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- The 2007 Coca-Cola 600 was the 12th stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the 48th iteration of the event. It was held on May 27, 2007, with a crowd of 175,000 spectators in attendance in Concord, North Carolina at Lowe's Motor Speedway, an intermediate track that holds NASCAR races. Casey Mears of the Hendrick Motorsports team won the 400-lap race starting from 16th position. Joe Gibbs Racing's J. J. Yeley finished second and Kyle Petty driving for Petty Enterprises took third. Prior to the race, Jeff Gordon led the Drivers' Championship by 231 points over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in second. Ryan Newman won the pole position by recording the fastest lap time in the qualifying session and led the first ten laps before his Penske Racing South teammate Kurt Busch moved into the lead on lap 11. Busch held the lead for 107 laps (longer than any other driver in the race) until Brian Vickers moved into the lead after the first round of green-flag pit stops. Jimmie Johnson gained the lead from Vickers on lap 184 and held it for 83 laps, battling with Vickers and Matt Kenseth for the position. At the race's final restart on lap 342, Tony Stewart led and maintained his position until he made a pit stop for fuel 51 laps later. Mears became the leader after Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin made similar pit stops; Mears held the lead after slowing to conserve fuel to win the race. There were thirteen cautions and 29 lead changes among fifteen drivers during the race. As of 2021, the 2007 race is Mears' only win in the Nextel Cup Series, now known as the NASCAR Cup Series. After the race Gordon's lead in the Drivers' Championship was reduced to 132 points over Johnson because he crashed in the early part of the race. Chevrolet increased its points advantage in the Manufacturers' Championship, placing it 41 points ahead of Ford. Dodge moved further ahead of Toyota in the battle for third place, with 24 races left in the season. (en)
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