Sunoco Pit Move of the Race: Charlotte

Jeremy Mayfield was a cinch for his first top-five finish since Atlanta, but a speeding penalty sank him late in the Coca-Cola 600.

Mayfield, who spent all but 27 laps in the top 10, was running third when he pitted on Lap 341.

Mayfield's pit box was the first on pit road, forcing him to maintain the painful 45 mph limit the entire length of pit road.

NASCAR said that Mayfield didn't maintain that limit exiting pit road, sending him to the end of the line on the restart. Instead of restarting in the top five, Mayfield restarted 10th.

In a bid to get a top-five, Mayfield took just two tires on Lap 370. This time, he restarted third, but a slew of cars that had taken four tires easily ran him down.

Mayfield finished eighth, his first top-10 run in six races.

Mayfield didn't mention the penalty after the race, but he did say that his pit crew bailed him out.

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We were good on the long runs and kept getting better as the track cooled off. The Dew Crew did a great job in the pits tonight," Mayfield said.

"They kept making adjustments that made the car better and better. I wish we could have finished in the top five, but we finished in the top 10 and moved up two spots (to 14th) in the points."