Race Recap from Charlotte Coke 600
After a crazy finish in the Indianapolis 500 I couldn’t wait to see what the NASCAR race at Charlotte had in store for us. I enjoy this race as it goes from day to night and adjustments are crucial.
The race got off around 6:20 with Brad Keselowski leading the field to green and leading the first lap. Carl Edwards had a good car early on and took the lead on lap 8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr didn’t get off to a good start and hit the wall in the early laps.
Carl continued to lead and built up over a 4 1/2 second lead until the caution came out on lap 74 for debris. Jeff Burton wins the battle off pit road followed by Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson. We go back to green on lap 79.
Dale Earnhardt Jr’s car seems to be running better now that the sun is setting, he is up to 5th. Also moving up is Jimmie Johnson as Jeff Burton is dropping back. Denny Hamlin is the new leader and battles with Jimmie Johnson until caution comes out when Bobby Labonte spins on lap 99.
On pit road a few drivers are complaining about the heat and get bags of ice. David Ragan wins the battle off pit road. Kasey Kahne gets a speeding penalty.
Green flag on lap 103 track is cooling down to 120 degrees. David Ragan leads the group followed by David Reutimann, Juan Montoya, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth. Lap 108 Matt Kenseth passes David Ragan and by lap 118 he has over a 2 second lead. On lap 140 Denny Hamlin is complaining about his engine. He is still running well but says the engine is giving way. We had a long green flag run and cars start to pit on lap 147.
As cars cycle through it is still Matt Kenseth in the lead. Kurt Busch had a loose wheel and had to pit on lap 161. Matt Kenseth has over a 6 second lead and is putting some good drivers a lap down. Caution comes out on lap 171 for debris.
Marcos Ambrose wins the race off pit road and on lap 175 we go back to green flag racing. Jamie McMurray passes Marcos on the next lap for the lead. Matt Kenseth passes Jamie on lap 181 and Jamie McMurray blows an engine on the next lap and caution comes out.
Matt Kenseth leads the field back to green on lap 187 but Landon Cassill gets into Casey Mears as the field checked up on the restart. Green flag again on lap 193 with Matt Kenseth as usual leading.
Marcos takes the lead shortly and Matt gets it back a few laps later. Dale jr is moving up and his car seems to like the night time portion of the race. Another long green flag run and Tony Stewart takes the lead as pit road cycles through. Kurt Busch takes the lead when Tony pits on lap 232. Caution comes out on the next lap as Mike Bliss car stalls on the entrance to pit road.
Green flag on lap 237 with Marcos Ambrose in front, Kyle Busch takes the lead on the restart. Another yellow flag as Paul Menard hits the wall, Martin Truex also has damage. After green flag gets us back racing on lap 245 and its Marcos and Kyle at it again.
Another long green run and some drivers like Dale jr and Jimmie Johnson are moving up in the field. Lap 278 starts green flag stops. Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin cars are starting to become better. Jeff Gordon takes the lead. Lap 282 we have a caution for debris. Green flag on lap 287 and Kyle Busch takes the lead.
Caution out again on lap 289 for David Star hitting the wall. Green flag on lap 293 and its still Kyle Busch in the lead. Caution again on lap 295 for Landon Cassill as he spins. We have only 26 cars on the lead lap. We go back to green on lap 301.
Lap 302 brings out another caution as Mark Martin and David Gilliand get into a wreck that also collects Ryan Newman who are all done for the night. It takes almost 9 laps for them to separate the cars as they were really hung up on each other like teenagers in love.
We go back to racing on lap 310 and Jeff Gordon takes the lead. He leads for 8 laps until the caution comes out for Kyle Busch spinning through the infield grass. His car is not as damaged as Carl Edwards was after he spun last week through the same spot. Green flag has Kasey Kahne leading as he stayed out of the pits. Kasey Kahne stays in the lead for a while until lap 343 when Kyle Busch takes another spin. He is not having a good night now. Jimmie Johnson has a penalty during the pits as he left a wrench in the car.
Jeff Gordon leads the field back to green followed by Greg Biffle, David Ragan, Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne. The caution came out at a great time for Kasey Kahne as he was coming to the pits soon for fuel. Greg Biffle takes the lead on lap 351. With 40 to go Greg Biffle has built up a nice lead but Kasey Kahne is coming. Jimmie Johnson had to restart 24th on the penalty and is up to 19th after only a few laps. He is driving like a man possessed.
With 20 to go it is still Biffle and Kasey Kahne who are both gambling on fuel mileage. Dale Jr is 3rd and not far behind and reports say he can make it on fuel. Only 2 seconds separate the first 4 cars with 11 to go.
Jimmie Johnson blows his engine with 5 to go and now it will be interesting because of fuel on green white checker finish. Everyone is low on fuel, some leaders are really sweating it out. Greg Biffle has to pit and will take 2 tires and a splash of fuel. He will surrender the lead. Dale Jr takes the lead and there was a wreck but no caution. Dale jr comes around to get the white flag. On the final lap on the last turn Dale jr runs out of fuel and Kevin Harvick passes him to win the race.
Race Recap from Charlotte Coke 600 is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
Awesome Race Fans - By Awesome Race Fans for Awesome Race Fans
Nothing like a little drama to make things interesting. After a very interesting finish to the Pocono weekend, the Trucks and Cup cars head to Michigan this week, while the Nationwide cars take to Kentucky Speedway. This week’s 78th edition of ATIW is a full one, so we’ll get to it. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Ric:
With regards to Burton Smith’s $20M offer. I’m wondering if it would be possible, since the Indy winner would not have time to hang around to do interviews, photo shoots, etc. Would the sponsors just say, NO?
I think you could probably work it out to do all of that stuff the following day. That said, I just don’t think it would be feasible to do it. Tony Stewart was the last to do it and he was so dehydrated and exhausted, he was pretty worthless for the Coke 600. If IRL and Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart couldn’t pull it off, I’m not sure who could. – Journo
2. From Kyle:
Is it possible we will ever see tracks such as Rockingham or North Wilkesboro return to NASCAR in either the Nationwide or Truck series? It would help NASCAR with the hardcore fanbase and would provide more standalone dates for the Nationwide series (making it less likely a cup driver would run all the races, plus more races for a nationwide regular to realisticaly have a shot at winning). Is this even a possibility?
Never say never, but I don’t know if NASCAR would be too interested in re-entering those areas. I agree with you, it would be fantastic to see one of those tracks back on a national series schedule, but it’s hard to see what NASCAR would boot from the schedule. You can count out any SMI or ISC tracks. And Wilkesboro is still owned by SMI and in increasingly bad shape. It’s a good idea, I just don’t think it’s on NASCAR’s radar. – Journo
3. From Allen:
What are the 2 small strips on the left front bumper? They are on top of one another, but about 2-3 inches apart. Never noticed them until practice at Pocono on Carl Edwards CHEEZ-IT car.
Those are the part numbers of the nose pieces. The nose on a Cup car is actually two pieces, and NASCAR wants the teams to leave that part number exposed when they paint the car. You should be able to spot those two strips on most of the cars. I know a few paint over it, but if there is ever a question about the nose, the team would have to sand down the paint in that spot. - T.C.
4. From Lost In Texas:
The #7 has a long history in NASCAR, Alan and Geoff to name some of the recent owner/drivers. With the #7 slipping out of the top 35 last week and missing the race this week, do you think that spells the end for one of the last owner/drivers?
Well, after the penalties come down on the #38 team, I think Robby will have a second chance at life. That said, money is going to continue to be a problem for him going forward. Without sponsorship, I don’t know if I think Robby can or will continue for much longer. The points might not necessarily kill off Robby Gordon Motorsports, but lack of sponsorship very well could. – Journo
5. From Brad:
I’m a Huge Mark Martin fan. I just want to know what’s going on with his season this year. After being fairly dominate last season.
I think it’s a mixed bag over there. You can’t say it’s been a terrible season, he hasn’t had any wins, but he’s 11th in points. His average finish is 15.2 just a tick worse than it was last season, he just hasn’t had the consistency. There is still a lot of time left, and plenty of time for the #5 team to start winning races. Don’t count them out yet. – Journo
6. From Kevin:
Hey guys, just read the article about Phil Parsons, and to be honest I didn’t know before this week that he was going to be part of the TNT telecast. Watching the race today, with the included 2 hour delay, I was pleasantly surprised with his contributions. I thought he did an awesome job and was a breath of fresh air compared to the regular guys. I hope he gets to continue. I think people are letting their negative view of start and parkers infringe on him as a TV personality. I mean, the chance that he will ever need to interview one of his teams is slim and none. I don’t see any conflict of interest, its not as though Joe Gibbs is wanting to broadcast.
The problem is, Phil Parsons being part of the broadcast is exactly like Joe Gibbs being part of the broadcast. Phil Parsons is still a team owner in the Cup Series, whether his team start and parks or not. If an issue occurs with one of his teams he will not be able to talk about it impartially. The same issue could occur with team owners Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty. It may seem petty, but I believe the fans deserve an honest and fair broadcast and they’re just not going to get every time when one of the reporters has such a financial interest in the sport. Unfortunately, this is a very incestuous business, and ESPN and TNT are only more than happy to feed into it. In my opinion whether you work as a White House correspondent for the New York Times or as a pit reporter for ESPN (and yes TNT too), you need to adhere to professionally recognized ethics standards. In other words, I’m with Daly on this on. These guys need to decide whether they want to be broadcasters or team owners. – Journo
7. From Ella:
This weekend Harvick’s crew prevented Joey from reaching Harvick on pit road. Do crews have practiced responses to driver disputes on the track or do the crews just sort of take it on themselves to intervene in some way? Is the primary goal just to keep the two separated?
There aren’t practiced responses, but there is kind of an unspoken rule that crew guys protect the drivers. It’s fine if there is just talking going on, but when it escalates, you will often see crew guys step in. – T.C.
8. From Foster:
Hey guys. I am a huge fan of the site! I was wondering, could you explain if more rubber on the track means there is more or less grip for the cars?
In most cases, more rubber on the track means better grip for the cars. As the tires wear, the soft rubber will stick to the track and create more grip. -T.C.
9. From AJ:
After watching Denny hit the wall during his burn out got me thinking about NASCAR’s thoughts on it? Will that affect how the car fits the template and if a team has a borderline item on the car could this type of incident help hide it?
Don’t forget, the cars go through tech before the race, and must fit the templates then. It would be VERY difficult for a team to alter a body during the race that would give them an advantage without NASCAR seeing it. In post race inspection, the cars aren’t required to fit the templates again. Car heights, engines, gears, and other mechanical bits are under scrutiny in those inspections. – T.C.
10. From Matt:
Where does NASCAR get all the prize money for each race? I know that sounds completely stupid, but I don’t know how they could possibly make the millions they have to pay out every week just off ticket sales and what not. Also the start and park teams shouldn’t even get any money, or at least have theirs reduced. Seeing 7 cars pull off before Lap 20 is getting really old for us fans who pay to see 43 cars race, not 36.
No, not a stupid question at all. The money comes from the TV contracts (which is the biggest piece of the pie), and sponsorship dollars through contingency programs. Now in order to get money from these contingency programs you actually have to participate in them. It’s a little bit of a complicated process so I’m going to direct to a good article written by Lee Spencer on how the process works. As far as the start and park teams go, the problem is it gets complicated to prove they’re actually doing it. From the surface it’s easy to say who’s doing it, but not worth the process to tear cars down to prove it. NASCAR doesn’t like the teams doing this either, but they’ve created an environment that allows it to happen. – Journo
11. From Ron:
TNT had some excellent incar shots at Pocono . One thing I noticed is Denny Hamlin’s has very limited rollbar padding and doesen’t appear to have the netting or other equipment above the driver that some used in the past . is this part of the current rush to take weight of the cars? And where are they shifting weight to?
Remember that the COT has a lot more room inside the car then the previous car did, and in some cases, a ton of roll bar padding isn’t necessary. Also, the amount of weight saved by removing a little bit of roll bar padding would be minimal. Plus, you don’t sacrifice driver safety for a few ounces of saved weight. NASCAR mandates what the weight distribution is from left to right and front to rear. What teams are trying to do is get the weight as low as possible. – T.C.
12. From Ric:
Saw on TV at Pocono a crew member of the 48 team was putting a left side tire over the wall. As he was putting it out as far away from the wall he could, he over extended himself. To keep from falling over the wall he put his hand (or both) down in the pit stall. My question is when is a person considered over the wall towards counting for one of the 7? What is the penalty for having too many people over the wall?
The rulebook actually makes mention of feet and actually stepping in the stall. I’m sure if the official really wanted to, he could call a penalty on the team for the guys hands being down, but most won’t. In a case like that, it was just an accident that the guy ended up over the wall. No advantage was gained. – T.C.
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!
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Race week in Charlotte is in full effect. Fans will descend on the QC this week to watch the Coca Cola 600 and to check out all there is to see in the center of the NASCAR universe. In case you are coming to town and are looking for stuff to do, we’ve put together a nice list to get you started (see it here). If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Bill:
With Bruton Smith offering up $20M to run in and win both the Indy 500 and Coke World 600, I got to thinking… It obviously wouldn’t be possible to run the Grand Prix of Monte Carlo, the Indy 500, and the Coke World 600. But, could someone run in Monte Carlo and Charlotte in the same day?
Well the Monaco Grand Prix took place this year on May 16 (Red Bull’s Mark Webber won). Last year it was the day before the 600. If they fell on the same date would it be possible? The race starts at 8 a.m. eastern standard time (Monte Carlo is six hours ahead). If the race lasts, say two hours (and you figure another hour to get to the airport and take-off – flying private of course), and the flight is about 9 hours (so the Internet tells me) that would put you back in Charlotte at 8 p.m. – too late to make it in time for the start of the 600 (which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.). – Journo
2. From Sue:
Does it really make a difference for team morale when a driver shows up at the shop daily or weekly vs those who rarely do?
I certainly don’t think a driver coming into the shop regularly is a bad thing. Guys know the drivers are busy and some, like Montoya, don’t even live in Charlotte, so shop visits aren’t always realistic. But the occasional visit is good for everyone, I think. – T.C.
3. From Gabi:
The cameras at the track record in 720p format or in 1080i? Thanks.
I believe the cameras Fox and ESPN use shoot in 720p, but don’t quote me. Maybe someone else knows for sure? – Journo
4. From Bristol_B:
First of all, thanks for sharing your insight, and perspective. Your website is a must read for any race fan! Now, I’m confused about the All-Star Race eligibility. Is it the car or the driver? Brad Kesekowski won last year in James Finch’s #09, but that car is not entered. Keselowski is entered in the #12 Penske car. Red Bull has entered the #83 with Casey Mears as the driver in place of recovering Brian Vickers. So if it’s the car why isn’t the #09 entered, does Finch need special dispensation due to a driver change? Thank you in advance for clarification!
All Star race eligibility is based on the driver’s accomplishments, not the team or car’s. With the situation surrounding Brian Vickers, NASCAR made a special exception to allow Casey Mears to pilot Red Bull’s #83 in the race. That is why Keselowski is in the race, and the #09 Finch car is not. – T.C.
5. From Christopher:
Cup teams generally bring two cars to a race, correct? What if they outright total both of them during practice? I know this is a stretch, but I could see it happening at Talledega, where you do have to practice dangerous drafting moves. Secondly- has this ever happened?
If I remember correctly, this happened a couple of years ago when Casey Mears was driving for Hendrick. He wrecked both his backup and primary at a race. I believe he ended up using one of his teammate’s backup cars in the race. This also happened to Ryan Newman at Daytona last year. He wrecked his primary in the 150 qualifier and his backup in final practice. I believe a third car was brought from Charlotte for Newman to race with. So if they are close enough, a car could be brought from the shop, if not, a teammate’s backup would work. - T.C.
6. From Steve:
Your thoughts on Vickers/Red Bull/Mears? Given the investment Red Bull has in both Vickers and Speed, would you agree that Red Bull needs Mears to do badly, at least worse than Speed does and worse than Vickers was doing? Any better, and it raises the question of why they wouldn’t keep Mears next season. And yet while Red Bull doesn’t want Mears doing too well, Mears knows this is a great shot at impressing people to earn a ride next year – a bit of a conflict, perhaps?
I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. Casey Mears has seven full Cup seasons under his belt (all together 255 series starts) and one full Nationwide season (with a total of 93 starts). Scott Speed on the other hand has 52 Cup starts, 13 Nationwide starts, and 16 Truck starts. I would hope Casey performs better than Scott. Speed is very much a driver in development (not at all the case for Casey), so I think it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Speed still has the potential for growth – with Casey I think what you’ve seen is what you get. It is true however that this is Casey’s fourth opportunity with one of the sports top teams (recall Ganassi, Hendrick and Childress) to show he can be competitive (I’m not holding my breath). – Journo
7. From Melissa:
Between the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 weekend do the haulers return to their shops or do the crews replenish what they need and switch out cars using other transports?
Being so close to home, and seeing as how there is no track activity all week, the haulers go back to the shops. The Cup haulers will return to the track on Thursday to park for the weekend. – T.C.
8. From Emanuel:
When we’re watching the race at home, they allow us to “ride along” with the car, with the roof mounted cameras. Sometimes junk ends up on the lens, and you can see the lens rotate, and tada!, no more junk. Does the lens constantly spin, or does it “sense” when it get junked up, and then rotate itself to get the junk off the lens?
There is a little tape mechanism inside the cameras (it’s clear and in front of the lens) that allows the production crews to ensure the view from the camera is always clear. Check out this great NASCAR.com article for everything you wanted to know about onboard cameras. – Journo
In other sports, home games happen just as often as away games. But racing is different. We spend almost the entire season at away games. The sport as a whole only gets two home weekends a year; the 600 weekend in May and the October night race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Both offer a welcome respite from the usual grind of the season.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I always enjoy the chances to go racing here in Charlotte. It’s like every other weekend in that I still get to do what I love, but it always seems to mean a little more getting to do it close to home.
One thing you always notice about the Charlotte races is the amount of people roaming around the garage area and on pit road during the race. Besides the usual suspects, the proximity to home allows many friends and family who don’t normally get to see what we do to come out and spend the weekend with us. The credential lists for these weekends always end up full because of the extra requests.
On top of that, it’s nice to not have to travel to a far away race track. Instead of long plane rides or crowded van trips, it’s only a short drive for most to the track. And it’s nice at the end of the day to be able to go home and sleep in your own bed.
And I don’t know if you happen to notice a difference, but to me it seems like the racing action is always a little more amped up. I think everyone wants to be able to win in front of a home crowd, so teams bring their “A” games and drivers are a little more aggressive. Charlotte races don’t usually disappoint.
To top it off, the facility at Charlotte really is a great one. The garage and pit areas are nice, and you can’t beat having a half mile dirt track and the greatest drag strip on the planet all in the same complex. Bruton (and Humpy) really did a great job.
For high school and college sports, those homecoming games are always a big deal. The fans come out to support the team, there are a ton of festivities, and you know the games will be hard fought. Racing is not different. Our homecoming weekends mean just as much. There really is no place like home.