The marathon metaphors long have been appropriate for the Coca-Cola 600. As the longest race on NASCAR’s Nextel Cup circuit, winning involves the right combination of endurance, skilled driving and just plain luck.
That never was more accurate than Sunday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, as Jimmie Johnson persevered through a Cup series-record 22 cautions, numerous multiple-car accidents and a disintegrating track to capture his third straight Coca-Cola 600.
“This is a very, very special win to me,” Johnson said. “Tonight was a tough race for us. We didn’t have the best car until the end, until it mattered.”
Johnson brought some excitement to the end of the five-hour race as he made a clean pass in his No. 48 Chevrolet on the outside in the final lap to overtake Bobby Labonte and win by 0.027 seconds.
“It was great being on the winning end of that,” Johnson said. “In Atlanta I lost one like that. He went into Turn 3 and decided not to lift. He left me a lane on the outside to come around, and I did it. I didn’t expect to get alongside of him, but when I did I was smiling that I did it.”
Not all fans were thrilled with the result. Some threw beer cans at Johnson, and a smattering of boos could be heard.
Johnson got one of his biggest breaks late in the race. With about 10 laps to go, Joe Nemechek had a significant lead on the pack before hitting debris that punctured his right rear tire. Nemechek hit the wall and careened downward onto the apron, barely missing Johnson.
That accident brought out a red flag that stopped action for 10 minutes 18 seconds.
When the green flag returned at Lap 395, Labonte was in first with Johnson fourth. Johnson moved up to second place by the next lap and made his move in the final lap.
“I had him beat off of Turn 2 and went into Turn 3 just like I did,” Labonte said. “I hammered it on there and got on the gas as fast as I could but got passed on the outside.
“I protected the bottom more than the top because I thought that was the place to be because he tried to get me a little bit on the bottom in both those corners the lap before. It just didn’t work out.”
Labonte started in the back of the field after making a transmission change.
“We passed a lot of cars to finish second,” said Labonte, who kicked his car in frustration after the race.
The 22 cautions broke NASCAR’s record for the number of cautions in any Cup series race. There were 37 lead changes among a track-record 21 leaders.
Among the notable incidents was the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-initiated wreck that took out Michael Waltrip, Terry Labonte and Matt Kenseth and the attack of the killer track. Pieces of the sealant designed to seal cracks in the track dislodged and destroyed the grille of Jeff Gordon’s car early in the race.
Although Gordon, who started second, was able to repair the damage, he later had to leave the race after involvement in an accident on Lap 376. Brian Vickers hit the back of Bill Elliott, who spun and collected Gordon, Mark Martin and Kevin Harvick.
Officials said the dislodging was a normal result of weathering and general wear and tear.
