Mears Wins Coke 600
NASCAR driver Casey Mears and team took a gamble on fuel mileage to win his first Nextel Cup race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600. While most of the other competitors were pitting for gas, Mears' team pushed it to the limit and picked up the fifth straight victory for Hendrick Motorsports. It was the ninth win for Hendrick teams in the past ten races.

“Let me look at this for a second, I can’t believe we’re in victory lane,” Mears said after saving all the fuel he could over the final 59 laps to win for the first time in his career. “I am so happy. Darian made the right call to stay out,” Mears continued, speaking of his crew chief Darian Grubb. “We had a good enough car to make this risky call and it paid off. It’s just huge to come home with a victory. I feel like we’re building something strong here.”

Mears received hugs from everyone on the team and some that weren't. J.J. Yeley finished second using the same strategy as did third place runner, Kyle Petty. For Petty, it was his first top-five finish in ten years. Reed Sorenson brought his Dodge home in the fourth spot followed by Brian Vickers, Tony Stewart, Ricky Rudd, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, to round out the top ten.

Hyder To Crew Chief For Mayfield
Crew chief David Hyder, fired from Michael Waltrip Racing last month, will return to the pit box next weekend at Dover International Speedway to guide the No. 36 Toyota driven by Jeremy Mayfield, Bill Davis Racing competition director Tommy Baldwin told ESPN.com Saturday.

Hyder is already working in the BDR shop, preparing a car to test Tuesday at North Carolina Speedway in preparation for Dover, Baldwin said. Hyder was fined $100,000 and suspended indefinitely by NASCAR in the first week of the season after an illegal substance was found in the carburetor on the No. 55 Toyota prior to qualifying. NASCAR will lift the suspension on May 30, opening the door for Hyder to join BDR.(espn.go.com)

Kasey Kahne Breezes To Victory In Busch Race
After a poor start (32nd) Kasey Kahne took command of the CarQuest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday night -- on lap 159 -- and finished the race unchallenged to win his first Busch Series race of 2007. Kahne was hot last year, winning six Nextel Cup events that included sweeping both Cup races at Lowe's, but he has struggled this season. Kahne is barely hanging on to the 30th spot in Nextel Cup points. The team had several poor pit stops on Saturday and it irritated Kahne. “The first couple (of) stops were as slow as can be, then they stepped up on the last one,” Kahne said of his pit crew. “We’re working hard, from the engines shop to the guys building the chassis. They don’t like to run bad either. I don’t, they don’t.”

Casey Mears, who finished second to Kahne, badly needed a victory but didn't have enough power to catch him. “That was a good finish for us, we needed that,” said Mears. “We were fighting tight all day long. We could make the back loose, but we couldn’t get it turn any better. We kind of fought that all night.” Clint Bowyer brought his RCR Chevrolet home in third and his teammate Jeff Burton was fourth. Rounding out the top ten were Regan Smith, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Scott Wimmer and Stephen Leicht