Martin Truex Jr. wins Coca-Cola 600 in dominating fashion

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Reid Spencer

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.

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.”

Posted on May 29, 2016 by RJ Kraft

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.

“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

Posted on May 29, 2016 by RJ Kraft

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.

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Nascar

CONCORD, N.C. — For the second consecutive year, the names displayed across the windshields of the cars that will take the green flag in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX) will be unfamiliar to most race fans.

Gone are the names of Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski and Kenseth emblazoned across the tops of the vehicles. There is no Stewart, Busch or Logano.

They have been replaced on this Memorial Day weekend with the names of Lynch, Taylor, Massarelli and Miranda. Carter, Jablonsky, Ramseyer and Gonzales. It’s a long list. It’s too long of a list.

Including grand marshal vehicles and two pace cars, 44 of the vehicles here at Charlotte Motor Speedway will carry the names of fallen members of the United States military.

Army. Navy. Marines. Air Force.

Pilot. Gunner. Seal. Ranger.

Their ranks varied. Their job did not. They were soldiers. They made the ultimate sacrifice.

It’s 600 Miles of Remembrance in the eyes of the NASCAR community. It’s a lifetime of memories to those who knew them.

NASCAR officials worked with the Honor and Remember organization to pair fallen servicemen and women and their families with teams where no direct affiliations existed. But most of those we honor today at CMS had ties to NASCAR, through relationships with drivers or crewmen, sponsors or owners.

Graham Molatch, the jack man for Chip Ganassi Racing‘s No. 42 Chevrolet with driver Kyle Larson, is a former Navy Seal. Larson’s car carries the name of fellow Seal Denis Miranda. The two were roommates serving in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2010 when Miranda died in a helicopter crash.

“Denis was just a great person and I’m really, really honored to have a chance to have (him) on our car,” Molatch said Saturday at CMS. “It means a lot to me. I think it means a lot to the guys on the team that we get to support Denis’ name and his family. …

“They should be acknowledged more than just once a year but it is great … to display their names. It’s an honor for me personally, and a great honor for his family.”

Jimmy Woolard was a childhood friend of team co-owner Jack Roush. Woolard, whose name is carried on the No. 17 Ford of driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. this weekend, was killed in action during the Vietnam War.

Master Sergeant Paul Karpowich was a family friend of Mike Bugarewicz, crew chief of the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevrolet for driver Tony Stewart.

PFC John Borbonus was a classmate of driver Brian Scott (Richard Petty Motorsports) in Boise, Idaho.

There are others. Too many others.

Their photos are strikingly similar, most showing vibrant, smiling faces, full of life.

Some were on their first mission; many had been a part of multiple deployments.

There are those who left behind wives and young children. For others, family life would have come later.

Later never arrived.

There are those who left behind mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. We honor them today every bit as much as we do those who are no longer with us.

You may not recognize their names. But you should know why those names are there.

It’s the very least we can do.

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Staff Report

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 13thSunday.

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.

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Staff Report

Kevin Harvick has helped fill the stomachs of hungry NASCAR fans for the past two years, and his promotion with Outback Steakhouse is back for a third. If history is any indication, plenty of free Bloomin’ Onions will be dispersed this season.

It’s simple, really. If Harvick notches a top-10 finish of any NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in 2016, Outback Steakhouse — which sponsors the Stewart-Haas Racing driver — offers its patrons a free Bloomin’ Onion® on Monday.

Following a top 10 by the No. 4 car, simply go to your local Outback Steakhouse and say “Bloomin’ Monday” to your server. That’s it — no coupon or paperwork required. To make it even easier, visit outback.com/racing and sign up for the Bloomin’ Monday e-mail notification so you’ll never miss an onion opportunity.

This is the fifth year of the Bloomin’ Monday program, and Outback has given away more than 1.5 million free Bloomin’ Onions over 80 Mondays. That’s a lot of free food.

Fans now have Harvick to thank. The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion logged 20 top-10 finishes the year he won his championship, then followed that up with 28 top-10s last year, tied for best in the series. Twenty-eight!

In addition to the Bloomin’ Mondays, Harvick’s No. 4 will also sport the Outback Steakhouse paint scheme in two races this year: June 12 at Michigan and Oct. 16 at Kansas, a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

Outback Steakhouse was founded in 1988 and is known for its delicious seasoned & seared and wood-fire grilled steaks, Bloomin’ Onions (naturally), chicken and seafood. To make your dining experience even better, download the Outback App, which is currently in the App Store and Google Play. Features include getting on the wait list, checking out the menu and even paying your bill.

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full Charlotte race results

CONCORD, N.C. — In an event that bore notable similarities to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race a week earlier, Denny Hamlin won Saturday’s Hisense 4K TV 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a pass on the final lap.

Hamlin’s fresh rubber trumped the old tires of Kyle Larson and Joey Logano, who restarted ahead of Hamlin in overtime at the 1.5-mile track.

In fact, Hamlin restarted sixth on Lap 205 after coming to pit road for four new tires under the eighth and final caution of the race, brought out when polesitter Erik Jones, Hamlin’s teammate, slammed the outside wall and performed the coup de grace on his already wounded No. 20 Toyota.

“It was a second opportunity, obviously,” Hamlin said. “I was hoping for that caution there at the end, and we got it and we were able to get four tires on this Hisense Camry and took off. A little closer than what I thought — I mean, we were just really tight those last couple laps, but what a great day.”

The victory was Hamlin’s first of the year in his only start so far, and it was the fifth this season for the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, the first four coming with Kyle Busch behind the wheel.

Logano surged ahead of Larson at the restart, but Hamlin gained huge momentum on his new tires from the outside lane. With less than a lap left, Hamlin got past Logano and held on to win the race by .291 seconds over Austin Dillon, who edged Logano for second in the final corner.

Dillon had opted for right-side tires only on his final pit stop.

But for a timely caution, however, Hamlin would not have had the opportunity to win the race. As they had done a week earlier in the All-Star race, Larson and Logano swapped the lead, with Logano powering past Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet on lap 166 of a scheduled 200, and Larson regaining the top spot with five laps left in regulation.

But when Jones slammed into the wall on Lap 199, Hamlin had the chance to come to pit road for tires under caution, while Larson and Logano stayed out to preserve their track position.

With just two cars up front on old tires, as had been the case for the final restart in the All-Star race, Hamlin made short work of the cars in front of him.

It was the third last-lap pass for the win in the XFINITY Series this season.

Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gayle conferred before the final pit stop and ultimately opted for the fresh rubber.

“It was a collaborative call,” Hamlin said. “He (Gayle) leaned towards staying out, but I thought that I could get around those guys in just two laps even though we were way faster on that last run. I thought tires were the thing.

“I knew if I could start on the outside that I wanted new tires and it just worked out on pit road where I came out on the outside. It all worked out and it was very exciting in that last corner, a little more exciting than what I expected.”

Hamlin desperately needed the final caution because his No. 18 team had drawn a penalty for an uncontrolled tire on a pit stop under yellow on Lap 160.

Hamlin restarted mid-pack instead of at the rear of the field as the violation requires, because according to NASCAR, the cars at the rear of the field failed to pass Hamlin’s No. 18 Camry before the green flag waved on Lap 164.

Hamlin said he left a large buffer for the laps-down car to pass him before the restart, but that they declined to do so.

By the time Jones hit the wall, Hamlin had driven to third place, trailing only Larson and Logano.

The similarities to the finish of the All-Star Race were not lost on Logano.

“I thought it was kind of supposed to be like what the All-Star Race was with old tires and new tires, but the (my car) was the fastest it’s been all year,” Logano said. “We can’t hold our heads down about it. We had a car that was capable of winning if circumstances went right. I felt like I was going have a good restart next to Kyle.

“I felt my restarts were a little better than his all day, and I thought, ‘OK, if I can clear him,’ which we did I was like, ‘Alright, we’ve got a shot,’ but it was really hard to hold off those four tires. What a fun race. It got really exciting there at the end. I got passed on the top by Denny and then Kyle just kept ripping up top and had a big run into the corner, so it was fun to watch that. I was hoping they would get into each other, and I would sneak one out.”

Posted on May 28, 2016 by RJ Kraft

RELATED: Full results | Relive the day in photos

CONCORD, N.C. — After a career-best fourth-place finish in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 4K TV 300, Cole Custer emerged from his No. 88 Chevrolet beet-red but satisfied with his result at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 18-year-old earned a fist bump and congratulations from JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier, among others.

“Really happy with where we ended up there,” Custer said. “Good call there at the end taking two tires and catching a little more track position. We were just able to make some things happen there on that last restart.

“Day didn’t start out that great. We got some damage on pit road but we were able to work our way back up there and ended up pretty well.”

Custer spent much of the latter half of the race running in the top 10, even leading a lap (his first in the series) and spent some time in the top five before starting to fade back to seventh.

A late caution from an accident involving Erik Jones on Lap 198 opened the door for some pit strategy to get back some track position. Crew chief Dave Elenz told NASCAR.com there was no doubt what call he had to make.

“We were doing two,” Elenz said on pit road after the race. “We were set on that. We had to get ahead of the 18 (eventual race winner Denny Hamlin, who restarted sixth on four fresh tires), so that was the only way we were going to do that. We actually were going to stay out if we could have gotten the front row, but that didn’t happen.”

Custer restarted in fifth on the third row with Hamlin, and the California native was able to gain one spot in the overtime finish.

The result builds off a sixth-place showing Custer had last month at Richmond International Raceway in his series debut. Custer has three more starts slated to come for JRM at Kentucky Speedway in the No. 88 (July 8), before returning to the No. 5 at Charlotte (Oct. 7) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 19).

JR Motorsports teammate Allgaier has noticed what a quick study Custer is, and Custer admitted that he has picked the brain of veteran teammate Elliott Sadler a little bit. Allgaier said he enjoys having a rotating cast of drivers in the No. 88 Chevrolet that already has included Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Alex Bowman.

“I told Cole as soon as the race was over, he did a great job today,” said Allgaier, who finished fifth. “He was on it, no question, and those guys did a great job.

“I think as a company, when you get into that grind of going every week and pushing each other each and every week, it can be sometimes hard to race every week and to not get stale or stagnate. Having those guys come in and push us and we learn from them, I think it definitely helps the whole organization.”

And with two strong results on the board in the XFINITY Series, Custer is optimistic that the results and speed will carry over to his run at a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. The two-time winner in the series is in the midst of his first full-time season in the sport and sits 15th in the standings.

“We’ve definitely struggled some in the truck and we thought we were having more speed,” Custer said. “I think we are going to have some speed here coming up. I think we are working real hard on it with Joe (Shear Jr., crew chief of the No. 00 Chevrolet) and everybody, so I think we will definitely have some speed, but it definitely means a lot to know that I can still do it.”

Posted on May 27, 2016 by

RELATED: Full 600 coverage

A winner’s trophy for the marathon, reputation-making Coca-Cola 600 is certainly one of the most prized possessions in all of NASCAR. The longest race (600 miles) on the NASCAR circuit is about so much more than just distance, too.

There’s the history of having such a contest at the 1.5-mile track just north of the Charlotte, North Carolina, NASCAR hub, not to mention this is the only race with three unique sets of elements: A race that starts under the sun, traverses to dusk and ends at night under the lights makes for three time frames with three unique sets of circumstances.

Yes, it is truly a battle of man vs. machine. That’s what makes it so difficult to win the Coca-Cola 600, which both Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have never done. In fact, neither has won a points-paying event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

So which driver would benefit most from a win Sunday? Brad Norman and George Winkler set out to answer the question.

PHOTOS: All of Busch’s victories | See Junior’s patriotic scheme

NORMAN: So sorry, Junior Nation, but Sunday’s race is more important to Kyle Busch. “Rowdy” has been on an incredible hot streak since returning from a broken leg last season — eight wins in 37 races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Four of those victories were his first at the tracks in Indianapolis, Homestead, Martinsville and Kansas, respectively. There are only two tracks remaining on the circuit where Busch has not won a Cup race — Charlotte and Pocono. The career-sweep is a mind-boggling feat, making Sunday’s event a massive deal for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

WINKLER: Sure, it would be impressive for Kyle Busch to add to his resume with a victory at Charlotte, but it would be an all-out celebration for Junior to win the Coca-Cola 600. From downtown Kannapolis, North Carolina, (where Junior grew up) to Charlotte Motor Speedway is just a 25-minute drive, so one can only imagine the type of attention a victory like this would get. Plus, Junior has said repeatedly that winning the Coca-Cola 600 is a top priority of his and one of the gaps he’d most like to fill on his resume.

NORMAN: Yeah, it’s a big ‘un for Junior on a personal level. History is at stake for Busch, though. Not just personal history, either — team history. Check out some of the most historic races on the NASCAR circuit and their results over the past year — 2015 Coca-Cola 600 (Carl Edwards wins); 2015 Brickyard 400 (Kyle Busch wins); 2015 Southern 500 (Carl Edwards wins); Homestead finale (Kyle Busch wins, and wins 2015 championship); 2016 Daytona 500 (Denny Hamlin wins). JGR has a ridiculous streak at stake in these types of races, too. There’s simply way more on the line for both “Rowdy” and the organization at large.

WINKLER: See, I think the reverse is true. Because JGR has been so dominant this season, I think it’s more important for Hendrick Motorsports, and particularly Junior, to re-establish their mojo. Earnhardt Jr. has wrecked in two of his last three points-paying races, has had some races where he qualified poorly but came through the field and others where he overcame in-race issues and the odds to post top fives. Considering how Junior has battled this season, I think he’s tested and ready to fight for the whole 600 miles and be in a good position to win.