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Track Facts:
Banking/Turns: 24°
Distance: 1.5 miles
Shape: Quad-oval

Coca Cola 600
Sunday, May 25
Lowe's Motor Speedway
Concord, NC
Sunday, 5:30 p.m. EST

Schedule
Practice
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST, Thursday, May 22
2:45 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST, Saturday, May 24
6:00 p.m. - 6:50 p.m. EST, Final Practice Saturday, May 24

Qualifying
7:10 p.m., Thursday May 22
Two laps all positions

Race Day Sunday, May 25
5:30 p.m. EST Sunday
TV: FOX 5:00 p.m. EST
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN), XM Radio
2007 winner: Casey Mears

Check the SPEED Channel schedule (speedtv.com) for various programs on the race this weekend.

Race Preview

Quotes from Kyle Petty:
 
“This No. 45 Dodge team has been steadily improving over the last few weeks.  Since Stewart Cooper came on board we’ve been getting better.  Some of our finishes haven’t shown our improvement because we’ve had some rough luck.  But this weekend we go to Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600.  Last year we were able to use fuel strategy, along with a fast car, to grab a podium finish.  Another top-5 would be just what our team needs right now.”
 
“We used the Sprint All-Star Showdown almost like an extra test session.  We tried a lot of experimental, or out of the box, setups to try to get a better grasp of what this car needs.  We’re not quite as exotic with our rear end toe, like you’ve seen some of the other teams doing, but we did try a few things for our race setup.  When we get to the track for Coke 600 practice we’ll have to concentrate on qualifying, so we used the Showdown as a test for the race.”
 
“It will be an honor to drive the No. 45 Coca-Cola Dodge this weekend in the Coca-Cola 600.  Coke has been a part of the Petty family for a long time.  They have been a part of this sport for even longer.  They do a lot for the Victory Junction Gang Camp and have been onboard with that from the beginning.  Pattie and I are grateful for what they do for the camp.  Getting another good finish for these guys would be an awesome feeling.”

Race Results
1. Kasey Kahne, Dodge
2. Greg Biffle, Ford
3. Kyle Busch, Toyota
4. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevrolet
11. Bobby Labonte, Cheerios Racing/Trix, Lucky and Friends Dodge
36. Kyle Petty, No. 45 Coca-Cola Dodge

Kasey Kahne picked up his second Coca-Cola 600 trophy by winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ longest race on Sunday night at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Kahne also won the Sprint All-Star race at the 1.5-mile venue last Saturday. Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-3 finishers.

The race featured 11 caution periods, well below the record of 22 set in 2005 after the famous “levigating” process. It also had the same feel of the 2007 event as many of the leaders had to come down pit road for fuel in the waning stages of the race, setting up a wild scramble to the checkered flag.

Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 Cheerios Racing/Trix, Lucky and Friends Dodge came home in the 11th position in the 600-miler. Labonte, who won the 1995 Coca-Cola 600 for his first Cup Series win, started the race from the 23rd spot. When the green flag fell he had to deal with a ‘tight’ condition that was compounded by a lack of overall grip. Grip is a premium during the early stages of this race because it starts during the day, when the sun is beaming down. Labonte lost a lap early while fighting this condition. However, through hard work by everyone on the ‘Helping Hands’ pit crew, he was able to race himself in position for the ‘Lucky Dog’ Award, which he picked up on a lap192 caution.

By that time the sun had gone behind the grandstands and the car came to life. Crew chief Jeff Meendering made some outstanding calls from atop the pit box that had Labonte as one of the fastest competitors on the track by lap 240. On laps 275 and 291, in particular, the No. 43 Dodge was the fastest car on the timing and scoring monitor. By lap 325, Labonte had driven up to the sixth position. After a pit stop for four tires, Labonte restarted the race 13th as several cars took only two tires and beat him out of the pits. He was able to drive up into the top-10, but had to pit for fuel with only a handful of laps.

“That was a typical Coca-Cola 600,” said Labonte. “The car was completely different at the start of the race than it was at the finish. We were pretty far off during the day, but the guys worked hard and the car was fast late in the race. I thought we were going to get a much better finish because the car was really flying at one point. But some guys took two tires, we had to put on four and the car was a little too tight in traffic. But it was a good night, overall.”

Kyle Petty and the No. 45 Dodge finished 36th Sunday. The team made several early adjustments to the setup but couldn’t seem to find a ‘balance’ for the car. The splitter was being worn down due to the front of the car rubbing the track. During a long caution the team had a chance to examine the car and realized that the left shock had malfunctioned. After fixing the problem, the No. 45 was off the lead lap and spent much of the remainder of the event trying to catch back up to the leaders.

“We knew from the beginning that something wasn’t right,” sounded Petty. “When the car got into the turns it felt like we were running on the right rear all the way around the corner. The guys figured out what the problem was and the car started running a lot better, it was balanced and it was constant. We just didn’t have time to catch back up.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to the Dover (Del.) International Speedway this weekend for the Best Buy 400 benefiting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks. Friday’s qualifying session will be telecast on the Speed Channel. It will be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Channel 128.