Kasey Kahne does a burnout to celebrate his CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 win. More pix in the Photo Gallery at the end of this page...

Kahne Scores Convincing Busch Series Win
By Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

CONCORD, N.C. (May 26, 2007) -- For Kasey Kahne, Saturday night's CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Busch Series race proved to be an oasis of success in an otherwise barren year of NASCAR competition.

Kahne, who started 32nd and charged through the field, pulled away during an 11-lap green-flag run to the finish and beat Casey Mears to the stripe by 2.448 seconds at Lowe's Motor Speedway to collect the sixth victory of his series career.

Clint Bowyer ran third, followed by Jeff Burton and Regan Smith. Jimmie Johnson, polesitter Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Scott Wimmer and Stephen Leicht completed the top 10.

"We're working hard to get better," Kahne said, referring to a season in which he had posted just two previous top-10 finishes in NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series combined. "I'm hoping this will help us tomorrow (Sunday). We learned a lot of things tonight."

On Sunday, Kahne will attempt to win his second straight Coca-Cola 600 at LMS.

"You wake up feeling better when you win races, or when you finish in the top five," Kahne said.

Along with Mears and Greg Biffle, Kahne stayed out on old tires when many of the frontrunners came to the pits on Lap 145. After restarting third behind Biffle and Mears on Lap 156 -- after another caution -- the driver of the No. 9 Dodge passed Mears for the lead on Lap 159.

A caution for Kyle Krisiloff's wreck on Lap 184 bunched the field for the final 11 laps, but Kahne quickly pulled away after the restart on Lap 190.

Mistakes and misfortune took several of the top cars out of contention. Kurt Busch led 52 laps, but a lug nut problem on a green-flag pit stop cost him a lap, and an accident out of Turn 4 on Lap 149 took him out of the race.

Johnson, competing in his only NASCAR Busch Series race of the season so far, led 16 laps in the middle portion of the race, but a spin in Turn 2 on Lap 144 dropped him to the back of the lead-lap cars and deprived the driver of the No. 48 Chevy of a chance to win.

Strong in the early stages of the 200-lap event, Denny Hamlin scraped the outside wall once too often. Hard contact with the concrete on Lap 158 forced him to the pits and left him two laps down to the leaders. He finished three laps down in 34th place.

Points leader Carl Edwards lost a lap after spinning in Turn 4 on Lap 112 and posted his worst finish in the series in 13 races this season --17th.

Complete race results and point standings in the Related News section below...

Checkered Flag Fast Facts

• Kasey Kahne won the Carquest Auto Parts 200, his sixth victory in 130 NASCAR Busch Series races.
• This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 11 races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
• Kahne has one victory and three top-10 finishes in the seven NASCAR Busch Series races he has competed in this season.
• Casey Mears finished second - his eighth top-10 finish in nine races 2007 and his third in eight races at Lowe’s.
• Carl Edwards retained the lead in the NASCAR Busch Series point standings and is now 432 points ahead of Kevin Harvick.
• Regan Smith (fifth) tied his career-best NASCAR Busch Series finish set at Nashville in April.

TV Schedule

Practice: Thursday, May 24 (SPEED at 2 p.m./AT, 1 p.m./ET)

Practice: Thursday, May 24 (SPEED at 7 p.m./AT, 6 p.m./ET)

Qualifying: Saturday, May 26 (SPEED at 5 p.m./AT, 4 p.m./ET)

Race: Saturday, May 26 (ESPN2 at 9 p.m./AT, 8 p.m./ET) (TSN-HD at Midnight/AT, 11 p.m./ET)

Related News

5/23: Entry List (PDF)

5/24: Thursday First Practice (PDF)

5/24: Thursday Rookie Practice (PDF)

5/24: Thursday Final Practice (PDF)

5/24: Qualifying Order (PDF)

5/26: Qualifying Results (PDF)

5/26: Starting Lineup (PDF)

5/26: Race Results (PDF)

5/26: Point Standings (PDF)

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: CARQUEST Auto Parts 300
The Place: Lowe’s Motor Speedway
The Date: May 26, 20071
The Time: 9 p.m./AT, 8 p.m./ET
TV: ESPN2, 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 1.5-mile oval
Race Purse: $1,249,138
2006 Winner: Carl Edwards
2006 Pole: Matt Kenseth
Schedule (track time/ET): Thur., May 24 – 1 – 2:00 p.m., Practice; 2:20 – 2:50 p.m. – Rookie Practice; 6 – 7:00 p.m., Final Practice. Sat., May 26 – Qualifying 4:05 p.m. (Impound).
Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Pre-Race Notes

• Former Champ Returns: David Green (No. 91 YRT2.Net Toyota) is set to make his return to the NASCAR Busch Series this weekend while assisting the new Riley-D’Hondt Motorsports team with its start-up. Green, the 1994 champion, hasn’t driven since leaving Brewco Motorsports last September. He joined the Riley-D’Hondt organization soon thereafter and has been awaiting his return. The native of Owensboro, Ky., turned his first laps in the No. 91 Toyota at last week’s test session at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Toyota will be the fourth manufacturer Green has competed for during his 17-year career and he’s won in the previous three (Chevrolet, Pontiac and Ford). In his new position, Green will help another new face, Bobby Santos, who will serve as his teammate via the Bill Davis Racing driver development program. He also stayed busy since last fall in assisting Hendrick Motorsports in its Car of Tomorrow success, serving as a test driver for the team. He also spotted for good friend and former series champion Brian Vickers in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, as well as for Stephen Leicht (No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford) in the NASCAR Busch Series.
• Cameo Appearances: Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet), the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion, is entered in Saturday night’s field. The event is the first Johnson will attempt in the series this year and his first since last fall at LMS where he finished 42nd due to an early accident. Johnson competed in two full-time NASCAR Busch Series seasons in 200-01 and has one win and two poles. He holds the qualifying record at LMS (187.735 in 2005). Bill Elliott (No. 32 Seymour of Sycamore Toyota) also is entered and will attempt to make his first series start since 2005.
• Memorial Day Tributes: Four cars will carry paint schemes as part of the American Heroes Memorial Day Salute to the Armed Forces, kicking off a nationwide effort to raise funds for military families in need. Shane Huffman (No. 88 U.S. NAVY Chevrolet), Johnny Sauter (No. 28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevrolet) and the Roush Fenway duo of Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M/Coast Guard Ford) and Casey Mears (No. 24 National Guard Ford) are carrying the special schemes in the NASCAR Busch Series this weekend. Biffle is the top threat among the group with two wins, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 12 races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
• WHAT TO WATCH FOR AT LMS - THOUGHTS FROM JOE BALASH, NASCAR BUSCH SERIES DIRECTOR: “Teams will look to get their cars set up so as to get all the mechanical grip that they can at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Based upon the resurfacing of the track, the tire compound is harder. That makes grip very important. Pit strategy for track position is also really important at LMS. Teams that find it difficult to pass on the racetrack can make up valuable positions with good pit strategy and great teamwork during those crucial stops. The test last week was a huge help specific to this event. Teams that were on top of the leader board during the two days of testing should, in turn, fare well during the event.”
• Three Different Manufacturer Winners In Last Three Races At LMS: Chevrolet retains its comfortable lead in the Bill France Performance Cup standings heading to Lowe’s Motor Speedway, but Saturday night’s race is a golden opportunity for any manufacturer to capture a victory there. Three different manufacturers have been to Victory Lane in the last three NASCAR Busch Series races at LMS, while two different manufacturers have won the last two CARQUEST Auto Parts events. Carl Edwards and Ford won this event last year and Edwards was fastest in each of the four sessions over two days of testing at the track last week. Dave Blaney won at LMS last fall in his No. 32 Chevrolet while Ryan Newman took Dodge to victory in the fall race in 2005. Ryan Newman took Dodge to victory in the fall race in 2005. Since 1991, Ford has won 15 races at LMS while Chevrolet has 14 victories. Dodge has one win while Toyota makes its series debut Saturday at the track.
• Rookie Spotlight - Krisiloff Makes A Quiet Charge: Kyle Krisiloff (No. 14 Clabber Girl Ford) heads to Charlotte only 10 points behind Marcos Ambrose (No. 59 Kingsford Ford) in the Raybestos Rookie standings. Krisiloff, who ran his first three series races in 2005 as a developmental driver for Hendrick Motorsports, found a home with the new Haas-Carter entry this season and plans to compete full-time in 2007. The native of Carmel, Ind., posted his career-best finish (fifth) at Talladega Superspeedway last month. He has six other top-20 finishes this season. David Ragan (No. 6 Discount Tire Ford) remains in first place in the standings, two points in front of Juan Pablo Montroya. Ambrose, who held the lead after Talladega, has had tough luck lately, posting finishes of 26th or worse in three of his last four races. Those results also have cost him a top-10 spot in the standings, where he had been for nine consecutive weeks before falling to his current 11th-place ranking after Richmond. Kyle Busch (No. 5 Sta Green-Lowe’s Chevrolet) won this race during his rookie season in 2004 and in the process re-captured the standings lead. He had become the first rookie in series history to lead the standings two weeks before.

Photo Gallery - Saturday, May 26


Matt Kenseth leads the field to the green flag to start the race...


Kasey Kahne leads en route to victory...


Victory Lane...

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.