NASCAR results at Charlotte: Martin Truex Jr. wins marathon Coca-Cola 600

Thomas Schlarp

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NASCAR results at Charlotte: Martin Truex Jr. wins marathon Coca-Cola 600 image

An exciting restart with four-wide racing and only five laps left paved the way for Martin Truex Jr. to record his third victory in the last five races. The win was Truex's second Coca-Cola 600 victory of his career.

Truex overcame an early setback in Stage 1 after a flat tire sent the No. 19 car into the wall on lap 74 while leading. Brad Keselowski won the first two stages, with Truex picking up wins in the final two stages of NASCAR's longest race of the season.

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Stage 1 was plagued by a record number of caution flags that predominantly featured Truex and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates blowing tires. But as the temperatures cooled, handling improved, and the green flag stretches increased. Despite the 16 cautions, the only serious wreck occurred in the final stage when Kyle Larson took out six other cars. No driver was seriously injured.

Joey Logano finished second for Team Penske who was looking for the Memorial Day sweep after winning the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day. Kyle Busch rebounded from his first finish of the season outside of the top 10 at Kansas by placing third.

With the completion of Sunday's race, half of the Monster Energy Cup Series is now in the books with Busch atop the standings. The Cup Series returns next Sunday afternoon for the Pocono 400.

Sporting News tracked live lap-by-lap updates and highlights from the 2019 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Follow along below.

NASCAR results at Charlotte: Highlights from Coca-Cola 600

(All times Eastern)

Caution flags: 16

Lead changes: 30.

Lap leaders: Martin Truex Jr. (116), Kyle Busch (79), Brad Keselowski (76), Chase Elliott (43), William Byron (32), Denny Hamlin (21), Kevin Harvick (14), Alex Bowman (8), Daniel Hemric (7), David Ragan (3), Ryan Blaney (2)

Coca-Cola 600: 2019 winner, top 20 order of finish

Finish Driver Team (Car No.) Laps lead
1. Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing (19) 116
2. Joey Logano Team Penske (22)
3. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing (18) 79
4. Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports (9) 43
5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing (17)
6. Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing (37)
7. Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports (88) 8
8. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports (48)
9. William Byron Hendrick Motorsports (24) 32
10. Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas (4) 14
11. Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas (10)
12. Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports (32)
13. Ryan Blaney Team Penske (12) 2
14. Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing (21)
15. David Ragan Front Row Motorsports (38) 3
16. Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing (6)
17. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing (11) 21
18. Daniel Suarez Stewart-Haas (41)
19. Brad Keselowski Team Penske (2) 76
20. Matt Tifft Front Row Motorsports (36)

11:20 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr. is your winner!

11:18 p.m.: Truex back in front with three to go.

11:16 p.m.: Green flag with five laps. Four wide racing.

11:12 p.m.: Ryan Newman opts only for two tires, and as a result is the first off pit road. Truex is third.

11:09 p.m.: Blaney pits from third place with 10 laps left, and almost immediately after, Keselowski spins out, drawing a caution.

11:07 p.m.: Blaney is on the radio saying something very bad is about to happen.

11:06 p.m.: Fifteen laps left, and Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are just over a second behind Truex for first.

11:00 p.m.: Drivers are starting to get more aggressive with 28 laps to go. Contact is becoming more frequent.

10:52 p.m.: Truex and Elliott maintained their positions coming off pit road.

10:48 p.m.: Caution is out as the front right tire blows out on Denny Hamlin with 40 laps remaining. Rough day for Joe Gibbs Racing.

10:41 p.m.: Truex finally gets around Elliott. Looks like Elliott is starting to lose some of his handling.

10:39 p.m.: Kyle Busch has crawled back into the top 10. Truex and Elliott have been neck-and-neck for a few laps now.

10:33 p.m.: Keseleowski is back up to fifth.

10:29 p.m.: Let's try this green flag thing again. 77 laps remain. Chase Elliott is still your leader.

10:22 p.m.: Officially seven cars were involved in the wreck on lap 316.

10:17 p.m.: Yay. Half of a lap in and another caution as Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon have a huge collision. Larson bounces back to the outside wall and smack Ty Dillon. Pretty big wreck.

10:16 p.m.: Restart with 86 laps to go and 23 cars on the lead lap.

10:11 p.m.: Caution. Kurt Busch was fifth but made contact with Blaney and ended up going through the infield. Somehow Kevin Harvick avoided hitting him.

10:09 p.m.: Green flag!

10:07 p.m.: Chase Elliott will have the advantage for this fourth and final stage.

10:02 p.m.: Truex wins his second stage of the year. 100 laps left in this marathon.

Stage 3 winner: Martin Truex Jr.

9:54 p.m.: Truex is destroying the rest of the field as this stage wraps up. He's almost 15 seconds ahead of 10th place.

9:47 p.m.: After winning the first two stages, Keselowski has dropped back to 16th. William Byron has dropped to 14th. 17 laps left in Stage 3.

9:38 p.m.: Kyle Busch needed just one lap to get back into first. The two teammates are going at it.

9:31 p.m.: Martin Truex is the new leader with 50 laps remaining in Stage 3.

9:27 p.m.: 11th caution of the night as Bailey Curray hits the wall.

9:21 p.m.: 60 laps left in Stage 3 with Kyle Busch still the leader. Chase Elliott has worked his way to second.

9:12 p.m.: 20 laps into the third stage and Kyle Busch has retaken the lead.

9:07 p.m.: Cars are driving their fastest lap times yet, thanks to the cooling temps.

9:04 p.m.: William Byron will start Stage 3 in first.

8:57 p.m.: Very cool moment as engines are turned off for a moment of silence.

8:50 p.m.: Bowman finished the stage second. He finished the last three races in second.

Stage 2 winner: Brad Keselowski

8:48 p.m.: Seven laps to go with Bowman and Byron in the front row on the restart.

8:43 p.m.: Caution as Ryan Preece hits the wall with 10 laps left.

8:40 p.m.: Hamlin is complaining of smoke building in his car. That's the third time this year he's had that problem. He'll hope to tough it out these last 12 laps of the stage.

8:33 p.m.: Keselowski side drafts past Byron for the lead with 32 laps left. Jimmie Johnson is up to sixth.

8:27 p.m.: Pole sitter William Byron is first off pit road.

8:23 p.m.: Caution as Denny Hamlin blows a tire and goes into the wall. Another tire problem for a Toyota (4)...

8:18 p.m.: 42 laps left in Stage 2 with Keselowski in front. This has been the longest stretch of green all race.

8:09 p.m.: Ryan Blaney has his first lead!

8:07 p.m.: Clint Bowyer, Hemric and Bubba Wallace all penalized on pit road.

8:04 p.m.: Keselowski beats Hamlin off pit road.

8:01 p.m.: Seventh caution today as Chris Buescher blows a tire and hits the wall.

7:58 p.m.: Denny Hamlin has taken the lead on lap 118.

7:56 p.m.: Landon Cassil heads to pit road with a smoking car, but we stay green.

7:52 p.m.: Stage 2 green flag. Track temps have dipped 15 degrees since the start.

7:43 p.m.: Stage 1 results:

Stage 1 winner: Brad Keselowski

7:39 p.m.: Harvick is the leader with five laps left.

7:32 p.m.: And Daniel Hemric immediately goes into the wall. This fifth caution is the most ever this early in a race.

7:32 p.m.: Eleven laps left in Stage 1 on the restart. Keselowski is out front.

7:26 p.m.: A fourth caution already. Kyle Busch spins Ricky Stenhouse, sending the No. 17 through the turf.

7:23 p.m.: Harvick retakes the lead. Drivers are already starting to gamble on not replacing tires.

7:18 p.m.: All three tire issues have been on Toyotas.

7:16 p.m.: Truex, the leader, goes into the wall with a tire issue. 26 laps left this stage.

7:10 p.m.: New leader on Lap 63 as Martin Truex Jr. takes over.

7:08 p.m.: Busch and Harvick have been swapping paint all race.

7:02 p.m.: Chase Elliot penalized for speeding on pit road.

7:00 p.m.: Kevin Harvick is first off pit road.

6:56 p.m.: Second caution on Lap 48 as Matt DiBenedetto blows a tire and hits the wall. Kyle Busch was in first.

6:49 p.m.: Erik Jones' day is over.

6:47 p.m.: Three wide on the restart. Byron has dropped to third.

6:42 p.m.: Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon are the first off pit road.

6:40 p.m.: First caution of the night as Erik Jones has a flat.

6:39 p.m.: Joey Logano started seventh, but has already dropped to 20th.

6:38 p.m.: Cars are doing everything they can to keep Kyle Busch out of the front.

6:35 p.m.: William Byron started on the pole and has led the first 15 laps. He grew up racing at Charlotte.

6:30 p.m.: Grip is already an issue. It's a hot one out there.

6:26 p.m.: Green flag! Let the marathon begin.

6:14 p.m.: A special flyover for Memorial Day.

Thomas Schlarp