RELATED: Truex Jr.’s history when leading 100 or more laps

 

Martin Truex Jr.’s dominating Coca-Cola 600 win on Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway was an important victory for the No. 78 team. It marked Truex’s first 2016 win and virtually punched his ticket to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

It was also record-breaking — in more than one category.

Below are the feats accomplished by Truex & Co. on Sunday night in North Carolina.

• Truex’s 588 (of 600) miles led was the most ever in a NASCAR race.

 

• His 392 laps led were the most in a Coca-Cola 600. Jim Paschal held the previous record with 335 laps in the front of the field during the 1967 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

 

• The No. 78 driver’s dominant win earned him a perfect driver rating of 150.0, a first for any Sprint Cup Series driver at Charlotte.

 

• The race spanned 3 hours, 44 minutes and 5 seconds, marking the quickest Coca-Cola 600 event ever.

 

• Drivers in Sunday’s race averaged a speed of 160.655 mph, the fastest average speed for a Coca-Cola 600 event in race history.

RELATED: Full race results | SHOP: Truex Jr. Gear 

CONCORD, N.C. — The heartbreak kid survived 600 miles without another broken heart.

Instead, Martin Truex Jr. broke records in Sunday night’s victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a race in which the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota set new standards for domination.

Truex led 392 of 400 laps, most ever in NASCAR’s longest Sprint Cup Series race. He spent 588 of 600 miles at the front of the field, most ever in a single race in NASCAR history.

RELATED: When Truex Jr. has led 100 laps or more

And when it was over, Truex had his first victory of the season, the fourth of his career and an all-but-guaranteed berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Perhaps more important, Truex erased a litany of crushing disappointments that continued into this season and ruined potential winning efforts at Texas, Kansas and Dover.

“It’s just kind of sinking in now that we won the 600,” Truex said in Victory Lane. “Really proud of my team — everybody that made this possible, that believed in me, gave me this opportunity. (Crew chief) Cole Pearn, Jazzy (team engineer Jeff Curtis), my guys are something special.

“I want to thank all of them. This is a big day. Got the troops on the cars (for Memorial Day recognition). This is a special weekend. It’s really neat to bring that name (of fallen hero Gunnery Sergeant Jeffrey E. Bohr Jr.) home to Victory Lane. Just a lot of emotion right now. Not really sure it’s sunk in yet. Just an amazing day, an amazing weekend for all of us. It’s a weekend you dream about.”

Truex finished 2.572 seconds ahead of Kevin Harvick, whose car tightened up during the final 56-lap green-flag run. Jimmie Johnson ran third and led the second-most laps — five.

Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski completed the top five, but the night belonged to Truex.

When darkness fell, Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet came to life, but the tight handling condition that developed over the final 80 miles prevented him from taking the fight to Truex.

“Well, I saw him for about 50 miles or 75 miles,” Harvick said. “The rest of the night I never saw him. I was back there swatting flies in the middle of the pack. I didn’t have a lot of time to see the 78.”

Johnson was pleased with the speed in his own No. 48 Chevrolet, but it was no match for Truex’s Camry.

“I kind of felt like he was playing with us,” Johnson said. “He was so fast. I would flatfoot (Turns) 1 and 2, and have a nose on him, and he would drive right back by me into Turn 3. It was so fast. It was very impressive. I’m happy for Martin. That team and those guys worked awfully hard to get where they’re at.”

But for the vagaries of green-flag pit stop cycles, Truex was out front for the entire race.

He led 336 of the first 344 laps, surpassing the race and speedway record of 335 set by 1967 Coke 600 winner Jim Paschal.

MORE: Most dominant races in NASCAR history

The average speed of the race, 160.644 mph, was a record for a Coca-Cola 600 that went the full distance, as was the duration of the race, 3 hours, 44 minutes, 8 seconds. Truex achieved a perfect driver rating of 150.0, the first of his career.

“I had confidence,” Truex added. “I had faith. I had confidence in my team. I’ve got a lot of great people behind me. Sherry (Pollex, Truex’s girlfriend and an ovarian cancer survivor), she gives me a lot of inspiration.

“And we keep on fighting. We never give up. We never quit. We always keep digging, and I’m proud of my guys for sticking by me. They all did a great job tonight. There are so many fans that have supported us the last few years with so many heartbreaks. I really appreciate that. I really had fun tonight.”

RELATED: Results | Updated standings | Post-Charlotte Chase Grid 

 

CONCORD, N.C. — On a night where Martin Truex Jr. dominated the Coca-Cola 600 and shattered several NASCAR records in one of the Sprint Cup Series’ most storied races, the rest of the field was left to tip its cap to a driver that has come oh-so-close to winning already in 2016.

 

MORE: Truex rewrites history

 

Truex led 392 of 400 laps (the most ever at Charlotte Motor Speedway) and his 588 miles led (of 600) was the most led in NASCAR history.

 

The performance was so stellar that Jimmie Johnson, who finished third, stopped mid-interview on pit road to congratulate and give Truex a high-five.

 

“He was too damn fast not to,” Johnson joked afterward.

 

Race runner-up Kevin Harvick spent the latter part of the race trying to get to Truex but couldn’t reel him in.

 

“I saw him for about 50 miles or 75 miles,” Harvick said. “The rest of the night I never saw him.”

 

Johnson led the second-most laps in the field at five and, at times, seemed to be close to making a move to get the lead. But the six-time Sprint Cup Series champion couldn’t quite get there.

 

“I thought I had him clear twice and somehow he just drove by on the straightaway,” Johnson said. “His car was just really strong and there were many times where I thought I’d get close and then he’d pick the pace up a couple tenths. I think he had plenty of speed on the side and could really control the race.”

 

Johnson knows a little something about being dominant. In 2004, he led 334 laps en route to winning the Coca-Cola 600. He has also led 300 laps two other times, both coming at Martinsville in 2008 and 2013.

 

The fact that Truex and his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota have been so close to Victory Lane this season — he led 141 laps at Texas and 172 laps at Kansas before late-race trouble found the 78 team in both instances — was not lost on Johnson.

 

RELATED: Truex: When he’s led 100 laps or more

 

“They’ve had a few runs where they’ve just been the class of the field and things have just kept them from Victory Lane,” Johnson said. “Tonight, he wasn’t going to be denied. There was no way around that.”

 

Joey Logano started the race alongside Truex on the front row and spent some time chasing Truex from the front, as well. The Sprint All-Star Race winner summed up his pursuit succinctly.

 

“We didn’t have anything for the 78,” Logano said. “Martin Truex was on fire tonight and really all weekend. They had it figured out.”

 

Like Johnson, Logano said he could stay close for a little bit, but was no match for the 78 on the long runs.

 

“There were times that we were racing him up front for the lead on restarts,” Logano said. “We’d run with him for a while and then eventually on the long run he just took off. We had nothing for him, but at times I thought we were definitely a second-place car — but unfortunately it’s a distant second.”

 

The win was a popular one in the garage with Johnson saying how well-liked Truex is by his fellow competitors. That sentiment was echoed by fifth-place finisher Brad Keselowski.

 

“You see a guy like Martin win and you can’t help but feel good about it,” Keselowski said. “He’s a good person and he deserves all the success he gets.”

 

MORE: Relive the day in photos

CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers were warned to keep their speeds down if they are forced to pit road to avoid an incident on Sunday during the drivers’ meeting prior to Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). 



 

“During yesterday’s (NASCAR XFINITY Series) race, we had certain circumstances with cars coming down pit road to avoid an incident,” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Managing Director Richard Buck said. “We are and still will continue to investigate ways to improve our process, but let me remind us of our rule as it is and will be officiated tonight. If you are forced down pit road to avoid an incident, you must reduce your speed as you travel the entire length of pit road. We will blend you off the end of pit road like a pit camera. You do not retain your position on the track.”



 

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, asked several questions about both reducing speed as well as how it would be enforced. 


 


”If you forced down pit road, it’s a safety issue,” Buck said. “We need you to reduce your speed. The walls are shorter there. There are gaps that are open. We have officials and fans that are there. We need to see that your speed has significantly reduced as you travel the full length. It will be a judgment call from the tower.”



 

Buck also asked drivers and spotters to “communicate and get lined up as quickly as possible” when the tower calls out the lineup under caution. “That will allow us to verify the correct lineup and not have to take any further action.”

 



There will be a competition caution on or around Lap 25 of the 400-lap race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

PRACTICE 3: Results 

Martin Truex Jr. topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s final Sprint Cup Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway at 186.387 mph in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.

 

Truex holds the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).

 

Kurt Busch, who led the practice session earlier in the day, was right behind him in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet at 185.733 mph.

 

Rounding out the top five in the 50-minute session were Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (185.401 mph), Joey Logano in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford (185.109 mph) and Greg Biffle in the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford (184.938 mph).

 

PRACTICE 2: Results

 

Earlier in the day, Busch led the pack at 191.002 mph. Busch, who holds the record for the fastest lap around the 1.5-mile North Carolina oval, will roll off the grid 13th Sunday.

In that same session, seven-time Charlotte winner Johnson was second-fastest, propelling his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 190.617 mph.

Sunday’s pole-sitter Truex Jr. recorded the third-fastest lap (190.061 mph) in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota, while Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Carl Edwards (189.887 mph) and Roush Fenway Racing‘s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (189.414 mph) rounded out the top five.

Series points leader Kevin Harvick ranked seventh on the speed charts (189.301 mph) in morning session and 24th in the final session (183.150 mph). 

The red flag flew late in the first 55-minute session, after smoke began blowing for the left front of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 ride. The track returned to green shortly after Earnhardt’s Chevrolet — which was later determined to be an issue with the seal on the power steering box — made it to the garage.