Kahne Scores First Win for HMS
Kahne blew the doors off of his competitors Sunday night to score his fourth win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the 53rd Annual Coca-Cola 600. This win is extra special for Kahne because it is his first win as a driver for Hendrick Motorsports, and his first win of the season.
When Kahne made the move to HMS at the end of the 2011 season, Kahne had very high expectations of his performance with his new team. However, his expectations did not go according to plan; for the first five races of the season, Kahne finished outside of the Top-10. His first top-10 finish of the season did not come until Texas.
Kahne started in the 7th position and slowly made his way up to the front, taking the lead from Kyle Busch on Lap 258. On the final restart of the race with 76 laps to go, Kahne restarted in 6th position after taking four tires on pit road. It took Kahne only four laps to rocket past his competitors to take over second position and threaten leader Denny Hamlin for the win. With 68 laps to go, Kahne took the lead back and held on to it until the drop of the checkered flag.
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[/media-credit]“It feels really good”, Kahne said after the race. “It’s so special and awesome to drive for Rick and Linda Hendrick. For them to make me a part of their company, this is an unbelievable to drive for Hendrick Motorsports and be a part of everything they do there.”
“Our Hendrick engine was awesome ton, brand new car that so many people put a lot of effort into. Thanks to Quaker State and the durability of the oil we did 600 miles, no problem, with tons of power. Farmer’s Insurace, HendrickCars.com, and Chevrolet have all been a huge part of our season and it feels good to get a win tonight.”
Kahne gained one position in points with this win, moving him to 15th position, 123 points behind the leader.
Greg Biffle Keeps up Consistency
Greg Biffle has been in prime form this season, running in the Top-5 week-in and week-out. Driving in the car that he won with at Texas Motor Speedway, Biffle finished a solid fourth position Sunday night. Biffle came into this race as the point’s leader and will hold that position leaving Charlotte, with ten points over his Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth.
“We were super-good early. I can’t believe how fast we were, but the guys did a great job. We gained a little in the points, but we really wanted to win,” Biffle said after the race. “We have to go back to the drawing board a little bit. We need a little more grip, a little bit more turn when the sun goes down.” Biffle finished the race in fourth position.
Gordon’s Luck Begins to Change
Before the Coca-Cola 600, Jeff Gordon sat uncharacteristically in 24th position in Cup standings. However, Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Gordon’s luck slowly began to change for the better. After starting in 23rd position in the Coca-Cola 600, Gordon drove his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet to the front to finish in seventh position. With his top-10 finish, Gordon has moved to 22nd in standings.
“We had an awesome race car and we showed it right from the drop of the green,” Gordon said. “We drove up through there. Obviously, it got tougher as you got further to the front. We still had a few things that needed to go a little bit better for us. We stayed out that one time and showed how good our car was. When we could be up front with those guys and we were on older tires hung out there in fourth.”
