Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca Cola 600
With the focus on America’s military, past, present and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Memorial Day running of the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Surprising: NASCAR’S elite Cup drivers had to face surprising battles of their own, as unfortunately did some fans in the stands, when an overhead camera cable, utilized by Fox Sports to cover the race, broke.
Several drivers and race cars were impacted, as well as ten fans sustaining injuries, with three taken to the hospital for evaluation and further treatment.
The race was red flagged to allow fans to be helped, as well as to surprisingly allow the drivers and teams an opportunity to evaluate and then work on their wounded race cars.
“At this time, we do not have a cause for the failure of the camera drive line that interrupted the Coca Cola 600 and our concern is with the injured fans,” Fox Television said in a statement issued shortly after the incident.
“We apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged and offer a sincere ‘thank you’ to the staff at Charlotte Motor Speedway for attending to the injuries and keeping us informed,” the statement continued. “A full investigation is planned and use of the camera is suspended indefinitely.”
Not Surprising: In a race that was fraught with several ‘weird’ incidents in addition to the camera failure, it was not surprising that race winner Kevin Harvick focused on not just celebrating in Victory Lane.
“Well, first off I want to say I hope everybody is okay from that cable,” the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet said. “That was quite a weird incident there.”
“Second, I just want to say thank you to all these guys at RCR (Richard Childress Racing),” Harvick continued. “To win at Charlotte is something that we had to overcome for a long time.”
“Just got to thank everybody from Budweiser, Sprint, all the fans and this great promotion with the Folds of Honor special beer cans,” Harvick said. “Five cents from every can goes to Folds of Honor.”
This was Harvick’s 21st victory in 442 Cup starts, his second victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as his second victory of the 2013 season.
Surprising: While Chevrolets tend to be dominant at Charlotte Motor Speedway, there was one five-time champion Chevy driver noticeably absent from the front of the pack this weekend.
In fact, Jimmie Johnson, the driver with the best rating at Charlotte, with a 111.7 average out of a possible 150, finished 22nd. The driver of the No. 48 Lowes Patriotic Chevrolet fought loose conditions all evening and finally spinning out of contention.
“Yeah, we were like a fifth place car,” Johnson said. “And then we got pulled around in Turns 3 and 4 and spun.”
“That really affected our finish from that point,” Johnson continued. “It was a long night with a lot of issues.”
Not Surprising: As so often happens in big-time motorsports, the dominant car did not finish first, especially since there was some strategy involved. That is exactly what happened to Kasey Kahne, who had by far the strongest car in the field, and ended up not pitting when everyone else in the field did so.
“Well, there was a couple of guys that had just got tires so we thought they would stay out,” Kahne said. “Instead the whole field pitted.”
“We had a great Time Warner Cable Chevy all night,” Kahne continued. “We were just in a tough spot there.”
Kahne finished in the runner up position, his 11th top-ten finish in nineteen races at Charlotte and his sixth top-10 finish of the season.
Surprising: Kurt Busch, who has struggled to close out strong at the end of the race, surprisingly overcame great adversity to finish third in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet.
“Still shell shocked,” Busch said. “We picked up the lead and the battery went dead.”
“We battled back, Busch continued. “The guys changed it as fast as they could and we got third.”
“It was a great night to run up front and showcase what this team is made of.”
This was Busch’s seventh top-ten finish in 26 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Not Surprising: Denny Hamlin, behind the wheel after his back injury, not only qualified well but also ran well in the top five, capitalizing on every situation possible to get himself and his team back into contention.
Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, started from the pole and was the highest finishing Toyota Camry driver in the race. Hamlin scored the fourth spot when the checkered flag flew and moved up three positions in the point standings to 24th.
“Proud of our effort,” Hamlin said. “We need solid runs like this.”
Surprising: In an incident that looked like Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick wrecked each other, Brad Keselowski, who was also involved, surprisingly threw himself under that bus.
“Yeah, I cut Danica off,” Keselowski said. “I didn’t know we were still three-wide and I caused a big wreck.”
“I feel bad for her and I send my apologies to her,” Keselowski continued. “It was a long night for the Miller Lite Ford.”
Keselowski finished 36th and fell three spots to 10th in the point standings.
Not Surprising: In a battle for the lucky dog after being trapped in the pits when a caution came out, Jeff Gordon became the unlucky dog yet again.
“We were a victim of the caution coming out while we were on pit road,” Gordon said. “We were going for the Lucky Dog and had to be real aggressive.”
“We were racing three-wide and that’s what’s going to happen,” Gordon continued. “I hate we were back there.”
“We had an awesome Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.”
Gordon finished 35th and fell three spots to 15th in the point standings.
Surprising: Stewart Haas not only had a surprisingly good finish for at least two of their drivers, with Ryan Newman finishing sixth and Tony Stewart finishing seventh, but they also gained some hope for the remainder of the season.
“It was a solid night for Stewart-Haas Racing,” Newman said.
“We finally got some stability in the car,” Stewart said.
“All three of our cars made big improvements this week in terms of performance,” Greg Zipadelli, Competition Director, said. “Danica had a bad day, but overall we ended up with a couple of good finishes, which was certainly an improvement.”
Not Surprising: Given the length of the race, it was not surprising to see some engines fail under the pressure.
One such failure happened to Kyle Busch, who had again been dominant, until his car was injured by the camera cable. He was able to get repaired and was still performing at the front of the field when the engine let go, ending his day in the 38th position.
“We had been running first, second or third most of the evening, but just catastrophic engine failure,” Busch said. “It seems to be that time of the year again.”
“I hate it for all my guys,” Busch continued. “It’s just so frustrating to see it end on a short note like that and not getting the finish that we needed.”
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also suffered an engine issue in his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet, relegating him to a 39th place finish. NASCAR’s most popular driver, however, put it all in perspective.
“We had smoke in the cockpit for three laps and we started losing power before it broke,” Junior said. “We didn’t have a really good car.”
“But I want to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day weekend,” Earnhardt Jr. continued. “I take a lot of pride in the National Guard and hope everyone shakes a soldier’s hand and thanks them for what they do.”
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson got loose and spun at Charlotte on lap 334, collecting Matt Kenseth. Johnson finished 22nd, five laps off the pace, but still holds a comfortable 32-point lead over Carl Edwards in the Sprint Cup point standings.
“I’ll say the same thing Kasey Kahne said on Sunday,” Johnson said. “’This seems like a comfortable lead.
“But I’d like to apologize to Kenseth. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s a place I don’t visit often. I’m usually in the right place at the right time, five times.”
2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth established himself early as the favorite to win at Charlotte, leading 112 laps before he slammed into Jimmie Johnson’s spinning No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet on lap 334. He finished 15th, two laps behind the leader.
“Much like a Fox camera on a broken cable,” Kenseth said, “I had nowhere to go. But I took it in stride. Everyone knows I’m a cool customer, even under the greatest of stress. Unlike a Fox camera cable, I never ‘snap.’”
3. Carl Edwards: Edwards remained second in the point standings with an 11th in Charlotte. He now trails Jimmie Johnson by only 32.
“And I have a 19-point lead over third place,” Edwards said, “so it looks like I’ll be holding on to second. And I’m a pro when it comes to holding second. I did it for the entire 2011 Chase.”
4. Kasey Kahne: Kahne had a comfortable lead with about 15 laps to go, but a caution resulting from debris from Jimmie Johnson’s damaged No. 48 cost Kahne the win. Kahne stayed out, while everyone trailing pitted for fresh tires. Kevin Harvick zoomed by on the restart, while Kahne held on for second.
“Counting himself,” Kahne said, “Johnson cost three drivers the win.
“As a driver sponsored by Time Warner Cable, I’m contractually obligated to say that our cable never goes down.”
5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s fresh tires on the final pit stop put him in the lead on the final restart, and the Richard Childress driver pulled away to claim the Coca Cola 600, his second win of the year.
“They call me ‘The Closer,’” Harvick said. “That’s either because of what I do at the end of races, or it’s what I did to the door at RCR.
“I admire that television cable. It did something I’ve always wanted to do—-clothesline Kyle Busch. You can add ‘broken cable’ to the long list of things keeping Busch from winning a Cup.”
6. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished eighth in the Coca Cola 600, posting his sixth top 10 of the year. He is fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 60 out of first.
“It was a tough night for many in Charlotte,” Bowyer said, “especially the ten fans injured by a falling television cable. Normally, I’d offer them a shot of 5-Hour Energy drink, but the last thing they need to be is ‘wired.’”
7. Kyle Busch: Busch’s engine blew midway through the Coca Cola 600, relegating him to a 38th place finish. Earlier in the race with Busch leading, a freak accident portending later problems befell when a cable supporting a Fox camera fell, damaging the right side of Busch’s No. 18 M&M Toyota and red-flagging the race.
“It was a double whammy,” Busch said. “One minute, the sky is falling; the next, the bottom’s dropping out.”
8. Denny Hamlin: In only his second full race after returning from a back injury, Hamlin took fourth in the Coca Cola 600, his second consecutive top 5.
“Most importantly,” Hamlin said, “I finished ahead of Joey Logano. I’m not a big fan of ‘Sliced Bread.’ You could say I have a loathe of ‘Bread.’”
9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt’s engine blew in a cloud of smoke on lap 258, ending his day at Charlotte. He dropped two spots in the point standings to sixth, 81 behind Jimmie Johnson.
“I’m sure the legions of Junior fans were disappointed,” Earnhardt said. “When my engine gave way, you could hear the collective sigh of disappointment. Or maybe that was just the sound of a broken cable knocking the wind out of them.”
10 (tie): Brad Keselowski: Keselowski’s troubles continued at Charlotte, as he was involved in a lap 319 spin with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Danica Patrick. Keselowski fell four spots in the point standings to 10th, 110 out of first.
“At least now,” Keselowski said, “I can say I’ve attended a couples ‘retreat.’ But it’s clear Stenhouse and Patrick have a lot in common. In this case, it’s rookie mistakes.”
Kurt Busch: Busch led eight laps and finished third at Charlotte, posting his best finish of the year.
“We’re holding our own against teams with much larger budgets,” Busch said. “Furniture Row Racing is a one-car team that spends considerably less than the big boys. Sunday in Charlotte, we ran like the big boys. It’s one of the few occasions I put my big boy panties on.”
Bad Luck Follows Jeff Gordon to Charlotte
Jeff Gordon is a 4-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) champion or as he’s more recently been known as; the unluckiest man in NASCAR. He’s won at nearly every track on the circuit and Jeff is still running competitively in his 22nd year of competition but luck has not been in his favor at all recently. It all started when he flipped over in the 2012 Budweiser Shootout (now known as the Sprint Unlimited) and since then, bad luck seems to be following him everywhere he goes. Every driver has bad luck but it seems to show up every time Gordon is having a nice run. Let’s take a look at the ups and downs of Jeff’s career since that wild wreck in Daytona last year…
Just 80 laps into the 2012 Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon’s engine basically detonated and his day was over. A few races later at Bristol, contact with teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. cut down his left rear tire and he went crashing into the wall. Two weeks later at Martinsville, Jeff Gordon was battling hard with teammate Jimmie Johnson for the win. Whichever one of them won that race would be the person to give Hendrick Motorsports their 200th Cup win and Gordon wanted to be that person very, very badly. After a controversial late caution where David Reutimann stopped on track after he rode around for a few laps at an incredibly slow speed, the field lined up for a restart. The race went back green and Clint Bowyer dove underneath the Hendrick duo for the lead and the unthinkable happened. All three cars went spinning and Jeff’s chances to give Rick that 200th win went up in a cloud of smoke. That incident had a big impact on Gordon and the anger built up inside him for months before things came to a head but we’ll get to that later.
After bad luck seemed to haunt him almost everywhere he went, a change in fortune headed the team’s way when they visited Pocono in August. Rain was closing in on the track so the tempo of the race picked up with drivers becoming highly aggressive. Jeff restarted 6th on lap 91 and by the time the field exited turn 1, he was leading the race! Race leaders Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth collided and a four car wreck ensued. Gordon sneaked through and then the heavens opened up securing him his first victory of 2012. Something happened to that team after that win and they went on a tear finishing 3rd or 2nd in three of the next five races.
The team went to Richmond on the outside looking in chase wise but with a lot of momentum on their side. It all came down to them and Kyle Busch. The car was awful during the event and the team threw everything including the kitchen sink at the car but nothing was working and he was lapped. During a red flag for rain, the team put a plan together as they desperately tried to fix the handling of the car while Gordon pretty much ruled out any chance of making the chase when he was interviewed. The changes shockingly worked and Jeff began to rocket through the field. When all was said and done, he finished 2nd stealing the WC from Kyle Busch by just a handful of points. They made the chase and were ready to go out and try to win the championship. Bad luck found Gordon again just in time for the chase when he crashed hard during the opening playoff race at Chicagoland. They ran very well the following races but it wasn’t enough after that 35th place finish put them far behind. At Martinsville, he found himself battling with Clint Bowyer once again and he obviously didn’t forget about what happened in April as the two began door slamming each other late in the race.
At Phoenix, Bowyer made what seemed to be harmless contact with Gordon but Jeff’s blood pressure immediately went through the roof as he tried to wreck Clint the next corner. He failed and ended up putting himself in the wall instead only making him angrier. With just two laps to go, he waited for Bowyer who was a title contender at the time and wrecked him head-on into the wall. Two other cars were collected and Bowyer’s title hopes were shot. The No.15 crew went after Jeff and an all-out brawl ensued in the garage area. Clint jumped from his mangled car and joined in on the chaos as he ran through the infield. A contingent of people wanted Gordon suspended while others said Bowyer deserved it. Clint Bowyer fans and Jeff Gordon fans clashed all over the internet engaging in very heated arguments while the racing world waited on NASCAR to make a decision. They let Gordon race in the season finale but he was stripped of 25 points and $100,000. Gordon’s car featured a special DuPont 20th anniversary paint scheme in what would be their final race on the hood of his car before Cromax took over the company. Wasn’t it fitting that in the closing laps, it was none other than Jeff Gordon leading the race with Clint Bowyer of all people trying to hunt him down and steal the victory. Jeff hung on to win his 87th career NSCS race ending his wild year in victory lane.
Unsurprisingly, Gordon was knocked right back down by bad luck at the start of 2013. He dominated Bristol and it seemed he was the car to beat. That is until his right front tire blew while he led the pack with just 100 laps remaining. He shot up the track collecting Matt Kenseth destroying both cars. He could have won Texas too but was forced to retire from the race late with a mechanical failure In the Coke 600, he survived the carnage and had a chance to steal the victory had bad luck not killed his day once again. He pitted, the caution flew and he was trapped a lap down getting passed by the leader when he was just a few feet away from the exit of pit lane. He kept fighting though but a vicious pileup on lap 324 was the final nail in the coffin. Gordon hit a concrete wall incredibly hard but perhaps he was actually lucky just to escape with no serious injuries.
Jeff Gordon hasn’t lost the will to win or his ability to run up front. He’s simply been tormented by bad luck for the past two seasons. Ever since that flip at Daytona, his career has been turned upside down. Whenever something good happens to him, something bad quickly follows erasing all the positives that came out of his good result. If he and his team can get this monkey off their back, I know he can win a 5th championship. I believe he could make it to 100 total wins too. I’m not sure how many hard hits and morale killing races the 41 year old can endure though before he finally throws in the towel. After all those years of domination, it seems like Karma has finally caught up with the 4x champion. Perhaps this is an omen of things to come for the luckiest man on the track, Jimmie Johnson. Maybe I will be writing a similar article about him 10 years from now. I’m not saying there are supernatural forces out there targeted Jeff Gordon, that’s just silly but bad luck in racing seems to always lead to more bad luck. It usually gets worse before it gets better. Even the best team in NASCAR can’t predict the things that have cursed the No.24 and who knows if this bad luck will ever cease. If it does though, I firmly believe he will win a 5th title before he finally hangs up the helmet.
