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The 2007 Coca-Cola 600 was the 12th stock car race of the
2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series file:JeffGordon2007Texas.jpg, Chevrolet won the List_of_NASCAR_Manufacturers%27_champions, Manufacturer's championship with 26 wins. The 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 59th season of professional stock car racing in the United States ...
and the
event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...
's 48th iteration. It was held on May 27, 2007, with 175,000 spectators in attendance, in
Concord, North Carolina Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 105,240 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Concord is the second-most populous city in the Cha ...
at
Lowe's Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...
, an intermediate track that holds
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
races.
Casey Mears Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road racing, off-road and stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang, Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Garage 66. He ...
of the
Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...
team won the 400-lap race after starting 16th.
Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, ...
's
J. J. Yeley Christopher Beltram Hernandez "J. J." Yeley (born October 5, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for ...
finished second and
Kyle Petty Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash duri ...
of
Petty Enterprises Petty Enterprises (formerly Lee Petty Engineering) was a NASCAR racing team based in Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina, Level Cross, North Carolina, United States, USA. It was founded by Lee Petty with his two sons Richard Petty and Ma ...
took third. Before the race,
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, d ...
led the Drivers' Championship by 231
points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...
over his
Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...
teammate
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...
in second. Ryan Newman took the
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
by recording the fastest lap in the qualifying session and led the first ten laps before his
Penske Racing South Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Day ...
teammate
Kurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American auto racing driver. He is best known for competing in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2000–2022, last driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. Busch is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series ch ...
took over on lap 11. Busch led for 107 laps (the most of any driver in the race) before
Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American former professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the i ...
took the lead after the first round of green-flag
pit stop Pitstop may refer to: * Pit stop, in motor racing, when the car stops in the pits for fuel and other consumables to be renewed or replenished * ''Pit Stop'' (1969 film), a movie directed by Jack Hill * ''Pit Stop'' (2013 film), a movie directe ...
s.
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...
took the lead from Vickers on lap 184 and held it for 83 laps, battling for the position with Vickers and
Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and the current competition advisor for Legacy Motor Club in the NASCAR Cup Series. Most recently, he raced part-time in the Superstar Racing Exper ...
.
Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed "Smoke", is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver, and former NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. He currently competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class. He is a four-t ...
led at the race's final restart on lap 342 and held it until he made a pit stop for fuel 51 laps later. Mears took the lead after
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative ...
and
Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and op ...
made similar pit stops, slowing to conserve fuel and winning. There were thirteen cautions and 29 lead changes among fifteen drivers during the race. , the 2007 race is Mears' only win in the Nextel Cup Series, now known as the NASCAR Cup Series. After the race Gordon's lead in the Drivers' Championship was reduced to 132 points over Johnson because he crashed early in the race.
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
increased its points advantage to 41 points ahead of
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
in the Manufacturers' Championship.
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
moved further ahead of
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
in the battle for third place, with 24 races remaining in the season.


Background

The
Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the firs ...
was the twelfth scheduled stock car race of the
2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series file:JeffGordon2007Texas.jpg, Chevrolet won the List_of_NASCAR_Manufacturers%27_champions, Manufacturer's championship with 26 wins. The 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 59th season of professional stock car racing in the United States ...
, out of 36, and the event's 48th iteration. It ran for 400 laps over a distance of , and was held on May 27, 2007 in
Concord, North Carolina Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 105,240 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Concord is the second-most populous city in the Cha ...
at
Lowe's Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...
, now called Charlotte Motor Speedway, an intermediate track that holds
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
races. The standard track at Lowe's Motor Speedway is a four-turn, -long,
quad-oval Oval track racing is a form of motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost univ ...
track. The track's turns are banked at 24 degrees; both the front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch (opposite the front) have a five-degree banking. Before the race,
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, d ...
led the Drivers' Championship with 1,881
points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...
, with teammate
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...
231 points behind in second and
Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and the current competition advisor for Legacy Motor Club in the NASCAR Cup Series. Most recently, he raced part-time in the Superstar Racing Exper ...
a further 68 points behind in third.
Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and op ...
and
Jeff Burton Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed "the Mayor", is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He is a member of the Burton racing family. He scored 23 career victories in the NASCAR ...
were fourth and fifth, and
Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed "Smoke", is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver, and former NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. He currently competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class. He is a four-t ...
,
Kurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American auto racing driver. He is best known for competing in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2000–2022, last driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. Busch is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series ch ...
,
Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for '' NASCAR on Fox''. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewa ...
,
Clint Bowyer Clinton Aaron Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado ...
,
Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards Jr. (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and a current analyst for ''NASCAR on Prime Video''. He last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No ...
,
Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and par ...
and
Jamie McMurray James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed "Jamie Mac", is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for ''Fox NASCAR'' and CW. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 ...
rounded out the top twelve.
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
led the Manufacturers' Championship with 96 points, 35 points ahead of its rival
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
in second.
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
with 52 points was 19 points ahead of
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
in the battle for third place. The race's defending champion was
Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American professional dirt track racing and stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet SS for Richard Childress Racing. Currently, K ...
. The Coca-Cola 600 was conceived by race car driver
Curtis Turner Curtis Morton Turner (April 12, 1924 – October 4, 1970) was an American stock car racer who won 17 NASCAR Grand National Division races and 38 NASCAR Convertible Division races. Throughout his life, he developed a reputation for drinking and ...
, who built the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was first held in 1960 in an attempt by NASCAR to stage a
Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...
weekend race to compete with the open-wheel
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
; the two races were held together on the same day starting from 1974. The race is the longest in terms of distance on the NASCAR calendar, and is considered by several drivers to be one of the sport's most important races alongside the
Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
, the
Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the ...
and the
Southern 500 The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is and consists of 367 laps. ...
. 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. It was known as the World 600 until 1984 when
The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...
purchased the naming rights to the race and renamed it the Coca-Cola World 600 in 1985. It has been called the Coca-Cola 600 every year since 1986 except for 2002 when the name changed to Coca-Cola Racing Family 600. In preparation for the race, NASCAR held several test sessions on May 7–8, 2007, to allow teams to prepare for the May races at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Sessions began at 2:00p.m.
Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behin ...
(EDT) on May 7 and concluded at 9:00p.m. On May 8, sessions started at 1:00p.m. and stopped at 9:00p.m. Eighty-two cars participated in the May 7 afternoon session;
Martin Truex Jr. Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 56 Toyota Camry XSE for Tricon Garage. He is the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series ...
was quickest with a speed of and
David Stremme David Andrew Stremme (born June 19, 1977) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Early career Stremme was born in South Bend, Indiana. His racing roots can be traced back to Midwestern short track racing, where he followed in the f ...
had the highest speed of the two days at in the evening session. 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. During the third session with eighty-four cars,
Jeremy Mayfield Jeremy Allen Mayfield (born May 27, 1969) is an American former stock car racing driver. He drove cars for the Sadler brothers, T.W. Taylor, Cale Yarborough, Michael Kranefuss, Roger Penske, Ray Evernham, Bill Davis, and Gene Haas. In 2009, he d ...
had the fastest speed of and Kurt Busch set the fastest speed of in the fourth and final session held in the evening.
David Gilliland David Leonard Gilliland (born April 1, 1976) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and team owner. Since 2017, he has operated Tricon Garage, a team that races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team has also com ...
spun but avoided contact with a wall. There was one change of driver before the race. Starting at the 2007 Coca-Cola 600,
1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series file:DaleEarnhardt1985PoconoWrangler.jpg, Dale Earnhardt finished third in the championship. The 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 40th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 17th modern-era Cup series. The s ...
champion
Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott Sr. (born October 8, 1955), also known as "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", "Million Dollar Bill", or "Wild Bill" is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Superstar Racing Experienc ...
returned to NASCAR on a part-time schedule for
Wood Brothers Racing Wood Brothers Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was formed in 1950 by brothers Ray Lee, Clay, Delano, Glen Wood, Glen, and Leonard Wood (racing), Leonard Wood. To ...
, replacing the team's regular driver
Ken Schrader Kenneth William Schrader (born May 29, 1955) is an American professional racing driver. He currently races on local dirt and asphalt tracks around the country while also competing part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 11 Ford Motor ...
, who drove in the season's first eleven races. Elliott was eligible to use six Champion's Provisionals if the need arose. Elliott was looking forward to returning to racing: "I was pretty honored to get a call from the Wood Brothers to drive the 21 car. I've seen them struggle the last few weeks, being outside the top 35, and it breaks my heart to see them miss races. I hope I can get in the car, get us qualified well every week and see what we can make up in the points battle along the way."


Practice and qualification

Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race; one on Thursday and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes, the second 50 minutes and the third 60 minutes. In the first practice session,
Elliott Sadler Elliott William Barnes Sadler (born April 30, 1975) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Sadler is one of 36 dr ...
was fastest with a time of 29.697 seconds; Kahne,
Ricky Rudd Richard Lee Rudd (born September 12, 1956), nicknamed "the Rooster", is an American former racing driver and racing team owner. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 ...
, Johnson,
Casey Mears Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road racing, off-road and stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang, Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Garage 66. He ...
, Kenseth,
Joe Nemechek Joseph Frank Nemechek III (born September 26, 1963) is an American professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 24 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. Nemechek has made the second mos ...
,
Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and par ...
,
Scott Riggs Russell Scott Riggs (born January 1, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the 92 for RBR Enterprises in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Racing career Early career Riggs was born in Bahama ...
and
Jamie McMurray James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed "Jamie Mac", is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for ''Fox NASCAR'' and CW. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 ...
completed the session's top-ten drivers.
Sterling Marlin Sterling Burton Marlin (born June 30, 1957) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour. He formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, winning the Daytona 500 in 1994 and 1995. He ...
hit one of the walls lining the track and switched to a back-up car.
Michael Waltrip Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, racing team owner, amateur ballroom dancing competitor and published author. He is the younger brother of three-time NASC ...
did not need to switch cars after a similar collision. Forty-nine cars entered qualifying on Friday evening; due to NASCAR's qualifying procedure forty-three were allowed to race. Each driver ran two laps, with the starting order determined by the competitor's fastest times. Drivers who set their laps late in qualifying had an advantage because the track was at its coolest. Ryan Newman clinched the 39th
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
of his career, with a time of 29.140 seconds. He was joined on the
grid Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to: Space partitioning * Regular grid, a tessellation of space with translational symmetry, typically formed from parallelograms or higher-dimensional analogs ** Grid graph, a graph structure with nodes connec ...
's front row by his
Penske Racing South Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Day ...
teammate Kurt Busch, and was the second-to-last driver to record his lap. Sadler qualified third,
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative ...
fourth, and Kenseth fifth. Hamlin, Rudd,
Dave Blaney David Louis Blaney (born October 24, 1962) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. Blaney was a successful Sprint car racing, sprint car driver before he started racing in NASCAR, competing in both the Sprint Cup Series ...
,
Bobby Labonte Robert Allen Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He also currently competes part-time in the SMART Modified Tour, driving the No. 18L for Hermie Sa ...
and Stremme rounded out the top ten qualifiers. Jeff Green crashed in the second turn while on a lap and used a provisional to qualify. The six drivers who failed to qualify were
Kevin Lepage Kevin Paul Lepage (born June 26, 1962) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who last drove in NASCAR in 2014. Racing career Early career Lepage spent the 1980s driving in both the Busch North series and the Vermont-based ...
,
David Reutimann Emil David Reutimann (born March 2, 1970) is an American professional stock car racing crew chief and former driver. A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, he has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Camping World ...
(who crashed on his lap) Waltrip (who lost control of his car in the second turn on his second qualifying lap, tearing off a front tire after hitting an inside wall and made contact with it a second time before stopping),
Mike Bliss Michael Duane Bliss (born April 5, 1965) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. A journeyman NASCAR competitor and the 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, he has run in all three national series. Racing career Bliss ...
,
Paul Menard John Paul Christian Menard (born August 21, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver who currently competes full-time in the Trans-Am Series, driving the No. 3 Ford Mustang for 3GT Racing. Menard is the 2024 Trans-Am ...
and
Ward Burton John Edward Burton III (born October 25, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He has five career wins in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, including the 2002 Daytona 500 and the 2001 Southern 500. A member of the Burton ...
. 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. It's been something that weighs on the drivers and the teams". He also said he felt he could have recorded a faster lap time and was worried about teammate Kurt Busch's qualifying form. On Saturday afternoon in sunny and warm weather conditions, Newman was fastest in the second practice session with a time of 30.562 seconds, ahead of Sadler, Kurt Busch,
Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959), nicknamed "the Kid", is an American former stock car racing driver. He most notably drove the No. 6 Ford Motor Company, Ford for Roush Racing for the majority of his career. From 1989 to 2009, Martin wo ...
,
Greg Biffle Gregory Jack Biffle (born December 23, 1969), nicknamed "the Biff", is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. After racing in the NASCAR Winter Heat Series in the mid-1990s, he was recommended to Jack Roush by former race ...
, Earnhardt, Edwards, Rudd, McMurray and Kahne. 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. Shortly afterward, Nemechek spun after exiting the second turn but avoided damaging his car. Later that day, Edwards led the final practice session with a time of 30.043 seconds; Biffle, Newman, Sadler,
J. J. Yeley Christopher Beltram Hernandez "J. J." Yeley (born October 5, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for ...
, Truex. Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kenseth, and Jeff Burton were in positions two through ten. Kyle Busch damaged his right-rear quarter after hitting a right-hand wall, but did not switch to a back-up car.


Qualifying results


Race


Laps 1–112

Live television coverage of the race began at 5:00p.m. EDT in the United States on
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
. Commentary was provided by
Mike Joy Michael Kinsey Joy is an American TV sports announcer and businessman who serves as the play-by-play commentator for Fox Sports' NASCAR coverage. His color analysts are Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. Joy has been part of the live broadcast cre ...
,
Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports Color analyst, analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NAS ...
, and
Larry McReynolds Lawrence Joseph McReynolds III (born January 10, 1959) is an American NASCAR crew chief and current racing analyst on Fox Sports as well as a columnist on Foxsports.com. In the past, he has served as an advisor to Petty Enterprises, and as a m ...
. Around the start of the race, weather conditions were partly cloudy with an air temperature between and a track temperature which ranged between . William K. Thierfelder, president of
Belmont Abbey College Belmont Abbey College is a private, Catholic liberal arts college in Belmont, North Carolina. It was founded in 1876 by the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey. The college is affiliated with the Catholic Church and the Order of Saint Benedict. ...
in
Belmont, North Carolina Belmont is a small Suburb, suburban city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, located about east of Gastonia, North Carolina, Gastonia. The population was 10,076 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Once known as Garibaldi ...
, began pre-race ceremonies with an invocation. Country and pop music singer
LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at the age of 13 and has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Christian, and o ...
performed the national anthem, and sponsored contest award winners commanded the drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, three drivers moved to the rear of the field because of unapproved changes; Bowyer had switched to his back-up car, and
David Ragan David Lee Ragan (born December 24, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing, and is also an analyst for NASCAR on ...
and Harvick had changed their engines. The race began at 5:52p.m. Newman maintained his pole-position advantage heading into the first corner. After starting 21st, Jimmie Johnson moved to 15th position by lap eight. Kurt Busch passed teammate Newman for the lead three laps later. By the 20th lap, Kurt Busch, Newman, Earnhardt, Kenseth and Yeley were running in the top five positions. Earnhardt got ahead of Newman for second place four laps later. Hamlin moved to third position by lap 32. Hamlin made up a further position on lap 43 after he passed Earnhardt for second and was 1.2 seconds behind race leader Kurt Busch. The first
caution Caution may refer to: * Prudence * A precautionary statement, describing a potential hazard * A police caution, an alternative to prosecution for a criminal offence in some countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia * A statement read by a ...
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. Biffle's car sustained heavy damage to the right-hand side, ending his race. All drivers elected to make
pit stop Pitstop may refer to: * Pit stop, in motor racing, when the car stops in the pits for fuel and other consumables to be renewed or replenished * ''Pit Stop'' (1969 film), a movie directed by Jack Hill * ''Pit Stop'' (2013 film), a movie directe ...
s for tires and fuel during the caution. 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. One lap later, a multi-car collision occurred on the front stretch when
A. J. Allmendinger Anthony James Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981), nicknamed "the Dinger,” is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. Allmendinger ...
lost control of his car in turn two and collided with the right-rear quarter panel of Johnson's car, which had a cut left-rear tire that burst after leaving turn four. Johnson's burst tire caused Blaney and Stewart to collide after Stewart slowed to avoid a collision with Johnson. Both drivers slid, collecting Gilliland, Sadler,
Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born 20 September 1975) is a Colombian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to , IndyCar between 1999 and 2022, and the NASCAR Cup Series between 2006 and 2024. Montoya won seven Formula One Grand ...
, Green, Bowyer, Truex, Marlin,
Johnny Sauter Jonathan Joseph Sauter (born May 1, 1978) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 66 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing. He has also driven in the NASCAR Cup ...
,
Kyle Petty Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash duri ...
and Harvick, all of whom had damage to their cars. The incident triggered the race's second caution. Johnson and Stewart made pit stops to repair the damage to their cars; both rejoined the race in eighteenth and twenty-fifth positions. Kurt Busch led on the lap-62 restart, ahead of Hamlin, Kenseth, Earnhardt, and Gordon. The third caution was prompted on the same lap when
Tony Raines Floyd Anthony Raines (born April 14, 1964) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is a former National Touring Series champion in the American Speed Association and NASCAR Rookie of the Year#NASCAR Nationwide Series, 1999 R ...
lost control of his car and slid sideways into Jeff Gordon, and both drivers were sent into the infield grass. Jeff Gordon went back up towards a right-hand wall and was hit by Allmendinger at the start-finish line, resulting in the former going airborne;
Robby Gordon Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, Championship Auto Racing Teams, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA, Inter ...
and Burton were also involved in the accident. Gordon was unhurt; drivers involved in the accidents, that caused the second and third cautions, made pit stops for repairs. Kurt Busch maintained his lead at the lap-70 restart, followed by Hamlin and Kenseth. Eight laps later, Burton caused the fourth caution after heavy contact with the turn three wall. During the caution, most of the leaders made pit stops; Newman stopped for a
track bar A Panhard rod (also called Panhard bar, track bar, or track rod) is a suspension link that provides lateral location of the axle. Invented by the Panhard automobile company of France in the early twentieth century, this device has been widely use ...
adjustment and had a new shifter ball installed. Kurt Busch and Kenseth chose not to pit and remained the leaders at the lap-83 restart, with Rudd in third place. Ten laps later, Newman, who was in eighth position, reported his car was "extremely tight" after the adjustments made at his pit stop. Stewart had moved back to eleventh and Johnson was thirteenth by lap 96. Kurt Busch's lead was four seconds over Kenseth after 100 laps, with
Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American former professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the i ...
following in third, Ragan fourth and Kyle Busch in fifth. Johnson passed Yeley for seventh position eleven laps later.


112–Final lap

Green-flag pit stops began on lap 112, with Kenseth pitting on the same lap for tires and a wedge change. Kurt Busch made his stop two laps later, handing the lead to Vickers for twelve laps. Kyle Busch took the lead on lap 126 with an advantage of ten seconds over Johnson by lap 131. Kyle Busch made his pit stop on the next lap, handing the lead to Johnson for one lap. Stewart took the lead until his stop on lap 133, when Yeley became the race leader. Edwards and Elliott both held the lead in the next two laps. After the pit stops, Vickers regained the lead. On lap 140, Vickers' six-second lead was reduced to nothing when the fifth caution was triggered after debris was spotted on the backstretch. Most of the leaders elected to make pit stops. Mears was observed speeding, and was required by NASCAR to drop to the rear of the longest line. Racing resumed on lap 146 with Vickers leading Kyle Busch, Earnhardt, Yeley and Stewart as daylight began to fade. Mears was afflicted with an
alternator An alternator (or synchronous generator) is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field wit ...
issue on lap 149, and switched to a back-up
battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...
. A
flat tire A flat tire (British English: flat tyre) is a deflated Tire, pneumatic tire, which can cause the rim of the wheel to ride on the tire tread or the ground potentially resulting in loss of control of the vehicle or irreparable damage to the tire. T ...
slowed Earnhardt on lap 154; he pitted for new tires two laps later. Ragan moved back into the top five by lap 160. Ten laps later, debris was spotted in the turn two
groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station ...
, causing the sixth caution, during which all the leaders made pit stops. Vickers led on the lap-174 restart, followed by Kurt Busch and Martin. Kurt Busch drove left to pass Vickers for the lead on lap 175; three laps later, Newman drove to his garage to retire with an engine failure. Mears' team installed a new battery into his car, and switched between his main and back-up battery to ensure engine power was maintained. Vickers retook the lead from Kurt Busch on the 181st lap, and Stewart got ahead of Kyle Busch one lap later. Johnson took the lead from Vickers on lap 184. On lap 185, Kurt Busch nudged the turn two wall with his right-rear side and spun on the backstretch, triggering the seventh caution. He regained control of his car to run in ninth place. Most of the leaders made pit stops. Johnson led at the lap-190 restart, followed by Vickers and Kenseth. Johnson held a one-second lead over Vickers by the 200th lap, by which time Edwards moved past Stewart. Vickers retook the lead from Johnson on lap 206. Fifteen laps later, the eighth caution was triggered when Edwards's car suffered a cut right-rear tire, slowed on the track and spun at turn four while driving cautiously to the pit road. Edwards collected his teammate, Ragan, who was run into by Elliott. Mears was close by the incident but avoided damaging his car. On lap 222, Vickers reported a
power steering Power steering is a system for reducing a driver's effort to turn a steering wheel of a motor vehicle, by using a power source to assist steering. Hydraulic or electric actuators add controlled energy to the steering mechanism, so the driver can ...
problem, and Kyle Busch was losing battery power. Most of the leaders, including Vickers, made pit stops. Kyle Busch's car had a replacement battery fitted and Vickers topped up with more fluids; both drivers rejoined in twelfth and thirteenth positions. Johnson led at the lap-227 restart, with Kenseth in second place. 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. Johnson reclaimed the first position from Kenseth on the backstretch on the 245th lap. Kyle Busch's right-front tire was cut, and went into the turn four wall on lap 252, triggering the ninth caution. During the caution, most of the leaders, including Johnson, chose to make pit stops. Johnson made changes to his car's left and right rear spring rubber, and Stewart's car's air pressure was adjusted. Kyle Busch drove to his garage with a broken brake motor on the 254th lap and Mayfield led the field back up to speed for the restart on the 256th lap, ahead of Kenseth, Vickers, Stewart and Johnson. Mayfield dropped to third place as Kenseth and Vickers moved into first and second places on lap 257. Kenseth held a 2.2-second lead over Stewart, who moved to second and was closing on Kenseth by lap 265. 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. Most of the leaders, including Kenseth, elected to make pit stops. Johnson led the field on the lap-272 restart, followed by Kenseth and Stewart. Kenseth passed Johnson to reclaim the first position four laps later. Vickers and Rudd made contact while leaving the fourth turn on lap 281 but no caution was needed. Johnson retook the lead from Kenseth two laps later. 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. The leaders, including Johnson, made pit stops for tires under caution. Rudd took over the lead for one lap before making a pit stop on lap 293. Johnson regained the lead after the pit stops, maintaining it at the lap-297 restart; he was followed by Kenseth and Earnhardt. Kyle Busch rejoined the race on the same lap. Kurt Busch lost control of his car on the backstretch on lap 298; his car spun off and hit a left-hand wall, causing the twelfth caution. He drove to his garage to retire. Kenseth led the field back up to speed at the lap-302 restart. Johnson retook the lead from Kenseth on the 311th lap. Stewart got ahead of Kenseth for second place on lap 314; he was six-tenths of a second behind race leader Johnson. After receiving a free pass from the tenth caution, Petty was running in ninth place by lap 316; he battled
Reed Sorenson Bradley Reed Sorenson (born February 5, 1986) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and Spotter (auto racing), spotter. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation ...
for eighth place. Fourteen laps later, Mears moved into third position. 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. The leaders, including Johnson, made pit stops; Johnson's pit crew dropped a left-rear
lug nut A lug nut or wheel nut is a fastener, specifically a nut (hardware), nut, used to secure a wheel on a vehicle. Typically, lug nuts are found on automobiles, trucks (lorries), and other large vehicles using rubber tires. Design A lug nut is a ...
, costing him time while his mechanics searched for it, falling to tenth position. Stewart led the field on the lap-342 restart, ahead of Mears and Earnhardt. Johnson moved to fourth place by lap 367; three laps later, Stewart had a 1.1-second lead over Mears and extended it to 2.7 seconds by the 380th lap. The second round of green-flag pit stops for fuel began on lap 381, as Earnhardt got past Mears for second place on the following lap. Mears lost third place to his teammate Johnson on lap 390. Johnson made his pit stop on the next lap and avoided a collision with Mears. Stewart drove slowly down the pit road on the 393rd lap because he was two laps short of fuel, allowing Earnhardt to move into first place before his own stop one lap later. Hamlin took over the lead before his pit stop on lap 395, allowing Mears to take over the first position. By lap 398, Mears held a ten-second lead over Yeley, who was closing the gap, and felt his car was tight when he drove right, but held a strong line at the track's bottom when he moved out of traffic. Mears conserved fuel after slowing his pace following persuasion by his crew chief
Darian Grubb Darian Kent Grubb (born October 9, 1975) is an American NASCAR mechanic, engineer, and Crew chief (auto racing), crew chief who is currently employed at Trackhouse Racing as the Director of Performance and the crew chief of the team's part-time N ...
; he maintained his lead for the remaining two laps to win his first race in the Nextel Cup Series. He ran out of fuel on his cool-down lap; his engine cut out shortly after crossing the start-finish line. Yeley finished second, ahead of Petty in third, who secured his first top-five finish since the 1997 MBNA 400. Sorenson was fourth and Vickers came in fifth. Stewart, Rudd, Earnhardt, Hamlin and Johnson completed the top-ten finishers. The race had thirteen cautions and 29 lead changes among 15 drivers. Kurt Busch's total of 107 laps led was the highest of any competitor. Mears led for one period in the race, for a total of six laps.


Post-race comments

Mears appeared in
Victory Lane The following is a glossary of terminology used in motorsport, along with explanations of their meanings. 0–9 ;1–2 finish: When two vehicles from the same team finish first and second in a race. Can be extended to 1–2–3 or 1–2–3– ...
to celebrate his first win in the Nextel Cup Series in front of the crowd; the win earned him US$377,425 and is his only career win as of 2022. Mears was delighted with his victory, saying in the post-race press conference, "This is unbelievable. I'm very, very excited about it and, at the same time, very relieved. I was afraid Darian
rubb Rubb Building Systems is a privately owned manufacturer of tension fabric buildings and shelters, also known as Rubb halls. With origins in Norway, the company has locations in Rubbestadneset and Bergen, Norway, Sanford, Maine, and Gateshead, T ...
was going to call me in. I'm glad he didn't. The only way we could win was to gamble and that's what we did." Mears said he had "a fourth place car at best". It was the first time since 1991 a person with the surname Mears had won in auto racing. Yeley, who finished second, said, "This is probably the first time in two years of Cup racing I didn't catch the bad break. I've always run into bad luck.", and, "At the end, we were a top-five car at best". Third-place finisher Petty said, "In all honesty, it's just a race. We didn't change the world tonight. It feels good to come back and race with these guys. I guess third place was just the cherry on the sundae." He also said he had a car that was capable of finishing in the top ten and that he would not have been able to run with the top drivers. Petty also praised Mears for his victory and said he felt Mears would have similar success in the future. Hamlin said he felt the top-five finishers were lucky to achieve their finishing positions and that his crew chief Mike Ford said there was "no glory in winning a fuel-mileage race, other than saying you didn't run hard and were saving fuel". 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. We have to get a handle on it sooner or later. I'm frustrated and down right now, but we'll just keep plugging along looking for the answer." Newman, who led the first ten laps of the race, was happy despite retiring from the race: "We had a good car. We had just gotten the lucky dog and we were going to be one of the 15 cars on the lead lap. Everybody at Penske Racing has been doing a great job. We've just got to keep it up and stay focused." After finishing the race in fifth place (then the best finish for a Toyota car) Vickers said it was "rough" driving without the use of power steering that cut in and out but he felt
Red Bull Racing Team Red Bull Racing Team, also known as Team Red Bull, was a NASCAR team owned by Red Bull founders Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya. The team was based in Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States and was managed by Jay Frye. The t ...
had "the best car" for the race. Stewart's crew chief
Greg Zipadelli Gregory C. Zipadelli, nicknamed "Zippy", (born April 21, 1967) is an American crew chief and team executive in NASCAR. Since 2025, he has worked for Rette Jones Racing as the team's Vice President of Business Operations. Zipadelli is most notabl ...
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. We were probably a second- or third-place car at worst, so it's disappointing." Eighth-place finisher Earnhardt said he thought he secured a second-place finish and was unaware the leaders had made pit stops. Nevertheless, he said was happy with the way his team ran the race. 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. He was also unable to remove his foot from his brake pedal. Ragan said he felt he should have passed
Roush Fenway Racing Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ...
teammate Edwards, who spun up the racetrack. Edwards also said he was trying to avoid wrecking himself. According to Montoya, who was involved in the multi-car collision on the 53rd lap: "I saw a car flying, and as soon as I saw the car flying I checked up. We actually slowed down the car and everything. The ten car or somebody came right in behind us and just pushed us through the whole mess." Jeff Gordon said he was "fine" after the accident and that it "looked a lot worse than it really was... Unfortunate because, man, what an awesome race car we had. I was so proud of
Steve Letarte Steven Letarte (born May 14, 1979) is an American professional NASCAR crew chief and TV sportscaster who works as a color commentator for ''Amazon Prime'', ''TNT'' and ''NASCAR on NBC''. He also works as a consultant for Spire Motorsports, a ...
and the guys. When we bring race cars like that to the track, it just makes me have a whole lot of fun. I was having a blast out there and I hate we are out of it. But I am ok." Allmendinger claimed responsibility for causing the crash and asked his spotter to apologize to Johnson's spotter, who relayed the message to Johnson via radio. The result maintained Jeff Gordon's lead in the Drivers' Championship with 1,921 points, ahead of teammate Johnson with 1,789. Kenseth remained in third with his points advantage over Hamlin reduced to thirty-two. Burton remained in fifth place and Stewart kept sixth. Harvick moved to seventh while Edwards gained two positions to eighth. Kurt Busch's non-finish dropped him to ninth and Bowyer was tenth. Kyle Busch and McMurray were 11th and 12th. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet with 105 points extended its lead to forty-two points over its main rival Ford. Dodge in fourth increased its points advantage over Toyota in fourth. The race took four hours, thirty-six minutes and twenty-seven seconds to complete, and the margin of victory was 9.561 seconds.


Race results


Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Manufacturers' Championship standings * Note: Only the top twelve positions are included for the driver standings.


References


External links

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Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the firs ...
Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the firs ...
NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway May 2007 sports events in the United States