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Johnson turns NASCAR season around with 600 win ers elected not to pit – Earnhardt, Brian Vickers, McMurray and Tony Stewart – and lined up in the first four positions on the restart on Lap 228. Marcos Ambrose spun in Turns 3 and 4 in an incident that eventually collected Landon Cassill, Josh Wise, Brian Scott and Danica Patrick to bring out a caution on Lap 236. On the restart on Lap 242, McMurray took over the race lead, followed by Kenseth and Harvick. Kurt Busch, who was attempting to become just the second driver to complete all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day, had his car’s engine blow on Lap 274, which brought out the sixth caution of the race. “We gave it our all, and the way we were clawing our way up there and got a lucky break with the caution one time,” Busch said. “I thought we were making good gains on the car. “It was great to race in traffic, and to feel the stock car right after driving an IndyCar was a day I’ll never forget. I can’t let the mood here with the car dampen what happened up in Indy today.”
To the finish line
JEFF SINER/ CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/MCT
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) wins the 55th Annual Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25. BY JIM UTTER CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/MCT
CONCORD, N.C. — The Coca-Cola 600 is NASCAR’s longest race. It also has provided some of the biggest boosts in Jimmie Johnson’s career. Twice before, Johnson has rolled into the 600 winless on the season and rolled out a winner. Sunday night, the third time was the charm. Johnson passed Matt Kenseth with eight of 400 laps remaining and held off Kevin Harvick to earn his first Sprint Cup Series win of the season. Johnson has piled up seven series wins at Charlotte in addition to four in the All-Star Race. Sunday’s victory all but ensures Johnson a chance to earn a record-tying seventh series championship this season when
the Chase for the Sprint Cup gets under way.
Third place for Kenseth Kenseth finished third, Carl Edwards was fourth and Jamie McMurray, who won last weekend’s All-Star Race, was fifth. Brad Keselowski led the first lap, but Johnson, the pole-winner, took over on Lap 2 and held it until the first round of greenflag pit stops, which began on Lap 48. During those pit stops, Kasey Kahne was unable to get into his stall and was forced to circle the track a second time before pitting, going two laps down in the process. When the pit cycle was completed, Johnson returned to the lead on Lap 50, followed by Clint Bowyer and Harvick. Harvick made his way around Johnson to take the lead for the
first time on Lap 76. A second round of green-flag pit stops began on Lap 92 and once that cycle was completed on Lap 98, Harvick remained in the lead followed by Johnson and Bowyer.
Harvick temporarily leads During the round of stops, Denny Hamlin was forced to pit twice with a loose left-front wheel. Debris in Turn 3 brought out the first caution on Lap 109. Harvick remained in the lead on the restart on Lap 114, followed by Johnson and Bowyer. Debris on the backstretch brought out a caution on Lap 149. All of the leaders stopped for fuel with Harvick remaining in the lead on the restart on Lap 154. Johnson quickly assumed the lead and remained out front un-
til the third caution of the race when David Gilliland slammed the Turn 2 wall. “We blew a right-front tire there. We did the wave-around trying to make up some track position, but just blew a rightfront,” Gilliland said. “It got real tight the lap before and just blew a right-front. It’s a tough way for this to end.” Keselowski elected not to pit and took over the race lead on the restart on Lap 170. Harvick finally ran down Keselowski and reclaimed the lead on Lap 192. At the halfway point, Harvick led the way followed by Keselowski, Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.
‘Lucky break’ Debris on the backstretch brought out the fourth caution of the race on Lap 223. Four driv-
Johnson took over the lead on the restart on Lap 283, followed by Kenseth and Gordon. Patrick’s engine died and brought out the seventh caution of the race on Lap 286. On the restart on Lap 294, Johnson continued to lead followed by Kenseth and Joey Logano. Kenseth quickly passed Johnson on the restart to take over the top spot. Earnhardt was forced to pit under green on Lap 311 for an engine problem just before his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Johnson, retook the lead on Lap 313. Teams began another round of green-flag stops on Lap 330. Johnson retained the lead after lap 345, followed by Kenseth and Gordon. A caution came out on Lap 378 for Alex Bowman, which sent several lead-lap cars to pit road, but Gordon, Kenseth and Johnson all had made their final stops for fuel under green and elected to remain on the track. Gordon was the leader on the restart on Lap 384, followed by Kenseth, Johnson, Martin Truex Jr. and Edwards. Kenseth made his way around Gordon on the restart to take the lead.
50 senators urge NFL to endorse name change of Redskins TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE
Fifty U.S. senators have signed on to a letter sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that calls on the National Football League (NFL) to formally endorse a name change of the Washington football franchise. The call to action marks the largest Congressional endorsement of a name change for the football team in the nation’s capital. It comes amidst building momentum from Tribes, civil rights organizations, sports leaders and elected officials for the NFL to change Washington’s mascot. A pre-Super Bowl video by the National Congress entitled “Proud to Be” has generated more than 1.8 million views on YouTube. On Monday, the state assembly in the home state of NFL headquarters – New York – passed a bipartisan resolution denouncing the use of racial slurs as team names. In the letter – led by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and signed by 47 other senators – the senators urged the NFL to follow the example of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in sending a clear message against racism in sports.
Sterling example The senators pointed to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s swift decision to ban Los Angeles Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling from the league for his racist comments about African-Americans attending basketball games. “Today, we urge you and the National Football League to send the same clear message as the NBA did: that racism and bigotry have no place in professional sports,” the senators wrote. “It’s time for the NFL to endorse a name change for the Washing-
ton, D.C. football team. “The despicable comments made by Mr. Sterling have opened up a national conversation about race relations. We believe this conversation is an opportunity for the NFL to take action to remove the racial slur from the name of one of its marquee franchises.”
Others on board Civil rights organizations and tribes across the nation have called on the Washington football team to change its name. Other prominent national organizations in support of a name change include the NAACP, National Council of La Raza, American Association of People with Disabilities, the ACLU, National Organization for Women, and the Anti-Defamation League. “Now is the time for the NFL to act,” the senators wrote. “The Washington, D.C. football team is on the wrong side of history. What message does it send to punish slurs against African Americans while endorsing slurs against Native Americans?” Tribal organizations representing more than 2 million Native Americans and more than 300 tribes have called on the NFL for a name change. They include the Oneida Indian Nation, which launched a national “Change the Mascot” campaign to end the use of a racial slur in the team’s name. The National Congress of American Indians, the largest organization representing Native Americans passed a resolution in October in support of a name change.
Tribes have spoken A name change has also been endorsed by United South and Eastern Tribes, and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, and the Navajo Nation. This month,
ELIZABETH FLORES/MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE/MCT
James Charging Eagle of Standing Rock, N.D., joins others calling the Washington Redskins nickname a racist slur as several hundred protesters rallied at the Mall of America Field in Minneapolis on Nov. 7, 2013. the New York State Assembly unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution denouncing the use of racial slurs as team mascots. “This is a matter of tribal sovereignty – and Indian Country has spoken clearly on this issue,” the Senators wrote. “Tribes have worked for generations to preserve the right to speak their languages and perform their sacred ceremonies. Yet every Sunday during football season, the Washington, D.C. football team mocks their culture. The NFL can no longer ignore this and perpetuate the use of this name as anything but what it is: a racial slur.” Senators who signed the letter include: Cantwell, Reid, Jon Tester (D-MT), Charles Schum-
er (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Walsh (D-MT), Sherrod Brown (DOH), Carl Levin (D-MI), Mark Begich (D-AK), Brian Schatz (DHI), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Johnson (DSD), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Bernie Sanders (IVT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tom Udall (D-CO), Debbie Stabenow (DMI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-
VT), Bob Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Angus King (I-ME), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Claire McCaskill (DMO), Amy Klobuchar, (D-MN), Al Franken (D-MN), Edward Markey (D-MA), Mark Udall (DCO), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tom Carper (D-DE), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Ben Cardin (DMD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kay Hagan (D-NC), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) also sent a separate letter to Goodell calling for a name change.
This story is special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Seattle Medium.