NASCAR Cup Series

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.

From lap one to lap 400, Sunday Night at Charlotte belonged solely to Jimmie Johnson. Johnson and his No. 48 team dominated as they perfectly executed a game plan en route to their first victory of the year.

The 2013 season was arguably the best season of Matt Kenseth’s career. Seven wins, 12 top-fives and 20 top-10s, very impressive stats by anyone’s standards. He also came up just short of a championship, finishing second to six-time series champion, Jimmie Johnson.