCasey MearsHendrick MotorsportsNetworkFox Broadcasting CompanyMike JoyDarrell WaltripLarry McReynoldsNielsen RatingsPerformance Racing Networkstock car raceNASCARJoe Gibbs RacingJ. J. YeleyKyle PettyPetty EnterprisesJeff GordonDrivers' ChampionshippointsJimmie JohnsonBrian Vickerspit stopsMatt KensethTony StewartDale Earnhardt Jr.Denny HamlinChevroletManufacturers' ChampionshipToyotaCoca-Cola 600quad-ovalbankedfront stretchJeff BurtonKevin HarvickClint BowyerCarl EdwardsKyle BuschJamie McMurrayKasey KahneCurtis TurnerMemorial DayIndianapolis 500Daytona 500Brickyard 400Southern 500The Coca-Cola CompanyEastern Daylight TimeMartin Truex Jr.David StremmeSAFER barrierJeremy MayfieldDavid Gilliland1988 NASCAR Winston Cup SeriesBill ElliottWood Brothers RacingKen SchraderElliott SadlerRicky RuddJoe NemechekScott RiggsSterling MarlinMichael WaltripDave BlaneyBobby LabonteJeff GreenKevin LepageDavid ReutimannMike BlissPaul MenardWard BurtonMark MartinGreg BiffleEvernham MotorsportsDale Earnhardt, Inc.Roush Fenway RacingRobert Yates RacingBill Davis RacingChip Ganassi RacingGinn RacingDavid RaganJuan Pablo MontoyaDale JarrettMichael Waltrip RacingRichard Childress RacingRed Bull Racing TeamA. J. AllmendingerReed SorensonRobby GordonRobby Gordon MotorsportsTony RainesHall of Fame RacingJohnny SauterHaas CNC RacingKenny WallaceFurniture Row RacingMorgan-McClure MotorsportsFront Row MotorsportsBAM RacingWilliam K. ThierfelderBelmont Abbey CollegeBelmont, North CarolinaLeAnn Rimespace lapsrestartmulti-car collisiontrack barshifter ballalternatorbatteryflat tirepower steeringlug nutDarian GrubbMike FordGreg ZipadelliSteve LetartespotterJayski's Silly Season SiteOld Farmer's Almanac