Just the sixth driver to win All-Star Race, 600 in same year

Compliments of NASCAR, Inc.

CONCORD, N.C. -May 25, 2008- For Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle, the finish of Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 was a replay of the May 17 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway (watch video).

Kahne took the checkered flag with Biffle chasing him for the final three laps, but what happened in the first 397 laps of the 400-lap marathon featured more subplots than an Agatha Christie novel.

Seizing the moment when Tony Stewart blew a tire while leading on Lap 397, Kahne streaked to the finish 10.203 seconds ahead of Biffle, who recovered from a loose wheel and a lost lap early in the race to claim the runner-up spot.

Kyle Busch ran third, despite a litany of problems that included a failing battery -- which the No. 18 team changed under caution on Lap 298 -- and a lost lap for an unscheduled pit stop when Busch thought he had a tire losing air. Busch extended his series points lead to 94 in front of sixth-place finisher Jeff Burton.

Gambling on fuel mileage after spending most of the race mired in traffic, Jeff Gordon ran fourth, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who survived a blown tire and getting hit from behind on Lap 297. Nursing his battered No. 88 Chevrolet to the finish, Earnhardt solidified his third-place standing in the points, 139 behind Busch.

Thanks to quick work in the pits on a gas-and-go stop on Lap 388, Stewart held a lead of more than five seconds in front of Kahne, but on Lap 397 Stewart blew a right front tire in Turn 1, surrendering the lead to Kahne less than a half-lap later (watch video).

"I was thinking second, and then I saw Tony slow up," said Kahne, who won for the eighth time in his career and for the first time since October 2006 at Lowe's. "I thought he was out of gas, and I couldn't believe it.

"He went into Turn 1 and he was high [in the corner], and when I came off Turn 2 he was low and slow."

Kahne is the sixth driver to win the Coca-Cola 600 and the all-star race in the same year and the first to do so since Jimmie Johnson in 2003.

Disappointed two weeks in a row, Biffle would have preferred a closer race at the end of the 600, but he took his second consecutive defeat to Kahne philosophically.

"Overall, I was probably more frustrated last week not getting the win, because I felt like I had the fastest car," said Biffle, who is 11th in the Cup standings. "Tonight, I didn't feel like I had the fastest car. I had a really good, solid car and just kept passing and got the track position where we were at the end.

"But I would have liked a chance to race Kasey. We got pretty fast there the last 50 laps of the race."

The race changed dramatically on Lap 297, with Earnhardt in the lead and cruising, three seconds ahead of Stewart, his closest pursuer. As he rolled through Turn 3, however, the right rear tire on Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevrolet blew, bouncing him off the Turn 4 wall. As Earnhardt slowed, J.J. Yeley plowed into the back of his car (watch video).

Earnhardt managed to stay on the lead lap, thanks to the work of his pit crew and a generous call from NASCAR, which opted to hold Earnhardt a lap for endangering a safety crew, then rescinded the penalty after a review of videotape.

"We got lucky at the end," Earnhardt said. "Got gas and made it last. I don't know what happened getting in to [Turn] 3. I think we blew a right rear tire. I hate it for my guys. We were running really strong -- I sure want to get me a win here."

News and Notes:

• Stewart finished 18th, the first car one lap down, and held on to the eighth spot in the Cup standings.
• Jimmie Johnson tumbled three spots to ninth in the points standings when his engine failed late in the race. He finished 39th with his first DNF of the season (watch video).
• Brian Vickers led four times for 61 laps, but a broken left rear wheel sent him hard into the Turn 2 wall on Lap 185. The tire bounced off the wall and into the infield, slightly damaging a camper. No one was hurt (watch video).
• David Ragan's stay in the top 12 lasted one race. He finished 12th and dropped to 13th in the standings. Kahne moved back into the top 12 in 12th, 56 points ahead of Ragan.

RESULTS
Coca-Cola 600
May 25, 2008
Race 12 of 36


FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS
1 2 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 190/5 400 Running
2 4 16 Greg Biffle Ford DISH Network / DishDVRs 175/5 400 Running
3 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's 170/5 400 Running
4 18 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 160/0 400 Running
5 6 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy 165/10 400 Running
6 14 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 155/5 400 Running
7 12 17 Matt Kenseth Ford R+L Carriers 151/5 400 Running
8 9 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy / Garmin 147/5 400 Running
9 30 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 138/0 400 Running
10 28 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 134/0 400 Running
11 23 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Trix / Lucky & Friends 130/0 400 Running
12 5 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 132/5 400 Running
13 20 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 124/0 400 Running
14 19 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 121/0 400 Running
15 7 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army "Salute the Troops" 118/0 400 Running
16 8 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 120/5 400 Running
17 11 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 117/5 400 Running
18 31 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 114/5 399 Running
19 37 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 106/0 399 Running
20 27 84 A.J. Allmendinger Toyota Red Bull 103/0 399 Running
21 38 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Alltel 105/5 399 Running
22 17 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 97/0 399 Running
23 15 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools 94/0 399 Running
24 16 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight 96/5 399 In Pit
25 39 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel's / USO "Toast to the Troops" 88/0 398 Running
26 41 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Lumber Liquidators 85/0 398 Running
27 29 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 82/0 397 Running
28 13 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Haas Automation 79/0 397 Running
29 21 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg's 81/5 396 Running
30 42 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Texaco / Havoline 73/0 396 Running
31 26 40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Wii Fit / Target 70/0 396 Running
32 40 00 Michael McDowell * Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 67/0 395 Running
33 33 33 Ken Schrader Chevrolet Camping World
/ RVs.com 64/0 395 Running
34 24 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 61/0 395 Running
35 43 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Haas Automation 58/0 395 Running
36 36 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Coca-Cola celebrates 2008 Olympics 55/0 389 Running
37 34 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge LifeLock 52/0 363 Out of Race
38 35 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 49/0 353 Running
39 10 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 51/5 351 Out of Race
40 32 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditRep
ort.com 43/0 343 Running
41 25 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Johns Manville / Menards 40/0 244 In Pit
42 3 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 42/5 184 Running
43 22 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam 34/0 181 Out of Race

* Denotes Rookie






Have an opinion on this story? E-MAIL KARNAC to send a letter to the editor!