Close finish but Burton edges it

In the final laps it came down to which team would have a better pit stop. With Bobby Labonte's 17+ second stop matching Jeff Burton's pit time closely, a shoot out was conceivable.

Burton made a pass on Labonte and stretched out a lead that was close to two seconds.

Labonte found some late speed, however, and with the Interstate Batteries car on a tear, Burton stood on it and took the chequered flag in the by less than 0.5 second to become the 22nd winner of this Memorial Day Classic formerly known as the World 600.

'The pit stop got us in front and that's what won the race,' said an extremely happy Burton.

'The pit crew got us out front and that's what did it."

Labonte, always the gentleman and good sportsman, gave Burton a salute in honour of his million dollar win.

'These guys did a great job in the pits tonight, and this car was working really good,' said Labonte.

'We did have a heck of a run there at the end. That last set of tyres got a little loose on me there for about five laps.'

Rookie Tony Stewart, Labonte's team-mate, missed the drivers' meeting this morning due to the Indy 500, in which he finished ninth, and had to start at the rear of the field.

Stewart, completely drained after running two premier events in two different forms of motor sport, finished fourth. Joe Gibbs Racing and Roush Racing both enjoyed two top-five finishes.

Burton's teammate, Mark Martin, took just two tyres on the last stop and was able to move around Stewart for the third spot.

Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt, Ken Schrader, Ward Burton, Mike Skinner and Jeremy Mayfield round up the top 10.

Top 20 finishers in Coca-Cola 600