The 2007 Coca-Cola 600 was the twelfth stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the 48th iteration of the event in the U.S. It was held on May 27, 2007, before a crowd of 175,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Lowe's Motor Speedway (pictured), now called Charlotte Motor Speedway, one of ten intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races. The 400-lap race on the speedway's standard 1.5-mile (2.4 km) track covers the longest distance of any event on the NASCAR calendar. The 2007 race was won by Casey Mears of the Hendrick Motorsports team, who started from 16th position. J. J. Yeley finished second and Kyle Petty came in third. There were thirteen cautions and 29 lead changes among fifteen drivers during the race. Kurt Busch held the lead for 107 laps, longer than any other driver. The 2007 race is Mears's only win in the Nextel Cup Series, now known as the NASCAR Cup Series.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Coca-Cola_600

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1915:

HMS Princess Irene exploded and sank off Sheerness, United Kingdom, with the loss of 352 lives. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Princess_Irene

1967:

Australians voted overwhelmingly to include Indigenous Australians in the national census and for the government to make laws for their benefit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Australian_referendum_%28Aboriginals%29

2001:

Members of the Islamist separatist group Abu Sayyaf kidnapped 20 tourists in Palawan, Philippines, triggering a hostage crisis that lasted over a year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dos_Palmas_kidnappings

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

gouge: 1. (transitive) To make a groove, hole, or mark in by scooping with or as if with a gouge. 2. (transitive) To cheat or impose upon; in particular, to charge an unfairly or unreasonably high price. 3. (transitive, intransitive) To dig or scoop (something) out with or as if with a gouge; in particular, to use a thumb to push or try to push the eye (of a person) out of its socket. 4. (intransitive) To use a gouge. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gouge

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We are entitled to our informed opinions. Without research, without background, without understanding, it’s nothing. It’s just bibble-babble. It’s like a fart in a wind tunnel, folks.   --Harlan Ellison https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harlan_Ellison