NASCAR: Coke 600 Race Review
On the restart Kahne has an awful start allowing the 78 to take the lead as the 5 quickly loses second to Kevin Harvick, who has been quietly working his way up the field. As is commonly said cautions breed cautions and this is certainly the case as before the restart lap is compete there is a multi car crash for the ninth caution of the day. Mark Martin tries to move down the track but hasn’t cleared Aric Almirola and the two hit sliding up the track collecting Gordon on the way, as other cars plough into the wreckage. Such is the amount of damage the red flag again comes out so that track workers can get the track clean. Unexpectedly Kurt reports an issue that he can’t re-fire the car and has to give up the lead as he is pushed to pit row and after running at or near the front for most of the race he will restart in 11th. With all these cautions and accidents it has changed the face of the top five which is now, Harvick, Ryan Newman, Kahne, Joey Logano and Truex Jr.
May 26, 2013; Concord, NC, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (29) leads Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Harvick won the race. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
On his first restart as leader Harvick briefly battles Newman before he pulls away in the lead with Newman getting pressure from Logano for second. A few places back Truex Jr is battling hard with Johnson for ninth and tenth when Johnson starts to slide and can’t regain control and slides into the outside wall. Kenseth who is immediately behind Johnson tries to brake hard and is hit by Juan Pablo Montoya and they go spinning into the infield, Montoya hitting Johnson after the 48 slides back down the track. The restart sees Harvick and Logano as the front two but while Harvick again goes out front Logano has a poor start and is passed by Kahne who then starts to challenge Harvick for the lead. With 60 laps to go Kahne easily passes the 29 on the high-side for the lead.
The final round of green flag stops slowly starts to play out with Kahne being one of the first cars to pit row. Tony Stewart and Paul Menard try to stay out for as long as possible but in the end have to come in as cars on fresher tyres start unlapping themselves. With twenty laps to go Kahne is again the leader and with a three-second lead looks hard to beat. But this is NASCAR and as I’ve said before nothing is guaranteed until the chequered flag flies and so is the case this time. On lap 384 NASCAR throw the 11th caution of the night as debris is spotted on the track. Even stranger than Kenseth’s earlier decision Kahne elects to stay out as everyone comes to pit row for fresh tyres, hoping that his tyres still have enough life left in them. The restart doesn’t go Kahne’s way as in turn one he doesn’t have the same level of grip that second place Harvick does on his fresh tyres and the 29 is able to take the lead while Kahne has to contend with pressure from the 78 who has been able to work his way back into the top five. But with fresh tyres and a clear track there is no stopping Harvick who takes the win for his second victory of the season.
May 26, 2013; Concord, NC, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (29) celebrates after winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
The race certainly provided lots of interest in the final 100 laps but if it wasn’t for the rash of cautions towards the end the race could have been a very strung out affair. The gen 6 car can certainly allow passing on this type of track, which is not something easily done before but what it can’t seem to do is to allow close racing. We saw on two separate occasions by two different drivers that clean air is paramount in the race and that with it they are able to dominate the race. What can be done about this is a discussion for another time but something does need to be looked at. But the race did what it aims to do, be a race of attrition not just from a mechanical point of view but also from a physical and mental point of view, with a bad final decisions costing victory for the 5 team. From a fans point of view it was definitely worth a watch with everything a NASCAR fan could want, hard-driving, different pit strategies, crashes and the unforeseen but I am glad that we don’t have any more races of this length!