NASCAR Cup Series

With military tributes abounding and NASCAR patriotism at its best, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 55th annual running of the sport’s longest race, the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Trevor Bayne and the crew of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion had a case of the long-green-flag-run blues early in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But as the sun went down and the lap count went up, the No. 21 Ford Fusion picked up speed and Bayne ended up driving his way back into the top half of the field and scoring a 20th-place finish.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s night in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway went drastically haywire after engine issues, during the latter stages, prohibited him from competing inside the top dozen.

Richard Childress Racing teammates Paul Menard, Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon finished eighth, 15th and 16th, respectively.

With just eight laps remaining in the Coca-Cola 600, six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson moved to the front of the field for the final time in the 400-lap race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS). Johnson captured his first victory of the 2014 season in his No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet SS snapping a 12-race winless streak. Throughout the lengthy endurance race, Johnson led 10 times for a total of 164 laps.

Matt Kenseth (third) was the first Camry driver to the finish line in Sunday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion – IT LOOKED LIKE YOU PLAYED THINGS PERFECTLY. “That’s Ford fuel mileage right here. You talk about Fords getting great fuel mileage and they did today. Our car finished fourth and that was probably as good as we deserved to finish, but Jimmy made that call and I thought we were gonna win it. "

Welcome Back to Victory Lane, the Long Nightmare is Over: “There are more people fretting about things than myself. I mean what 12 races? Give me a break. Obviously it’s great to win and we are very happy to win here especially in the backyard of Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe’s headquarters is just up the road as well. A huge night, all the executives from Lowe’s are here. I can’t wait to have a cold beverage with those guys."

Jeff Gordon battled through rigid pain throughout the weekend and into the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, though, the four-time champion proved his toughness, leading eight laps en route to a seventh place finish.

Matt Kenseth remained tough while running, or blocking, machines to the apron, while attempting to maintain the race lead in the closing laps. However, Jimmie Johnson coasted around him in the remaining moments handing the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion another thrashing.