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By BOB NOCEK; Times Leader Hazleton Sports Editor
Sunday, May 26, 1996 Page: 1C
CONCORD, N.C. — If the Coca-Cola 600 were only the Coca-Cola 500, Bobby
Labonte would not be the defending champion.
Ken Schrader would.
Schrader led last year’s race at 500 miles, which is NASCAR’s longest race
distance — with one exception.
The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is the longest NASCAR Winston
Cup race. And those extra 100 miles can turn a leader into a spectator real
fast.
Take Schrader, for instance. Last year, after leading at 500 miles, he
finished 30th. The reason? His engine blew at mile 537.
`The race is actually won in the last 100 miles,” said Jeff Gordon, who won
the Coca-Cola 600 two years ago. “If you look and see who was leading at the
500-mile mark and who would have won a 500-mile race, then you look at who won
the 600, a lot of times it’s a different person.”
Last year, five cars completed 500 miles but not 600.
The lead changed three times in the last 100.
No question, the length of the Coca-Cola 600 takes a toll on drivers and
cars like no other race.
“It’s that extra 100 miles where you always feel like you’re going to break
something,” said Steve Hmiel, crew chief for Mark Martin’s Valvoline Ford.
“The last part of it you just need to be ready to go,” said Eddie Wood,
crew chief for Michael Waltrip’s Citgo Pontiac. “From about 450 to 550, that’s
where they’ll get ’em. That’s usually where things break.”
Today’s Coca-Cola 600 begins at 5 p.m., with Jeff Gordon on the pole. Bobby
Labonte is the defending champion. The race will be televised live on TBS.
As a Memorial Day Weekend tradition, the Coca-Cola 600 has a feel unlike
any other race on the Winston Cup schedule. It is a special event for several
reasons, not only the distance:
Most of the drivers live within a half-hour’s driver of the speedway, and
their race shops are located close by.
With more than 140,000 fans, the crowd is one of NASCAR’s biggest.
The twilight start means the race will end under the lights, around 9 p.m.
NASCAR only has night races at two other tracks, Richmond and Bristol.
“It’s just a big event,” said Labonte. “You want to do well here, because
most of the race teams are located here.”
Doing well here takes some doing.
“The extra 100 miles here is pretty long, and it’s more a matter of
preparation with the cars than the driver,” Gordon said. “The laps go by
pretty quick. But a lot of things happen to engines on the racetrack in the
last 100 miles.”
There isn’t much crew chiefs can do to prepare for the extra distance, they
say. Parts will break and wear out, and that can’t be stopped.
What they must be ready for is the evening start, which leads to a drastic
temperature drop late in the race. That can severely change the way a car
handles, and they’ll have to make adjustments on the fly.
“You have to be real smart,” Hmiel said. “You don’t spend a lot of time
practicing or listening to what the race car told you between 1-3 in the
afternoon, because that’s not the time of day you’re going to be racing.”
Just another price to pay in the Coca-Cola 600.
“In a small way, it’s like two races,” said Larry McReynolds, crew chief
for Ernie Irvan’s Texaco/Havoline Ford. “But you just can’t stop and start
over.”
Coca-Cola 600
— 5 p.m., TBS