The pressure of raising the victory cup kicked in for Kasey Kahne about two weeks before Charlotte Motor Speedway race actaually took place. At a party Hendrick Motorsports threw to celebrate the owner's 200th career win, which Jimmie Johnson earned at Darlington Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports challenged Kahne to win the Coca-cola 500.
"I never really doubted myself," Kahne said. "I was upset at some of the things that may have happened. I made a huge mistake at Phoenix, hit the wall there. But other than that, we were solid, we were fast. It was just a matter of getting past those five weeks and moving on and putting some solid races together."
The pressure of living up to the winning atmosphere at Hendrick Motorsports was starting to wear on Kahne. Coaches assured the driver better times were ahead. Sunday night proved just how right they were.
The race was the quickest ever for the 600 at 3 hours, 51 minutes, 14 seconds, nearly 5 minutes faster than the mark set in 1995.
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