2006 Coca-Cola 600

The 2006 Coca-Cola 600 was the 12th stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series as well as the 47th running of the event. It was held on May 28, 2006, in Concord, North Carolina, at Lowe's Motor Speedway, before a crowd of 175,000 spectators. The circuit is an intermediate track that holds NASCAR races. Kasey Kahne of the Evernham Motorsports team won the 400-lap race starting from ninth position; Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson finished second and Roush Racing's Carl Edwards was third.

Scott Riggs won the second pole position of his career by posting the fastest lap in qualifying, and led 47 of the first 49 laps, until Jeff Gordon overtook him on lap 50. The lead changed a total of 37 times, with Kahne leading the most laps of any competitor (158). At the final restart on the 368th lap, Edwards led the field, and held off Johnson in the second position. Kahne turned left to pass them both, and reclaim the lead three laps later. He extended his advantage to more than two seconds and claimed his third victory of the season, and the fourth of his career. There were a total of fifteen cautions during the race, and sixteen different drivers each led at least one lap.

The result of the race advanced Kahne to sixth in the Drivers' Championship, 292 points behind Johnson. Roush Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin each finished in the top ten, and moved to second and third, respectively. Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing fell from second to fourth after crashing heavily on lap 34. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet maintained its lead with 86 points, 14 points ahead of Ford in second, and 16 in front of Dodge (its first Coca-Cola 600 victory since 1977) in third, with 24 races left in the season.

Background

The Coca-Cola 600 was the 12th of 36 scheduled stock car races of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, and the event's 47th iteration. It was held on May 28, 2006 in Concord, North Carolina, at Lowe's Motor Speedway (now Charlotte Motor Speedway), an intermediate track that holds NASCAR races. The standard layout is a four-turn quad-oval track. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four 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, Jimmie Johnson led the Drivers' Championship with 1,686 points, with Tony Stewart in second (1,593 points) and Matt Kenseth third (1,592 points). Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were fourth and fifth with 1,487 points and 1,460 points, respectively, and Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton rounded out the top ten drivers in the points standings. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet were leading with 80 points; Ford was second with 68 points, followed by Dodge with 61 points. Johnson was the race's defending champion. NASCAR mandated that teams used a fuel cell instead of the standard so that there would be fewer laps between pit stops and more tire changes could occur. Control tire supplier Goodyear brought a supply of harder compounds to ensure longevity.

The Coca-Cola 600 was conceived by driver Curtis Turner, who built the track. It was first held in 1960 in NASCAR's attempt to stage a Memorial Day weekend race to compete with the open-wheel Indianapolis 500; the two races were held together on the same day from 1974 onward. The race is the longest in distance on NASCAR's calendar, and is considered by drivers to be one of the sport's most important races alongside the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Southern 500. It is NASCAR's most physically demanding event; teams adapt to changeable track conditions because it occurs between late afternoon and evening. It was known as the World 600 until 1984 when The Coca-Cola Company purchased the race's naming rights, renaming 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.

After the previous race at Charlotte (the 2005 UAW-GM Quality 500), the track's condition was beginning to deteriorate. Several cars sustained blown tires, and multiple crashes occurred on the worn bumpy surface due to levigation, a process where a circuit's hard bumps were smoothed out. When that did not work, the entire track (including the aprons and pit road) was completely repaved, with more than a of asphalt used. The work was completed two months before the Coca-Cola 600 began.

Practice and qualifier

Three practice sessions were held before the race; one on Thursday and two on Saturday. The first session on Friday afternoon lasted 90 minutes, the second on Saturday afternoon 60 minutes and the third held later that day ran for 45 minutes. In the first practice session, Greg Biffle was fastest with a lap of 29.693 seconds, ahead of Kahne in second and Kurt Busch in third. Jeremy Mayfield was fourth-fastest; Harvick placed fifth and Reed Sorenson came sixth. Jeff Green set the seventh-quickest time, Scott Riggs eighth, Kyle Busch ninth, and Travis Kvapil completed the top ten ahead of qualifying. Stewart spun leaving the second turn, but he avoided contact with the barrier beside the track. Tony Raines hit the wall, and his pit crew repaired minor structural damage to his car on pit road. J. J. Yeley pirouetted backward into the turn two wall late in the session. Robby Gordon's engine failed at around the same time, and his team changed engines.

Fifty-three cars were entered for the qualifying session on Thursday evening; according 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. Cars that ventured onto the track early in qualifying were at a disadvantage because the track temperatures lowered as night fell. Riggs was advised by his crew chief Rodney Childers to drive a different car, and he went onto the circuit in the middle of the session, taking his first pole position of the season, and the second of his career with a time of 28.744 seconds. He was joined on the grid's front row by Mayfield, his Evernham Motorsports teammate. Johnson qualified in third, Yeley fourth, and Bobby Labonte fifth. Kenseth was fifth, with Biffle and Denny Hamlin seventh and eighth. Kahne and Green were ninth and tenth. The nine drivers who failed to qualify were Kevin Lepage, Hermie Sadler, Chad Chaffin, Michael Waltrip, Stanton Barrett, Mike Garvey, Chad Blount, Carl Long, Kirk Shelmerdine and Kertus Davis. After the qualifier, Riggs praised his car, "There was a lot of grip out there tonight and I didn’t know if it was going to hold up for pole or not, but I got all I could out of it. All these guys did a good job of making sure we didn’t tune ourselves out of it. We just kept making small changes and everything worked out."

Although Waltrip failed to set a fast enough lap time to qualify, he brought Derrike Cope's 74 McGlynn Racing car to enter the race, and renumbered it as No. 55, allowing him to extend his streak of consecutive starts to 262 races. On Saturday afternoon Mayfield was fastest in the second practice session with a time of 30.199 seconds; Martin was second-fastest and Labonte third. Fourth place was occupied by Riggs and his teammate Kahne placed fifth. Green was sixth-fastest, and Johnny Sauter, Kurt Busch, Casey Mears and Carl Edwards followed in positions seven through ten. Later that day, Kahne led the final practice session, setting a lap of 30.257 seconds. Martin duplicated his second practice session result in second, with Mayfield third and Edwards improved to fourth. Edwards' teammate Biffle was fifth- quickest; Riggs took the sixth position and Labonte came seventh. Kurt Busch was eighth, Burton ninth and Yeley completed the top ten ahead of Sunday's race.

Qualifying results

Race

Live television coverage of the race began at 5:02 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) ( UTC–04:00) in the United States on Fox. Around the start of the race, weather conditions were sunny, with the air temperature in the high range, and the track temperature was . Country music singer Carrie Underwood performed the national anthem introduced by American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, and Edward Angus Powell Jr., president and chief executive officer of the United Service Organizations, commanded the drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, Robby Gordon fell to the rear of the grid because he changed engines, and Waltrip did the same for relieving Cope in the No. 74 McGlynn Racing car.

The race began at 5:43 EDT. Riggs maintained his pole position advantage going into the first turn. That lap, the first caution was waved, as Dale Jarrett was told by his spotter Rick Cordell over the radio to maintain his line entering turn three. He mis-interpreted the command, and came down into Robby Gordon's right-front quarter panel. Jarrett spun backward into the turn three wall and retired from the event. Riggs held the lead on the lap five restart. Four laps later, Mayfield was passed by Johnson for second. On lap 33, Stewart's right-front tire disintegrated because the hot track surface melted its bead and he lost control of his car. He crashed heavily into the right-hand SAFER energy absorbing barrier at turn two, and the second caution was necessitated. Stewart required assistance from medical personnel to exit his car, and the internal pain meant he clutched his right shoulder while walking to an ambulance. During the caution, several drivers (including Riggs) made pit stops. Elliott Sadler and Waltrip staggered their pit stops, enabling the pair to lead a lap each before entering pit road. Riggs maintained the first position at the restart on lap 40. Newman's front tires went flat eight laps later, and spun at turn four, but avoided damaging his car, necessitating the third caution.

Several drivers (including Riggs) elected to make pit stops for fuel. Riggs stalled and lost the lead to Jeff Gordon who held it at the restart on lap 53. Fourteen laps later, the fourth caution was shown. Kurt Busch lost control of his car leaving the second turn, and he made contact with the barrier with the left-hand side of his car. Under caution, most of the drivers on the lead lap (including Jeff Gordon) entered pit road for fuel, tires and car adjustments. Johnson led the field back up to speed at the lap 71 restart. He began to pull away from the rest of the field. On lap 92, sections of metal were observed lying in turn two, and the fifth caution was subsequently waved. Several cars (including Johnson) again made pit stops during the caution. Kahne made two stops because a crew member dropped a lug nut. Riggs returned to hold the first position at the restart on lap 97. On the same lap, Green overtook Riggs for the lead. Vickers hit a wall on the 100th lap but no caution was prompted as he continued without major damage to his car. By lap 106, Martin had moved to second place. He took the lead from Green four laps later. Martin only held it for a lap as Green overtook him to return to the first position. On lap 112, Paul Menard spun leaving turn four, but avoided hitting a wall, causing the sixth caution. Most drivers (including Green) chose to make pit stops for fuel and tires.

Martin regained the lead and maintained it at the lap 116 restart. The seventh caution was necessitated fourteen laps later because of debris in turn two. Drivers again took the opportunity to make pit stops under caution. Edwards was sent to the end of the longest line for entering pit road while it was closed. Riggs retook the lead on the 131st lap by taking only fuel. He held it at the restart on lap 135. Ten laps later, an eighth caution was required, as one of Edwards' tires blew, and he hit the turn two wall lightly, before spinning on the backstretch. Most teams elected to put fuel in their cars under caution was active. Green was ordered to drop to the end of the longest line for his team leaving equipment outside his pit box. Biffle led at the lap 147 restart. Vickers had an understeer that caused him to spin into the turn four wall with his car's right-hand side on the 160th lap, causing the ninth caution to be displayed. Most drivers (including Biffle) made pit stops for fuel and tires during the caution. Hamlin became the leader for the lap 166 restart. On lap 181, Kahne got ahead of Hamlin and became the new leader. Green flag pit stops began on the 202nd lap. On the next lap, Bowyer exited his pit box without a catch can, and it fell off, causing the tenth caution. Most drivers chose to have four tires installed on their cars under caution. Kahne continued to lead at the restart on lap 210.

Debris from Kvapil's shredded right-rear tire was located in the second turn 26 laps later, triggering the eleventh caution. The leaders (including Kahne) again elected to have four tires fitted to their cars during the caution. Hamlin got back to the first position, holding it at the lap 240 restart. On the following lap, Kahne passed Hamlin to regain the lead. Riggs and Mears then got past Hamlin to move into second and third three laps later. Four laps later, the twelfth caution was necessitated: Sauter's right-rear tire disintegrated exiting turn one, and he spun on the apron. Under caution, most of the leaders again took on fuel on pit road. Kahne continued to lead at the lap 254 restart. The second round of green flag pit stops commenced on the 287th lap, with Kahne maintaining the lead after all were completed nine laps later. A thirteenth caution was called for debris in turn two on lap 306. The leaders (including Kahne) again made pit stops for fuel and tires. Burton took the first position for the lap 310 restart. Four laps later, Mears lost control of his car in turn four, and bent his vehicle's rear bodywork and spoiler in a collision with a barrier. He turned down into Kyle Busch on the frontstretch, who was turned into the right-hand wall with his left-hand quarter, and slid into the infield grass, triggering the fourteenth caution.

Several cars swerved to avoid the accident. Kyle Busch put his window net down, and vacated his vehicle to venture towards the track while NASCAR officials restrained him. As one official grabbed his right arm, he threw his HANS device at Mears' circulating car on the next lap, which ricocheted off it. Racing resumed on the 321st lap, with Kahne leading. Riggs passed his teammate Kahne for the lead sixteen laps later. The final round of green flag pit stops began on lap 361. Riggs stalled twice and he incurred a stop-and-go penalty for transporting a jack and fuel can outside of his pit box. On lap 363, Jeff Gordon's right-rear suspension failed, and he collided with the turn four wall, causing the fifteenth (and final) caution. Edwards led at the lap 368 restart. He held off Johnson but lost the lead to Kahne to his left between turns three and four three laps later. Kahne held a lead of two seconds, and took his third victory of the season, and the fourth of his career. Johnson finished second, Edwards third, Martin fourth and Kenseth fifth. Burton, Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Hamlin and Sorenson completed the top ten. There were 37 lead changes amongst 16 different drivers during the course of the race. Kahne's 158 laps led was the most of any driver.

Post-race comments

Kahne appeared in Victory Lane after celebrating in the infield to commemorate his fourth career victory in front of a crowd of 175,000 people; the win earned him $428,114. He said of his late battle for the lead, "The car was turning 10 times better than it had been the pit stop before. By then, I knew we had a car that could race. That’s all I’ve ever wanted here, a car that could race with Jimmie. Every time you get to the end, you know Jimmie is the guy to beat. We got to that point and had a car that could race him.” Johnson was not disappointed that a streak of consecutive victories at the track ended at four because of unfavorable adjustments to his car, "We had a great car tonight. We had the fastest car at times. We didn't have enough speed at the end. I hate to see the streak come to an end, but we're still very fortunate to win three of them." Third-placed Edwards stated he was happy despite his penalty for entering pit road while it was closed, "We kept freeing the car up and it got a little too free in, and we played with tyre pressures all night. We overcame some terrible adversity tonight and I was so proud of my team."

The combination of a repaved track and the harder compound Goodyear tire received a mixed response from drivers. Jeff Gordon voiced criticism towards Goodyear as he believed their hard compound tires were not suitable for the track, "Goodyear can do better than this, and we could put on a better race. The track was great, but the tires were terrible, the worst I’ve ever driven on. I know Goodyear can do better than this." Martin praised the combination, "I'd say for the first time with the new asphalt, it gets an A, You don't get many of those. I want to compliment Goodyear, too. It was a hard tire to drive on, but it was a good race." Kenseth was more cautious in his assessment, "Some people made it work better than others. The surface is great, the small fuel cell made it interesting on pit road. Hopefully, we won't have that small fuel cell next time and maybe a little softer tire, but the pavement is awesome." Stewart was transported to Carolinas Medical Center and an X-ray found the tip of his right scapula was fractured. He was treated and released a few hours later. Stewart later planned to start the following week's race at Dover International Speedway, and Joe Gibbs Racing hired semi-retired racer Ricky Rudd as Stewart's relief driver to allow for a faster recovery.

Kyle Busch and his crew chief Alan Gustafson was ordered by NASCAR to meet president Mike Helton and other series officials about his collision with Mears after the race. He said he could have not done anything different, "You've got to be frustrated at somebody for taking out such a great racecar like that, It was capable of winning the race, really. We were coming along right there at the end of the run, kind of clicking them off and coming through the field. I was very happy with the handling, and then Casey just lost it." Mears said he felt Busch over-reacted and needed to mature, "What do you say about it? It's kind of the same thing over and over again with him overreacting. ... At some point he has to learn how to carry himself a little better, grow up a little bit and not act react like that." Two days after the race, NASCAR announced penalties for Hendrick Motorsports. The penalties, for "actions detrimental to stock car racing" (a violation of Section 12-4-A of the NASCAR Rule Book); entering the track without authorization and for throwing an object at another driver's car, included a $50,000 fine for Busch, who was put on probation until December 31, 2006. He and team owner Rick Hendrick were penalized 25 points in the Drivers' and Owners' Championships.

Additionally, Evernham Motorsports were found to transgress Section 12-4-A, 12-4-Q "car, car parts, components and/or equipment used that do not conform to NASCAR rules" and Section 20-12.8.1A "(roof height too low in post-race inspection" for Mayfield's No. 19 car. Crew chief Chris Andrews was fined $35,000, and Mayfield and team owner Ray Evernham had 25 Drivers' and Owners' Championship points deducted. The result kept Johnson in the lead of the Drivers' Championship with 1,861 points, ahead of Kenseth, who moved to second. Martin advanced to third while Stewart fell to fourth. Earnhardt maintained fifth. Kahne's victory moved him to sixth place. Gordon, Burton, Harvick and Kyle Busch filled positions seven to ten. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet led with 86 points, followed by Ford in second (72 points), and Dodge in third (70 points). The race took four hours, 39 minutes, and 25 seconds to complete, and the margin of victory was 2.114 seconds.

Race results

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

;Manufacturers' Championship standings

*Note: Only the top ten positions are included for the driver standings.

References

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Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
May 2006 sports events in the United States