CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Busch conquered Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday night leading 377 of 400 laps and making history as he became the only driver to win at every track on which he has started.
He started from the pole, swept all the stages and along the way he managed to reach another milestone. When he led his 122nd lap, he joined an elusive group of drivers who have led at least 15,000 laps during their career. It was his fourth victory this season and his 47th career win.
“This one’s very special,” Busch said in Victory Lane. “I don’t know if there’s anything that can top Homestead (the 2015 title race), just with the meaning of what the championship is. But the Coke 600 — I’ve dreamt of this race since I was a kid.
“To be able to come out here and win the Coca-Cola 600, it’s a little boy’s dream come true. Man, I just want to say that I thank NASCAR, for one, for giving me the chance to come out here and have this opportunity to race for my dreams and to accomplish those things.”
Martin Truex Jr. drove his No. 78 to a runner-up finish and talked about the challenges they faced during the race.
“I felt early on like we were probably second best to him and then screwed up on pit road, and then we had two pit road penalties in a row. So it was tough to come from the back, but it was one of those nights where we just fought until the end and felt like we had a second-place car to Kyle. I felt like that last run we were catching him a bit, but he was probably just managing his lead and taking care of his tires. We were just off a little bit tonight but definitely gaining on it, and hopefully, we can get some more wins here pretty soon.
Denny Hamlin finished third in his No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota. Hamlin was doubtful that there was anything he could have done differently to become more competitive. He said he “we maximized what we had in our car. It was being driven as fast as it could go.”
“That No. 1 pit stall kind of saved them a few times,” he continued. “We had such fast pit stops with our team. There was one time we came out right beside him, and I really wanted control of that restart, and it looked like — they said 18 over 11. So he must have just barely beat me out of the pits, and that maybe would have given him some dirty air to see could he pass. He hadn’t really had to pass anyone all day.
“Their car looked exceptional from my standpoint. They were about a half a tenth faster. that’s too much to overcome in the long run, and we didn’t have a good enough long run to really run him back down anyway. They just were a tiny bit faster, so we’ve just got to look at the data and find where we need to gain that speed.”
Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five while Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman, finished sixth through ninth, respectively. There were only nine drivers on the lead lap at the finish line.
Kevin Harvick was attempting to win three straight races for the second time this year. Instead, he found trouble on Lap 83 when a flat left front tire sent his No. 4 Ford into the Turn 3 wall, ending his day.
Next Sunday, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series travels to Pocono Raceway as the regular season continues.
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Charlotte Coca-Cola Unofficial Results 5-27-18
