Concord, NC (Sports Network) - Kasey Kahne won a Sprint Cup Series race for
the first time as a Hendrick Motorsports driver on Sunday night at Charlotte
Motor Speedway.
Kahne put on a dominating performance in the late-stages of NASCAR's longest
race of the season -- the Coca Cola 600. He passed Denny Hamlin and took the
lead for good with 68 laps remaining. Kahne finished 4.3 seconds ahead of
Hamlin for his 13th win in his 300th career start in NASCAR's premier series.
Four of Kahne's victories have come at Charlotte, including three in the 600-
miler here.
Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Kyle Busch, finished third, while Greg
Biffle, the current points leader, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-
five. Biffle led a race-high 204 laps but faded in the late going.
Kahne became the 16th different driver from Rick Hendrick's team to win a Cup
race. He joined the racing organization to replace Mark Martin in the No. 5
Chevrolet at the start of this season. Martin moved over to Michael Waltrip
Racing to run a limited schedule this year.
Earlier this month, Jimmie Johnson delivered Hendrick's 200th win in the
series at Darlington Raceway.
Johnson, who also won the all-star event last weekend at Charlotte, was
penalized late in this race when he left his pit stall with the gas can still
attached during a round of green-flag stops. The five-time series champion
finished one lap down in 11th.
Danica Patrick, who missed the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in seven
years to compete in her third Sprint Cup race, finished five laps behind in
30th.
The Sports Network