2006 Coca-Cola 600: Kasey Kahne's Fuel-Light Charge at Lowe's Motor Speedway

Kasey Kahne won the 2006 Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 28, 2006, after starting ninth on the grid. Jimmie Johnson finished second and Carl Edwards third, in a race run over 400 laps on a freshly repaved track. Organisers marked the 47th running of the event, and the race produced fifteen cautions and 37 lead changes.

What was the 2006 Coca-Cola 600?

The 2006 Coca-Cola 600 was the 12th event on the Nextel Cup calendar that year. It was held before a crowd of 175,000 spectators at Lowe's Motor Speedway, which is now known as Charlotte Motor Speedway, in Concord, North Carolina.

The race is the longest by distance on the NASCAR calendar. It is considered one of the sport's most demanding events, because the start comes in the late afternoon and the race runs into the evening as the track temperature drops.

A repaved Charlotte track, a smaller fuel cell and a late charge from ninth gave Kasey Kahne his third win of 2006.

How did the Coca-Cola 600 begin as an event?

Curtis Turner, a driver who had built the track, conceived the race in 1960. NASCAR wanted a Memorial Day weekend event to compete with the Indianapolis 500, and from 1974 the two races were held on the same day. The event was first run in 1960, and it became a Memorial Day tradition.

The race was known as the World 600 until 1984, when The Coca-Cola Company bought the naming rights and it became the Coca-Cola World 600 the following year. It has been called the Coca-Cola 600 every year since 1986, except in 2002, when the name changed to Coca-Cola Racing Family 600.

What did the repaved track and tyres mean for the field?

The track had been deteriorating after the previous Charlotte race, with blown tyres and crashes on its worn, bumpy surface. Crews had tried to smooth the bumps, but when that failed the whole track was repaved, including the aprons and pit road, using more than 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) of asphalt.

NASCAR mandated a 14 US gal (53 L; 12 imp gal) fuel cell instead of the usual 22 US gal (83 L; 18 imp gal). The smaller tank meant more frequent stops and more tyre changes, and Goodyear supplied harder compounds to ensure the tyres lasted over the distance.

What were the championship standings before the race?

Jimmie Johnson led the drivers' championship with 1,686 points before the race, and Tony Stewart was second with 1,593. Matt Kenseth was third on 1,592, and Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were fourth and fifth on 1,487 and 1,460 points.

Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton completed the top ten. In the manufacturers' standings Chevrolet led with 80 points, Ford was second on 68, and Dodge third on 61. Johnson was the defending race winner.

How did practice and qualifying unfold?

Three practice sessions were held before the race. Greg Biffle was fastest in the first session with a lap of 29.693 seconds, ahead of Kahne and Kurt Busch. Jeremy Mayfield was fourth, Kevin Harvick fifth and Reed Sorenson sixth in that session.

Stewart spun after leaving the second turn but avoided contact with the barrier. Tony Raines hit the wall, and his crew repaired minor damage on pit road. J. J. Yeley pirouetted into the turn two wall late in the session, and Robby Gordon's engine failed, so his team changed the unit.

Fifty-three cars entered qualifying on the Thursday evening, and only 43 could race. Scott Riggs was advised by his crew chief to switch to a different car, and he went out in the middle of the session to take his first pole of the season, his second in his career, with a time of 28.744 seconds.

Mayfield, Riggs's Evernham teammate, started alongside him on the front row, with Johnson third, Yeley fourth and Bobby Labonte fifth. Michael Waltrip did not qualify with his own car but raced Derrike Cope's car as No. 55, which extended his streak of consecutive starts to 262.

The second practice on Saturday was topped by Mayfield at 30.199 seconds, with Martin second and Labonte third. Kahne was fastest in the final session at 30.257 seconds, with Martin again second, Mayfield third and Edwards fourth.

How did the race start?

Live television coverage on Fox began at 5:02 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Carrie Underwood sang the national anthem, and the race started at 5:43 p.m. Air temperature was in the high 80s F (27 C), while the track was at 113 F (45 C).

Riggs held his pole advantage into the first turn. On the first lap Dale Jarrett misread a message from his spotter, drifted into Robby Gordon, and spun into the turn three wall to retire. On lap 33 Tony Stewart's right-front tyre disintegrated on the hot track, and he crashed heavily into the SAFER barrier in turn two. He needed help to leave the car.

Elliott Sadler and Michael Waltrip staggered their pit stops and each led a lap. Newman then had a front tyre go flat and spun in turn four, but he avoided damaging his car. Riggs held the lead at the lap 40 restart.

How did the lead change hands in the middle stage?

Jeff Gordon took the lead on lap 53 after Riggs stalled. Fourteen laps later a caution came when Kurt Busch lost control and touched the barrier. Johnson drew away from the field after the restart on lap 71, and the racing was shaped by a series of pit stops and cautions.

Metal debris on lap 92 brought out another caution, and several cars including Johnson pitted again. Martin got past Green to lead four laps after moving into second. Paul Menard spun in turn four on lap 112 and avoided the wall.

Riggs returned to the front at the lap 135 restart after taking only fuel on the 131st lap. Vickers hit the turn four wall with his right side on the 160th lap, and Biffle led the lap 147 restart. Hamlin took the restart on lap 166, and Kahne passed him on lap 181 to lead.

Edwards was sent to the back of the longest pit line after entering pit road while it was closed. Riggs and Kahne kept trading places as the caution periods gave teams fresh tyres.

What decided the closing stage?

Kvapil's shredded right-rear tyre left debris in the second turn 26 laps after the restart. Four laps after the next caution, Sauter's right-rear tyre disintegrated and sent him spinning on the apron. Kahne was still ahead at the restarts, and his lead survived the flurry of cautions.

A thirteenth caution followed debris on lap 306. Four laps later, Mears lost control in turn four and bent his rear bodywork and spoiler against a barrier, then turned down into Kyle Busch on the frontstretch. Busch was turned into the right-hand wall and slid into the infield grass.

Busch lowered his window net and got out, heading toward the track, but officials held him back. He then flung his HANS device at Mears' car as it went by on the next lap, and the device bounced off. The race restarted on the 321st lap under Kahne's lead.

Riggs passed his teammate Kahne for the lead sixteen laps later, but he stalled twice and picked up a stop-and-go penalty for carrying equipment outside his pit box. On lap 363 Jeff Gordon's right-rear suspension failed, and he hit the turn four wall to bring out the final caution.

Edwards led at the lap 368 restart and held off Johnson, but Kahne passed Edwards on the inside between turns three and four three laps later. Kahne then held a lead of more than two seconds to the finish, his third win of the season and the fourth of his career.

What were the final results?

Johnson crossed the line second, with Edwards third, Martin fourth and Kenseth fifth. Burton, Biffle, McMurray, Hamlin and Sorenson filled the rest of the top ten. Kahne's 158 laps led were the most of anyone, and 16 drivers shared the lead at some point.

What did the drivers say after the race?

Kahne said the car had turned ten times better than it had before the last stop, and that he knew by then they had a car that could race. He said the aim had always been a car that could race with Johnson, who he described as the man to beat at the end of a long run.

Johnson said he had not been disappointed by the result, even though a run of four straight wins at the track had ended. He said the car had been great and had the fastest speed at times, but that he had not had enough speed at the end.

Edwards said he was happy with third despite the pit road penalty, and that the team had overcome serious adversity. Gordon criticised the Goodyear tyres as the worst he had driven on, while Martin said the combination of repaved track and tyre was a good race, and Kenseth said the surface was great.

What penalties followed the race?

Stewart fractured the tip of his right scapula in the crash and was treated and released a few hours later. Joe Gibbs Racing hired Ricky Rudd as his relief driver for the following week at Dover. Stewart was X-rayed at Carolinas Medical Center before being released.

NASCAR ordered Kyle Busch and his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, to meet president Mike Helton after the race. Two days later Busch was fined $50,000 and placed on probation until December 31, 2006, and he and team owner Rick Hendrick lost 25 points each.

Mayfield's car was found to have a roof that was too low, and crew chief Chris Andrews was fined $35,000. Mayfield and team owner Ray Evernham each lost 25 points in the drivers' and owners' standings.

What did the result mean for the championship?

Johnson kept the lead of the drivers' championship with 1,861 points, while Kenseth moved into second. Martin rose to third and Stewart dropped to fourth, with Earnhardt holding fifth. Kahne moved up to sixth after the win, and Gordon, Burton, Harvick and Kyle Busch filled seventh through tenth.

In the manufacturers' table Chevrolet had 86 points, with Ford on 72 and Dodge on 70. The race took four hours, 39 minutes and 25 seconds, and Kahne won by 2.114 seconds.