Posted on by

RELATED: Full race results | Austin Dillon gets his first win

CONCORD, N.C. — A perspiring Erik Jones speculated Sunday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was the first night he had ever finished his entire bag of water during a race.

Daniel Suarez said he wasn’t sure if he was going to finish the entire 600-mile event that extended to the wee hours of Monday morning.

Six hundred miles of racing — along with a 100-minute rain delay — is no joke.

Despite the grueling distance that could daunt even the most seasoned drivers, Monster Energy Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders Jones and Suarez performed more like veterans in Sunday’s event, finishing seventh and 11th, respectively, and running consistently in the top 10.

“I tried to be aggressive and I tried to stay in the front,” Suarez said after the race. “… I feel like the guys did an amazing job of working on the car, trying to tune up the car and we had a top-10 car and we ended up one spot short.”

For Jones, the seventh-place result was a refreshing change from his four-race string of wrecks and cut tires that led to four disappointing finishes at Bristol, Richmond, Talladega and Kansas.

“This was what we needed after a bad couple races,” Jones said. “So, nice to just get a good, solid finish, good top-10. I think our car was a little bit better than that — we just got that hole in the nose early and never really got the balance the same. But the 5-hour Energy Camry was good and it was just nice to have a good night.”

The driver who turns 21 on Tuesday had a strong car all weekend, qualifying fifth, leading opening practice and placing in the top five in the other two practice sessions. An early incident saddled him with a hole in the nose of his No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota that caused him to pit for repairs and left him to come from the back of the field.

It was a situation where patience was, indeed, key.

“I was impressed to see the job Erik did being patient all night — it’s a long race,” crew chief Chris Gayle told NASCAR.com after the race. “He had to go to the back with damage to the nose and he was still patient getting back up through the field.

“… He’s been (patient) all year long — he just hasn’t been rewarded with the finish until tonight from doing it. I think that the more you’re rewarded with the finish, the more it enforces that you need to be that way.”

RELATED: Driver statistics for Erik Jones | Daniel Suarez

Jones was also prepared; the rookie had a bit of help pre-race in the form of his teammate and 2016 Coca-Cola 600 winner Martin Truex Jr., who led a race-high 233 laps before finishing third.

“It definitely helps when you come into a track where our teammate was so fast last year,” Jones said. “Obviously we leaned a lot on his setup, I leaned a lot on him and his data and everything else in between. He had another fast car tonight and I think he had a car that could have won the race.

“At the start of the race I thought we had one that could have contended until we got the hole in the nose. Overall, nice to have somebody that’s so fast — not only here, but every week — to lean on. I try to get information from him when I can to try to get faster and more consistent finishes up front.”

Jones wasn’t the only rookie with teammates up front at Charlotte; Suarez also ran with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates toward the front of the pack. After early season struggles for the typically dominant JGR group, the Toyota power seemed to flourish Sunday night with Kyle Busch finishing second, Matt Kenseth fourth and Denny Hamlin fifth.

But while appearing pleased with the effort, Suarez also didn’t seem fully content with his 11th-place result.

“I feel like it was good, we just have to make better decisions and adjustments a couple of times,” the 25-year-old driver said. “We lost some spots on pit road and track position was huge and I don’t feel like that helped us a lot.

“But we had a top-eight, top-10 car and we ended up very close to that.”

 

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Full race results | Austin Dillon gets first win

CONCORD, N.C. — Seventeen years, give or take a month or two here or there.

How old was he? He being Austin Dillon, winner of Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Ten. He was 10 years old the last time that oh-so-familiar black No. 3 rolled off the race track and into Victory Lane at Talladega.

The year was 2000. Seems like ages ago; sometimes it seems like yesterday, too.

That, of course, makes Dillon 27, and a fuel-mileage gamble that paid off handsomely makes him a first-time winner here in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

WATCH: Not even enough gas for a burnout

Seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt put the No. 3 in Victory Lane 67 times. Often enough for some fans to come to loathe it, often enough for many more to come to love it.

Kevin Harvick, who stepped into the ride following Earnhardt’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500, didn’t have to shoulder the expectations of the machine so much as he had to live in the shadow of the man.

Team owner Richard Childress, out of equal parts pain and respect, put the No. 3 on the shelf. Didn’t want to put the burden on his young driver at the time and wasn’t sure he wanted to look out and see it circling the track.

Instead, Harvick drove the No. 29 and drove it convincingly. Won 23 times and nearly a championship or two before departing to join Stewart-Haas Racing.

In the meantime, the No. 3 sat. And sat. And sat some more. How many times was Childress asked the inevitable? When would fans see the 3 on the track once more? Too many to count.

Meanwhile, Dillon was growing older and getting comfortable with the number in other series — winning championships in the Camping World Truck Series (2011) and XFINITY Series (2013). It was the number without the pressure.

That all changed prior to 2014 when Childress made the announcement — the No. 3 was coming back to NASCAR’s top series. And Dillon, his grandson, would be behind the wheel.

“I didn’t want to put just anyone in the (No.) 3 car,” Childress explained after Sunday night’s surprising victory. “I would have probably never brought it back.”

The Coca-Cola 600 win was special, he said, for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the celebration of Memorial Day, “such a special day for all the people that have given so much for this country … to be able to enjoy what we’re doing. I’m just honored to be here. …

“When I really got emotional … when I looked up and saw the (No.) 3 on top of the board and I was standing there doing an interview, that’s when I got emotional. It’s so special to see that 3 in the winner’s circle again.”

The car number has adorned the vehicles of numerous NASCAR Hall of Famers. In addition to Earnhardt, 10 other Hall of Fame members used the number at some point during their careers.

It’s identified, though, with Earnhardt. And Childress. And now Dillon.

“He doesn’t show emotion and pressure but I can tell you … he knew how much he wanted to win for the 3 fans and he knew how much he wanted to win for our family and everybody involved,” Childress said.

There was never a question of if he should have brought the car number back to the track, Childress said, only the understanding of the pressure it would bring to one of his Richard Childress Racing drivers.

“I wanted to bring it back but it had to be something special. To have my grandson, to put him in it was unbelievable,” he said.

Dillon became the 10th driver to earn his first career win in the series at CMS.

“From the very beginning,” Dillon said, “my grandfather has challenged us with everything. He’s a true hero also, starting with nothing, and making RCR into what it is today.

“He pushed me and my brother to go on hunting trips that I don’t think most people would go on. So the toughness has always been there. It came from him and my dad and my mom, all my family members.”

“Now to be able to deliver a number that is legendary and has stats that are untouchable, just to add to those numbers is something that him and his best friend were able to create, it’s very special.”

RELATED: Austin Dillon’s NASCAR statistics

He’d been close before, with seven top fives scattered here and there. But no wins.

Not in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Not until late in the night on a holiday weekend at a track that was difficult and unforgiving and seemingly ever-changing.

“It’s probably a great big deal to Austin and RCR,” Dale Earnhardt Jr., son of the seven-time champ, said. “Big for that company.

“I was glad to see them get it out and get it on the race track and go in Victory Lane, hopefully a few more times.”

Hours after the fans had departed and the celebration had moved elsewhere, the scoring pylon at CMS remained lit.

The No. 3 at the very top didn’t look out of place at all.

 

Posted on by RJ Kraft

RELATED: Full race results

CONCORD, N.C. — As badly as he wanted to win the Coca-Cola 600 before stepping away from full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 10th-place finish in the sport’s longest race offered a little gratification.

Earnhardt, who has not won a Monster Energy Series points race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 34 tries, kept digging through the 400-lap, 600-mile event and jumped into the top 10 at the end of Stage 3. From there, he withstood a fuel-mileage frenzy at the finish of the race to score his second top 10 of the 2017 season — his first since last month at Texas.

The result was a strong turnaround from last week’s result in the Monster Energy All-Star Race at Charlotte where Junior came in 18th out of the 20 cars in the event.

“We think we should be running in the top five every week as a team, so that is still not really good enough, but compared to last week it’s a huge improvement,” Earnhardt said.

Entering the race weekend, Earnhardt said the team “totally eighty-sixed all that stuff we ran last week.” Instead, the team turned to a setup used by Jimmie Johnson, a Hendrick Motorsports teammate of Junior’s and an eight-time winner at Charlotte. Earnhardt was very appreciative of the time the seven-time champion spent with him.

“We’ve got to thank Jimmie (Johnson) and the No. 48 guys, Jimmie especially,” Earnhardt said. “He was communicating with me all week, calling me, talking on the phone. He would come across the garage and get in my window even during practice. Get out of his car and come talk to me. What a great teammate. I hated to see him run out of gas.”

Johnson was one of several drivers to gamble on a fuel mileage strategy late that ultimately paid off for Austin Dillon, who led the final two laps for his first win in the Monster Energy Series. Was that play something the No. 88 team considered?

“Right now, we need to get finishes under our belt and we weren’t really in a position to gamble with the fuel mileage we were getting,” crew chief Greg Ives told NASCAR.com. “Being four laps short is really a hard place to be. When you’re looking at 3 or 2 (laps) … I’ve calculated fuel mileage for a lot of years and when you’re trying to save four laps of fuel it is not an easy thing to do. If we are in a position with maybe three laps (short), I think we could have been able to do that.”

Earnhardt will now turn his attention to Dover, where he has one career win in the sport’s top series and will go into Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) 23rd in the points standings.

 

Posted on by Pat DeCola

The fear of missing out is real, folks.

Just ask Ty Dillon.

The Germain Racing driver succumbed to a parts failure and finished 36th in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His older brother Austin? Well, he won the damn race — for his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win, putting the No. 3 Chevrolet back in Victory Lane for the first time since Dale Earnhardt in 2000. A landmark event, for sure.

Ty saw it all play out … on the TV at home.

Ty wasn’t the only member of NASCAR Nation to congratulate Austin, however, as a few others sent messages to the Richard Childress Racing driver on Twitter — including his recently-replaced crew chief.

As did former RCR driver Jeff Burton and his nephew, Jeb.

2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champ Brad Keselowski and current driver Matt DiBenedetto also joined in, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joey Logano.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full race results | Detailed breakdown | Shop for winner gear

CONCORD, N.C. — Armed with a new crew chief and a gas tank that held just enough fuel to get him to the end of 600 miles with less than a second to spare, Austin Dillon won the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series of his career and put the vaunted No. 3 Chevrolet back in Victory Lane for the first time since 2000.

Working for the first time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with crew chief Justin Alexander, Dillon was one of eight drivers who stayed on the track when the strongest cars in the Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway — the Toyotas of eventual runner up Kyle Busch and third-place Martin Truex Jr. — came to pit road on Lap 368 of 400.

Saving fuel for the entire run, Dillon trailed Jimmie Johnson, who also stayed out, until the seven-time champion ran out of gas with less than three laps left. With Busch and Truex in hot pursuit, Dillon had just enough fuel to get to the start/finish line.

The No. 3 Chevrolet owned by Dillon’s grandfather, Richard Childress, returned to Victory Lane for the first time since the late Dale Earnhardt won his last race on Oct. 15, 2000 at Talladega. After Earnhardt’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500, Childress retired the number in NASCAR’s premier series until Dillon ran his first full season of Monster Energy Series racing in 2014.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Dillon said in Victory Lane. “I can’t believe it. I was just really focused on those last laps. My fiancée wrote in the car, ‘When you keep God in first place, he will take you places you never imagined.’

“And I never imagined I be here at the 600 Victory Lane. Praise the Lord and all these guys who work so hard; and my pit crew is the best on pit road. I love it for them. We’re in the playoffs. It’s awesome.”

Dillon, who led only the final two laps, had to restrain himself from using too much fuel in pursuit of Johnson.

“I was just trying to be patient with the No. 48,” Dillon said. “I could see him saving. I thought I’d saved enough early, where I could attack at the end, but I tried to wait as long as possible. And when he ran out, I figured I’d go back in and save where I was lifting, and it worked out.

“I ran out at the line, and it gurgled all around just to do one little spin and push it back to Victory Lane.”

Matt Kenseth ran fourth, followed by Joe Gibbs racing teammate Denny Hamlin, as Toyotas claimed positions two through five.

The fireworks started early at the 1.5-mile track, more than six hours before the race ended. On Lap 20, five laps before a scheduled competition caution, a large piece of debris shot from the back of Jeffrey Earnhardt’s smoking No. 33 car into the path of Chase Elliott’s No. 24 Chevrolet.

The debris knocked a hole in the nose of Elliott’s car, and flames erupted beneath the engine compartment as fluid spilled from the Chevy. Brad Keselowski skidded through the oil, as if his No. 2 Ford had hit a patch of ice, and piled into the back of Elliott’s car, destroying both machines.

“Somebody broke, and there was just oil everywhere, and I couldn’t turn,” Keselowski said. “I ran into the back of Chase. Somebody broke in front of him, and then he ran over what they broke and then he broke, so there were two cars broke in front of me and just oil everywhere.

“You couldn’t stop and turn. You couldn’t do anything. It’s a real bummer for our team. We had a really fast Miller Lite Ford, and I think we had a shot at winning tonight, but that’s how it goes.”

Elliott was equally disappointed that his car was on a wrecker in the garage.

“The No. 33 broke something ahead of me and I ended up hitting it,” Elliott said. “I hit it pretty hard. I knew it had hurt our nose at least, then I saw some flames and figured we were laying down oil too, I guess.

“Brad couldn’t get stopped and ended up kind of finishing us off, but it was a bummer. I hate it. I don’t really know what you do about stuff like that. Just move on.”

After the subsequent restart on Lap 28, the rest of the first 100-lap stage ran caution-free, with Kyle Busch passing Truex on Lap 90 and pulling away to secure the playoff point accorded the stage winner.

Truex was leading when the caution flag flew for the third time on Lap 142 after Matt DiBenedetto’s No. 32 Ford slammed into the outside wall. Moments later, NASCAR red-flagged the race because of the threat of heavy rain and lightning in the area.

The rain arrived and drenched the track, forcing a delay of 1 hour, 39 minutes, 56 seconds before the cars started rolling again.

Truex dominated after a restart on Lap 176 and won the second stage going away. The driver of the No. 78 Toyota appeared headed for another victory in Stage 3 until series leader Kyle Larson blew a tire and pounded the wall on Lap 292.

“I got really loose into (Turn) 3 and hit the wall and got a lot of damage, and the tire started to go down and then exploded in (Turn) 1,” Larson said. “I just hate it that I made a mistake there in Turn 3 and got in the wall.

“I wasn’t even running hard up there. I just got loose and then I hit it and it ruined our day. I’m hoping to hold onto the point lead and then go to Dover next week and try to do better.”

(As it turned out, Truex took over the series lead by five points over Larson, with Keselowski 82 points back in third-place.)

After Larson’s accident, Truex lost three spots on pit road on Lap 294, ceding the stage win to Denny Hamlin.

But Truex, who led a race-high 233 laps — and led the most laps in the Coca-Cola 600 for the third straight year with only last year’s win to show for it — regained the top spot after a restart on Lap 334, clearing Kyle Busch through the first two corners, and soon pulled away to a two-second lead.

Then Dillon’s fuel-mileage play changed everything.

Note: The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was found to be missing a lug nut in post-race inspection.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: See the races at Dover

NASCAR heads to Dover International Speedway for a tripleheader with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. Check out the full weekend schedule below.

Note: All times are ET

SUNDAY, JUNE 4:

PRE-RACE SCHEDULE
12:30:00 p.m.: Driver Introductions
12:59:00p.m.: “God Bless America:” Cassidy Daniels, Nashville Recording Artist
1:00:00p.m.: Aerial Adventures parachute teams lands on track
1:00:00p.m.: Presentation of Colors by: The Dover Air Force Base Color Guard
1:00:20p.m.: Invocation by: Dan Schafer Pastor of Calvary Assembly of God from Heightstown, NJ
1:00:50p.m.: Intro National Anthem
1:01:00p.m.: National Anthem by: Cassidy Daniels, Nashville Recording Artist (pyro from backstretch during “rockets’ red glare”)
1:01:30p.m.: Three Parachutists land on track
1:02:30p.m.: Flyover: A-10 Warthogs from the 104th Fighter Squadron of the Maryland Air National Guard (Turn 4 to Turn 1)
1:07:00p.m.: “Driver’s Start Your Engines” by: Gordon Ramsay
1:15:00p.m.: Start of the AAA Drive for Autism 400 (400 Laps / 400 Miles)

ON TRACK
— 1 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA 400 Drive for Autism, FS1, Canada: TSN 3, 5 (Results)

LIVE INTERVIEWS (Watch here)
Approx 4:30 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

THURSDAY, JUNE 1:

ON TRACK
— 2- 2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, no TV (Results)
— 4- 4:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, no TV (Results)

FRIDAY, JUNE 2

ON TRACK
— 9:30- 10:25 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FS2 (Results)
— 10:30- 11:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS2 (Results)
— 1:30- 2:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FS1 (Results)
—2:35 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole qualifying, FS1 (Results)
—3:50 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole qualifying, FS1, Canada: TSN 5 (Results)
—5:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Bar Harbor 200 Presented by Sea Watch International (200 laps, 200 miles), FS1 (Results)

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 1 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series

LIVE INTERVIEWS (Watch here)
9 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson   
9:15 a.m.: Chase Elliott 
9:30 a.m.: Jeffrey Earnhardt   
9:50 a.m.: Matt Kenseth    
Noon: Elliott Sadler, Daniel Hemric  
12:30 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.  
12:45 p.m.: Austin Dillon    
Approx 4:30 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy Series qualifying   
Approx 7:30 p.m.: Post-Camping World Truck Series race

SATURDAY, JUNE 3:

ON TRACK
— 9- 9:55 a.m.:Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Results)
—10:05 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole qualifying, FS1 (Results)
—11:30 a.m.- 12:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1, Canada: TSN 2 (Results)
—1 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series OneMain Financial 200 (200 laps, 200 miles), FS1, Canada: TSN 2 (Results)

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 11 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

LIVE INTERVIEWS (Watch here)
Approx 3 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series race

Posted on by Staff Report

What channel is NASCAR programming on this week? We answer that and provide all the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

RELATED: Find NBCSN in your area

All times ET

Monday, May 29
3 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lane (re-air), FS1
6:30 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 4K TV 300 (re-air), FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, May 30
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, May 31
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, June 1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, June 2
9:30 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FS2 (Canada: TSN GO)
10:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS2 (Canada: TSN GO)
1:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN: GO)
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole qualifying, FS1
3:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN 5)
5 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup, FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Bar Harbor 200, FS1

Saturday, June 3
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Bar Harbor 200 (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1987 Winston 500 (re-air), FS1
5 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice (re-air), FS1
6:30 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice (re-air), FS1
7:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole qualifying (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
10 a.m., XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
11 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition, FS1
11:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
12:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: XFINITY, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series OneMain Financial 200, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
3 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Post-Race Show, FS1
10 p.m., XFINITY Series OneMain Financial 200 (re-air), FS2

Sunday, June 4
11:30 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA 400 Drive for Autism, FS1 (Canada: TSN 3, 5)

 

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Weather updates | Starting lineup

The Coca-Cola 600 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was delayed nearly 100 minutes because of inclement weather in the area around the 1.5-mile track in Concord, North Carolina.

A storm moved over the track after 143 of a scheduled 400 laps, bringing out the red flag when lightning was reported in the area. The race was under caution at the time due to an on-track incident, and then heavy rains swept through, causing a longer delay.

Twelve NASCAR Air Titans and 10 jet driers were on location to dry the track.

At nearly the midway point of Stage 2, Martin Truex Jr. was the leader at the time of the fed. Truex, who led 392 laps and won this event last year, had led a race-high 53 laps. Second at the time of the red flag was Jimmie Johnson, followed by Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth.

RELATED: Kyle Busch wins Stage 1

Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott, two early front-runners, are out of the race due to a wreck on Lap 19.

RELATED: See Keselowski, Elliott clash

This is the 58th annual running of NASCAR’s Memorial Day Weekend classic, but it’s the first time the race will be run in four stages, with breaks coming after Laps 100, 200 and 300 before a run to the finish.

 

Posted on by

CONCORD, N.C. — The marathon race became more like a short sprint for strong contenders Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott early in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

A part broke in Jeffery Earnhardt’s No. 33 Chevrolet at Lap 19 of 400 scheduled laps, dropping fluid and debris onto the race track. Elliott ran over the piece, causing damage to his car and losing control of his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the resulting oil. Keselowski’s careening No. 2 Team Penske Ford rapidly rear-ended Elliott’s No. 24 Chevy, crushing both vehicles and igniting fire under the No. 24.

“I saw parts and pieces flying,” said Elliott, who had qualified third. “I don’t know if he blew a tire or something and I ended up hitting something that he had on track. I hit it pretty hard. It was really solid, so I knew it was rough. I saw some fire, tried to get stopped and get out of the way and I guess Brad got in my oil and couldn’t get slowed down, so I hate it.

“Man, it is just so ridiculous. I wish I knew what to do to try to fix things like that, but at the end of the day you really can’t.”

Keselowski echoed the disappointment and helplessness of the situation.

“You couldn’t stop and turn,” Keselowski said after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “You couldn’t do anything. It’s a real bummer for our team.

“We had a really fast Miller Lite Ford and I think we had a shot at winning tonight, but that’s how it goes.”

NASCAR officials towed both vehicles off the track and into the garage, leaving Elliott and Keselowski scored 38th and 39th, respectively.

Both drivers were running in the top 10 at the time of the incident, which brought out the caution and served as the scheduled competition caution.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: FAQ for race format | Updated stage points

STAGE 3:

Denny Hamlin continued the Toyota trend of the evening with the manufacturer sweeping the Coca-Cola 600 stages Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver led Stage 3 after a wild restart with just three laps to go. The restart shuffled back the dominant car of Martin Truex Jr., who had won Stage 2 and appeared set to land another stage victory before a late-stage caution. It’s Hamlin’s second stage win of the season.

Behind Hamlin was a duo of JGR drivers in Stage 1 winner Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, followed by Furniture Row Racing teammates Truex and Erik Jones to round out the top five.

Kyle Larson, who picked up race points in both of the first two stages, hit the wall with eight laps remaining to bring out a caution and send his No. 42 Chevrolet to pit road for repairs.

RELATED: See sparks fly in Larson’s wreck

STAGE 2: 

Defending race-winner Martin Truex Jr. had to withstand nearly a two-hour weather delay but emerged victorious in Stage 2 of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series-leading sixth stage win of the season.

Behind Truex were Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Matt Kenseth in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota, Stage 1 winner Kyle Busch in the No. 18 JGR Toyota and Kurt Busch in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

Truex was second in Stage 1 and has led 108 laps through the first 200.

Ryan Blaney, seventh in Stage 1, was forced to the garage in Stage 2 with a broken axle. He returned to the race later in the stage.

STAGE 1:

Kyle Busch led 34 of the first 100 laps of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, giving his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing the Stage 1 win. This marks Busch’s third stage win of the season.

Defending winner Martin Truex Jr. and pole-winner Kevin Harvick hit the start/finish line behind Busch in their No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota and No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, respectively.

Four-time winner Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Matt Kenseth’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota rounded out the top five.

The top 10 finishers in both Stage 1, Stage 2 and — for the four-stage Coca-Cola 600 only — Stage 3 receive race points. The race winner will receive 40 points and five playoff points at the conclusion of the Final Stage.

Stage 1 results

Finish Driver Team Race points
 1.  Kyle Busch   Joe Gibbs Racing  10
2.  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 9
3.  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4.  Jimmie Johnson  Hendrick Motorsports 7
5.  Matt Kenseth  Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6.  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 5
7.  Ryan Blaney  Wood Brothers Racing 4
8.  Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9.  Kurt Busch  Stewart-Haas Racing 2
10.  Jamie McMurray  Chip Ganassi Racing 1

Stage 2 results

Finish Driver Team Race points
 1.  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing  10
2.  Jimmie Johnson  Hendrick Motorsports 9
3.  Matt Kenseth  Joe Gibbs Racing 8
4.  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 7
5.  Kurt Busch  Stewart-Haas Racing 6
6.  Jamie McMurray  Chip Ganassi Racing 5
7.  Austin Dillon  Richard Childress Racing 4
8.  Erik Jones  Furniture Row Racing 3
9.  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 2
10.  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 1

Stage 3 results

Finish Driver Team Race points
 1.  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing  10
2.  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 9
3.  Matt Kenseth  Joe Gibbs Racing 8
4.  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 7
5.  Erik Jones  Furniture Row Racing 6
6.  Kurt Busch  Stewart-Haas Racing 5
7.  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8.  Daniel Suarez  Joe Gibbs Racing 3
9.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Hendrick Motorsports 2
10.  Austin Dillon  Richard Childress Racing 1