NASCAR at Charlotte: Results, highlights from Kyle Busch's Coca-Cola 600 win

Kenan Goyette

•
NASCAR at Charlotte: Results, highlights from Kyle Busch's Coca-Cola 600 win image

CONCORD, N.C. — Kevin Harvick and the Ford’s may have had everyone’s attention going into the Coca-Cola 600, but it was Kyle Busch who imposed his will on the competition on Sunday night and came away with the checkered flag.

Busch was as dominant as possible at Charlotte Motor Speedway leading for 377 total laps of the 400-lap race and winning all four stages of NASCAR’s longest race of the season.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a car that good in Charlotte,” Busch said post-race. “I could pretty much go anywhere I wanted. That thing was so racy I could go to the middle, to the bottom, I could run wherever I wanted to. It was good and gripped up and felt really, really strong and comfortable wherever I needed to go.”

The No. 18 driver has never won the Coca-Cola 600 before but crept closer to Harvick’s NASCAR-leading five wins, adding a fourth to his total while holding a firm grasp atop the Monster Energy Cup Series points standings.

NASCAR AT CHARLOTTE: Starting lineup for the Coca-Cola 600

Busch currently has wins at Texas, Bristol and Richmond and has 10 top 10 finishes and eight in the top five. With Sunday night’s win he’s also the first driver to win on every track he’s raced on in his career.

Martin Truex Jr. finished second behind Busch and despite hanging close, was never able to catch the No. 18 car.

“Those guys did an awesome job all night with qualifying, pole, perfect pit stops,” Truex Jr. said after the race. “I don’t think they ever lost the lead. They did an incredible job, they have a really fast car. He kicked everybody’s tail.”

The rest of the field featured plenty of action and more than a few caution flags. The race was void of any big, multiple car wrecks but did see a number of drivers wreck out.

The most notable was Harvick who blew a tire and slammed into the wall on Turn 3 during Stage 1 ending his pursuit of a third straight victory.

Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 car were consistently part of the top four spots but after reporting early engine heating issues, saw the engine blow and the car catch fire ending his night.

WATCH:  Tune in to NASCAR all season long on fuboTV (7-day free trial)

Below are results and highlights from the Coca-Cola 600.

NASCAR Coca-Cola 600: Results, highlights from Charlotte Motor Speedway

(All times Eastern)

10:58 — Bravo, Kyle Busch.

10:52 — That's number four on the year and number 47 in his career for Kyle Busch.

10:46 — Kyle Busch is your Coca-Cola 600 winner!

10:43 — Five to go and this one is all but in the bag for Busch.

10:33 — Twenty-five laps to go and it's Kyle Busch's race to lose. His lead is out to 5.5 seconds.

10:22 — Several drivers hitting pit road, likely for the final time in this race.

10:09 — Seventy laps to go and Kyle Busch is holding court. Nearly a four second lead over Brad Keselowski.

10:02 — Ryan Newman decides to take his No. 31 car to the garage with mechanical issues.

9:57 — One stage left tonight and it's back to green with 92 laps to go.

9:47 — Three stages complete and three stage wins for Kyle Busch tonight who has dominated in Charlotte.

9:43 — Ten laps left to go in Stage 3 and it's Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Kurt Busch battling it out.

9:30 — They were green for a lap before Blaney's car caught fire. He literally drove it until the engine blew up. 

9:23 — Yet another caution on the night. Larson spins into the wall on Turn 1.

9:19 — Green flag racing again. Hamlin and McMurray make some light contact but stay in control. McMurray has a hold of P2 now.

9:10 — Yellow flag back out a CMS. Chris Buescher goes hard into the wall to bring out the caution.

9:07 — Less than 50 to go in Stage 3. Still Kyle Busch, Larson and Hamlin sitting 1-2-3.

8:56 — The race is back to green. It's Kyle Busch, Larson and Hamlin leading the pack.

8:53 — Truex gets his second penalty of the night, this time for an uncontrolled tire.

8:50 — Gray Gaulding spins out of Turn 4 and there will be another caution.

8:43 — Close call for Jamie McMurray but he hangs on.

8:40 — Stage 3 green flag is out. This has officially turned into a night race here at CMS.

8:36 — Truex gets hit with a penalty for speeding on pit road. He was in second for much of this one so that one will cost him.

8:30 — Kyle Busch is firmly in control of this one. He takes the Stage 2 green-checkered flag.

8:24 — Ryan Blaney reporting some engine trouble as he's started dropping spots. 

8:16 — After green flag pits get sorted out Kyle Busch finds his way up front again. He's been the clear leader for a majority of this one.

8:08 — Green flag pit stops have started for drivers.

8:04 — William Byron's No. 24 car is headed to the garage.

8:03 — With 50 laps left in Stage 2 not much has changed among the leaders. Kyle Busch is still out front followed by Truex, Larson and Blaney.

7:50 — A quick caution and they're green again. We'll see how long this one lasts.

7:45 — Green flag is back out with 20 laps down in Stage 2 but it doesn't last long. Jimmie Johnson gets bumped and spins in the middle of the pack causing Logano to spin as well. Somehow no other drivers took contact.

7:38 — Williams Byron gets into the wall and takes some heavy damage. They'll go under caution again.

7:34 — Back to green for Stage 2 now at CMS.

7:31 — Kyle Busch wins the race off pit road and Landon Cassill gets hit with a penalty and will be forced to the back

7:29 — The top 10 for Stage 1.

7:24 — Kyle Busch holds on to the lead and takes Stage 1. Blaney and Larson followed up behind him.

7:19 — Back to green at CMS. Keselowski missed the pit box as most drivers headed to pit road. He quickly drops to P19 though with 10 laps to go in Stage 1.

7:15 — And it looks like that damage will end Harvick's day and his chance at a sixth win and third straight. He's headed to the garage.

7:11 — Wow. Harvick blows a right front tire and gets into the wall on Turn 3. The caution flag is out.

7:05 — Austin Dillon's car is in the garage after taking damage earlier in the race. It looks like the defending winner's day is done.

7:04 — Seventy laps down and 30 to go in Stage 1. It's still Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Larson in the lead but a lot of movement going on within the top 10. Harvick is up to P4 now.

6:51 — They're back to green and it's Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Larson out front. Harvick is all the way up to P6. It only took him 46 laps to do so.

6:41 — Austin Dillon loses a tire and the caution yellow comes out.

6:37 — Parker Kligerman has some trouble with the wall but hangs in there. Logano keeps falling back and was just passed again and falls to P9.

6:35 — Some early action going on behind the leaders. Harvick has currently crept his way up to P14.

6:30 — Kyle Busch now back out front. Erik Jones sitting comfortably behind him in P2.

6:24 — It didn't take long for our first lead change here. Logano overtakes Kyle Busch on Lap 1 for the top spot.

6:22 — We are green at CMS. Let's get this going!

6:16 — Bubba Wallace (43) and Landon Cassill (00) forced to the back for unapproved adjustments and inspection issues, respectively.

6:14 — The engines are fired. It's almost time for this marathon race in Charlotte.

6:10 — A special national anthem for Memorial Day weekend.

5:30 — About an hour to go until race time in Charlotte. Driver intro are up now.

Kenan Goyette