It was a day of firsts across the Motorsports world on the famous Sunday before Memorial Day. The day had F1’s Monaco Grand Prix, IndyCar’s Indianapolis 500, and NASCAR’s Coca Cola 600 all happenning.
Kyle Busch wins his first Coca Cola 600
It started with Aston Martin Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo winning his first-ever Monaco Grand Prix.
Next in the Indy 500, Will Power, a driver who has one just about everything someone could wish for in an IndyCar, won his first big one at the track.
To finish it off, Kyle Busch conquered the last track that has eluded him for 28 previous starts that is Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Dominant Win For Kyle Busch
Busch lead 377 of the 400 laps in the marathon race, dominating the event en route to his crown jewel win.
The win makes the Las Vegas native the first driver in NASCAR history to win at every track he has raced at more than once.
The last driver to get as close as Busch did was Jeff Gordon, who had the mark before NASCAR added Kentucky Speedway in 2011. The same Gordon, who this past week, was voted into the Hall of Fame with the highest approval rating in history.
Although there was seldom a battle for first place on Sunday, thanks to Busch, the race behind him was quite the scene.
With 17 laps to go in the first stage, one of the biggest contenders in Kevin Harvick was taken out of contention. Along with Harvick, defending race winner Austin Dillon and William Byron were both taken out of contention by accidents in the first half of the race.
Drivers On The Move
Before and during stage three, it looked like Chase Elliott‘s car had gotten dialed in as the NAPA Auto Parts Chevy had worked its way up to fourth place. It looked like he might be in contention for his first cup series win, however, Elliott would later have trouble on the restarts and wind up finishing outside of the top ten.
Elliott’s misfortunes started around the end of stage three, and coincidentally that’s exactly where Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 78 team picked things up.
Truex Jr. sat in 15th prior to one stage three restart that saw Elliott get passed by the Toyota, and from then on, the No. 78 car looked like its old self.
Truex Jr. would end the stage in eighth, but through the final 100 laps, he managed to fight, scrape and claw all the way to second.
Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five, while Jamie McMurray earned a decent sixth finishing in front of Ganassi teammate Kyle Larson.
Among the other notable finishes, Darrell Wallace Jr. managed to earn 16th, which is a really good look. Less than a handful contenders were taken out by accidents.
Not to mention, there wasn’t a late race caution that Wallace Jr. had to rely on to capitalize on the finish. His Richard Petty Motorsports team had to earn that, and that’s a pretty big finish out of that team’s camp.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will now visit Pocono Raceway next Sunday, June 3. The race will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET and be televised on Fox Sports 1.
Coca Cola 600 Results
1. Kyle Busch
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Jamie McMurray
7. Kyle Larson
8. Kurt Busch
9. Alex Bowman
10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
11. Chase Elliott
12. Clint Bowyer
13. Aric Almirola
14. Paul Menard
15. Daniel Suarez
16. Darrell Wallace Jr.
17. Matt Kenseth
18. Michael McDowell
19. Erik Jones
20. Kasey Kahne
21. Ty Dillon
22. Joey Logano
23. A.J. Allmendinger
24. Ross Chastain
25. David Ragan
26. Corey LaJoie
27. Parker Kligerman
28. Landon Cassill
29. Chris Buescher
30. Jeffrey Earnhardt
31. Gray Gaulding
32. Timmy Hill
33. B.J. McLeod
34. Austin Dillon
35. Ryan Newman
36. Ryan Blaney
37. Matt Dibenedetto
38. J.J. Yeley
39. William Byron
40. Kevin Harvick
A look at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Grid
- Kevin Harvick | 5 wins
- Kyle Busch | 4 wins
- Joey Logano | 1 win
- Martin Truex Jr. | 1 win
- Clint Bowyer | 1 win
- Austin Dillon | 1 win
- Brad Keselowski | +141
- Kurt Busch | +133
- Denny Hamlin | +133
- Kyle Larson | +86
- Aric Almirola | +80
- Ryan Blaney | +79
- Jimmie Johnson | +31
- Erik Jones | +18
- Alex Bowman | +3
- Chase Elliott | +0
Playoff Cutoff - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | -0
- Paul Menard | -33
- Daniel Suarez | -51
- Jamie McMurray | -65
- Ryan Newman | -66
- William Byron | -66
- Darrell Wallace Jr. | -68
- A.J. Allmendinger | -82
- David Ragan | -93
MAIN PHOTO:
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