2010 Coca-Cola 600

2010 Coca-Cola 600
Race details[1][2][3]
Race 13 of 36 in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season

Date May 30, 2010 (2010-May-30)
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (970 km)
Weather Partly cloudy with a high around 84; wind out of the ESE at 3 mph Chance of precipitation 10%.
Avg Speed 144.966 miles per hour (233.300 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Racing
Time 28.793
Most laps led
Driver Kurt Busch Penske Racing
Laps 252
Winner
2
 Kurt Busch
 Penske Racing
Television
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 51st annual Coca-Cola 600 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series motor race that was held on May 30, 2010 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It was the thirteenth race of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season. The event started at 5:45 p.m. EDT on the Fox network.[2] It was also broadcasted on the radio station Performance Racing Network.[4] It was the longest race of the 2010 season, consisting of 400 laps, 600 miles (970 km).

The race was won by Kurt Busch from Penske Racing,[5] while Jamie McMurray from Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, whose team won the 2010 Indianapolis 500, finished second. The race had seventeen different leaders, thirty-four lead changes, and eight cautions.[6]

Contents

Race report

Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions and qualifying will be held before the Sunday evening race; one practice and qualifying on Thursday and two on Saturday.[7] In the first practice, Juan Pablo Montoya was quickest, ahead of Ryan Newman in second, Jimmie Johnson in third, Elliott Sadler in fourth, and Kasey Kahne in fifth.[8] In the second practice, Kasey Kahne was fastest while Kurt Busch, David Reutimann, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Burton followed.[9] During final practice, the quickest five were Martin Truex, Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, and Jimmie Johnson.[10]

In qualifying, Ryan Newman won the pole position,[1] while Kurt Busch, Martin Truex, Jr., Kasey Kahne, and Jimmie Johnson completed the top-five positions. During qualifying, Brad Keselowski and David Ragan both spun, but Keselowski collided with the wall. Four drivers did not make the race; they were Reed Sorenson, Max Papis, David Stremme, and Mike Bliss.[11]

Race summary

At 5:00 p.m. EDT, Fox Broadcasting Company started broadcasting;[12] the race would be the last they would broadcast until the 2011 Daytona 500.[4] At the start of the race the weather was predicted to be mostly cloudy. At 6:55 p.m. EDT, pre-race ceremonies began; first, Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, delivered the invocation. Afterward, the track hosted a moment of silence. Then, the national anthem, was performed by the U.S. National Guard choir. To start engines, John Faulkenbury, President of the USO, N.C. joined by the Dickens (USMC), Foley (U.S. Army) and Barnes (U.S. Air Force) gave the command, "Gentlemen Start Your Engines!"[12]

At 6:20 p.m. the green flag waved as Ryan Newman led them down to the start / finish line. On lap 3, Jimmie Johnson said that he believed there was oil on the track. Kurt Busch, who started second, passed Newman. By lap 24, Kurt Busch pulled away from Newman with 2.30 second advantage. On lap 29, Kurt Busch started putting cars a lap down. Green flag pit stops started with Kasey Kahne coming in on lap 50. On lap 52, Kurt Busch pitted, giving the lead to Joey Logano. Two laps later, Kurt Busch reclaimed the lead. On lap 61, the yellow flag waved as Juan Pablo Montoya, who spun and hit the inside wall, caused the first caution. Denny Hamlin stayed off pit road, while most drivers pitted.[12]

The green flag was waved on lap 66, with Denny Hamlin the leader. A lap later, Kurt Busch reclaimed the lead. On lap 91, Marcos Ambrose collided with the wall, which caused the second caution flag to be waved. Most leaders pitted, and the green flag wave on lap 95 with Jimmie Johnson the leader. A lap later, Kurt Busch passed Johnson, but he couldn't keep the lead, so Johnson led until lap 130. The lead change on lap 130 gave Kyle Busch the lead. Three laps later the race passed its 200 mile mark. On lap 144, green flag pit stops began. The different leaders during pit stops were Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray, but Kyle Busch reclaimed the lead on lap 150. On lap 166, the third caution came out because Jimmie Johnson got loose, collided with the outside wall, came down the track, and shoved Denny Hamlin in the grass. Most lead lap cars pitted; Kyle Busch, who was the leader, collided with Brad Keselowski exiting pit road.[12]

On the restart, Kurt Bush led them to the green flag. Afterwards, he led until lap 213, when the fourth caution came out because of debris. The restart happened on lap 217, with Clint Bowyer the new leader. One lap later, Kurt Busch reclaimed the lead. Kurt Busch led until green flag pit stops which began on lap 264. On lap 267, David Reutimann passed Kurt Busch for the lead. Two laps later, Reutimann pitted, giving the lead to Matt Kenseth. On lap 272, the fifth caution came out. The cause of the caution was that Jimmie Johnson got loose, spun around, collided with the outside wall, then he went down the track and hit the inside wall; his car sustained heavy damage. On lap 277, Matt Kenseth brought the field to the restart. One lap later, Kurt Busch, from a fast start, passed Kenseth.[12]

Kurt Busch led the race until lap 299 when Jamie McMurray passed him. One lap later, Robby Gordon collided with the wall, and brought out a caution. During pit stops, Brad Keselowski stayed out to lead a lap, then he gave the lead to Kurt Busch when he pitted. Two laps after the 306 restart, the seventh caution came out because Greg Biffle collided with the wall. On lap 313, Kurt Busch brought the field for the restart. After chasing down Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray finally reclaimed the lead. On lap 350, green flag pit stops began; one lap later Jamie McMurray and Kurt Busch pits, giving the lead back to David Reutimann. On lap 353, Reutimann pitted and gave the lead to Tony Stewart, then he pitted to give the lead to David Ragan and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Earnhardt, Jr. stayed out until lap 366, when he pitted. Jamie McMurray was the leader afterwards. On lap 376, the eighth caution came out because Marcos Ambrose lost control and collided with the wall. During pit stops, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin stayed out, to start first and second on the restart on lap 381. One lap later, Kurt Busch surged by the field to become the leader. Kurt Busch remained the leader to win his second race in the 2010 season.[12]

Race results

Pos Starting Pos Car Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 2 2 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge Miller Lite
2 27 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats
3 9 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota M&M's Pretzel
4 11 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Carquest / GoDaddy.com
5 6 00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Aaron's Armed Forces Foundation
6 15 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
7 10 33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper
8 33 98 Paul Menard Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Serta / Menard's
9 1 39 Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet U.S. Army
10 16 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford Jeremiah Weed
11 23 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil
12 4 9 Kasey Kahne Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Budweiser
13 8 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota The Home Depot
14 18 43 A. J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Best Buy Credit Card
15 26 14 Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet Office Depot / Old Spice
16 31 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford Scotts GrubEx
17 14 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. Penske Racing Dodge Mobil 1
18 7 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota FedEx Office
19 32 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies
20 37 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge Penske Racing
21 39 19 Elliott Sadler Richard Petty Motorsports Ford U.S. Air Force
22 24 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet National Guard / Amp Energy
23 3 56 Martin Truex, Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota NAPA Batteries
24 36 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford UPS
25 12 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Caterpillar
26 28 37 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford Taco Bell
27 25 21 Bill Elliott Wood Brothers Racing Ford Motorcraft
28 41 38 Travis Kvapil Front Row Motorsports Ford Long John Silver's
29 13 83 Casey Mears Team Red Bull Toyota Red Bull
30 21 82 Scott Speed Team Red Bull Toyota Red Bull
31 38 71 Bobby Labonte TRG Motorsports Chevrolet TRG Motorsports
32 40 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 3M Nexcare
33 36 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Toyota Polaris
34 43 46 J. J. Yeley Whitney Motorsports Dodge Jake Owen Raborn Foundation
35 42 34 Kevin Conway Front Row Mototsports Ford Wings / Extenze
36 34 47 Marcos Ambrose JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota Kingsford / Bush's Beans
37 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Lowe's Memorial Day Tribute
38 20 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Target
39 19 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota FrontRowJoe.com
40 29 164 Todd Bodine Kirk Shelmerdine Racing Toyota Gunselman Motorsports
41 22 36 Johnny Sauter Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet No Sponsor
42 30 55 Michael McDowell Prism Motorsports Toyota No Sponsor
43 17 66 Dave Blaney Prism Motorsports Toyota No Sponsor
Source:[13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Newman Wins 9th Pole". Charlotte Observer.com: Mike Cranston. 27 May 2010. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/05/27/1463125/ryan-newman-captures-9th-pole.html. Retrieved 28 May 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "Race Preview". News Observer.com. http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/05/25/500520/nascar-sprint-cup-coca-cola-600.html. Retrieved 28 May 2010. 
  3. ^ "Kurt Busch Sweeps Charlotte in May". Sports Illustrated. cnn.com. 30 May 2010. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/racing/05/30/coca-cola.600.ap/index.html. 
  4. ^ a b "2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Schedule Times". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/. Retrieved 12 March 2010. 
  5. ^ "Kurt Busch wins Coca-Cola 600". The Washington Post (Washington Post). 31 May 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/30/AR2010053003910.html. Retrieved 2 June 2010. 
  6. ^ "Race Details". Fox Sports.com. http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/cup/raceTrax?gameId=20100530003&state=RACE. Retrieved 2 June 2010. 
  7. ^ "Pre-race Schedule". Charlotte Motor Speedway.com. http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/tickets/coca_cola_600/#tabfanfun. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
  8. ^ "Results for First Practice". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/13/data/practice1_speeds.html. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
  9. ^ "Practice 2 Results". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/13/data/practice2_speeds.html. Retrieved 29 May 2010. 
  10. ^ "Final Practice Results". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/13/data/practice3_speeds.html. Retrieved 29 May 2010. 
  11. ^ "Race Lineup". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/13/data/lineup.html. Retrieved 28 May 2010. 
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Race Summary". NASCAR.com. 30 May 2010. http://www.nascar.com/2010/races/lapbylap/05/30/lap.by.lap.charlotte.600/index.html. Retrieved 30 May 2010. 
  13. ^ "Race Results". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/13/data/results_official.html. Retrieved 4 June 2010. 
Previous race:
2010 Autism Speaks 400		 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2010 season		 Next race:
2010 Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500