Kasey Kahne led three times for 41 laps but finished 21st. Credit: Autostock

Kahne, EMS teammates wonder what went wrong

Mayfield 38th after failed suspension; Riggs 31st due to setup

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- At 7 p.m. ET on Saturday night, Kasey Kahne's crew members were fired up beyond belief. They saluted their driver from pit road during the pace laps, and Kahne stuck his hand out of the window and waved back at them every time.

Kasey Kahne's crew kept him among the leaders, but changes to the car did their driver no good. Credit: Autostock

Dodge Charger 500 Unofficial Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Greg Biffle Ford 2. Jeff Gordon Chevy 3. Matt Kenseth Ford 4. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 6. Ryan Newman Dodge 7. Kyle Busch Chevy 8. Mark Martin Ford 9. Jeff Burton Chevy 10. Denny Hamlin Chevy • Complete results, click here • Unofficial standings, click here Victory LaneGreg Biffle dedicates his victory in Darlington to his mother Top finishersJeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson talk about their day Final lapBiffle and Gordon battle in final lap Three strikesSadler, Stewart, McMurray have bad nights Vickers spins outEarly caution as Brian Vickers spins out on Lap 28 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

All were confident of a good night's work. Certainly, they were the heavy favorites to conquer Darlington for their third win of the year.

The No. 9 entered Darlington primed to dominate after easily winning the pole, and those thoughts didn't change through the first 100 laps.

Kahne's Dodge was stout -- he led the first 29 laps -- and his stall at the head of pit road was going to be a huge advantage over the course of 500 miles. At least during the first quarter of the race, Kahne's crew kept him among the leaders.

But around Lap 100, Kahne's Dodge dropped anchor. The car simply wouldn't turn, which left Kahne with a 21st-place finish and wondering what went wrong.

"This wasn't the finish we had expected tonight," Kahne said. "We've had success here in the past and thought we could duplicate that kind of performance."

Kahne has suffered through a disastrous May. He was caught up in an accident at Talladega, and he experienced engine trouble at Richmond.

Darlington served as the third strike of the month, and the can't-miss feeling of Darlington, where Kahne usually excels, magnified the pain of getting called out.

Kahne dropped to eighth in the points, his lowest position since February.

"The car was pretty good the first 100 laps, and then I couldn't get it to turn in and off the corner," he said. "We stayed in the top 15 and thought we would get things sorted out the last 100 laps."

Kahne would have finished on the lead lap, but he smacked the wall with 95 laps to go. He ended the race a lap down.

"There's a fine line on adjustments, and we didn't get the car where it needed to be late in the race," Kahne said. "It's a disappointing finish, certainly not what we expected."

As bad as Kahne's night was, his teammates suffered even worse.

Jeremy Mayfield, who had not scored a top-10 finish all season, was headed for a lead-lap finish when his right-front suspension failed with less than 70 laps to go.

He wound up 21 laps down in 38th. It was his fourth finish this year of 30th or worse.

Only a 35th-place finish by Michael Waltrip kept Mayfield in the top 35 in owner points heading into the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in two weeks.

"That's the way things have gone this year, but we're racing at home for a few weeks and maybe that's what we need," Mayfield said, referring to next weekend's all-star race at LMS and the 600 on May 28.

Evernham's third car, the No. 10 of Scott Riggs, completely missed the setup and wound up 31st, four laps down.

"So far this season I can't think of a race that [team director] Rodney [Childers] and the guys did not bring a top-10 car to," Riggs said. "This was the first."