Posted on by Pat DeCola
For the first time this season, Harvick didn’t finish at least second at an intermediate track. Somehow, we think he’ll be able to recover from his terrible, awful, disappointing letdown of a top-10 finish.
Win or no win, Truex and the No. 78 team are among the fastest cars every weekend, and with the series traveling to the site of one of his two career victories this weekend, he deserves this ranking.
At Charlotte, Logano finished outside the top 10 for just the third time this season, meaning he’s finished 10th or better in 75 percent of the season’s races. Only two drivers have done it more — Harvick and Truex, who have each finished worse than 10th just once.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/brad-keselowski/
BradKeselowski
Team Penske
Keselowski finished second in each of 2014’s Dover races, and threw a Coors Light Pole in there, to boot. Think the No. 2 driver wants to break through for his first Monster Mile victory since his championship season?
Through just nine races this season — he missed three due to a suspension — Busch has already matched his win total and nearly tripled his laps led count compared to 2014, including another 118 on Sunday night.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/jimmie-johnson/
JimmieJohnson
-4
Hendrick Motorsports
Johnson couldn’t repeat his Coca-Cola 600 victory from last year, but for the second consecutive week he’ll have a chance to defend his race win. The No. 48 driver led 272 laps on his way to a FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks victory last year.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/dale-earnhardt-jr/
DaleEarnhardt Jr.
Hendrick Motorsports
Junior has an astounding average finish of 3.2 on intermediates this year, despite them not typically being his best tracks. With the No. 88 running so well on the mile-and-a-halves, it should be telling of his overall success to come this year.
The only Joe Gibbs Racing car that’s been running well for most of the season, Kenseth and the No. 20 should only improve from here on out now that the organization appears to be on the upswing.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/denny-hamlin/
DennyHamlin
1
Joe Gibbs Racing
With a victory in the All-Star Race and 53 laps led in the Coca-Cola 600 — despite battling migraines and dehydration — Hamlin appears to be back on track after a mediocre stretch that trailed his winning Martinsville run.
As Dover’s most recent winner, Gordon certainly has a chance to pick up his first 2015 win this weekend at the Monster Mile. That said, it was just his second Dover win in 36 races since winning three straight at Dover from 1995-96.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/kyle-busch/
KyleBusch
1
Joe Gibbs Racing
Any questions? Look past his 11th-place finish. Busch ran most of the Coca-Cola 600 — all 600 miles, mind you — inside the top 10 and said he felt surprisingly good after the race. As long as he gets himself into the top 30 (currently 41st), all that stands between the JGR driver and the Chase is a win.
Edwards’ Coca-Cola 600 win was about as unpredictable as they come, but he’ll take it. Edwards said at Kansas that they thought their program was close and should be a force as the season goes on, so the fact he won one race after saying so implies they may be even further ahead than they thought.
Newman hasn’t led a lap since Martinsville — where he led a grand total of … two — but he keeps getting it done. After a sixth-place finish at Charlotte, he hasn’t fared lower than 12th since “The Paperclip.”
Typically regarded as one of his best tracks, a 12th-place finish for Kahne at Charlotte has to be a disappointment. He’s still in the top 10 in points, but a win for the No. 5 team does not seem imminent.
Since two poor finishes to start the season, McMurray has averaged a finish of 10.1. Still, with nine drivers in the win column already, the No. 1 team would feel a lot more secure about its Chase chances if it were to pick up a victory soon.
It’s remarkable that Almirola has yet to finish in the top 10 this season but remains 12th in points. Consistency — even consistently being average — appears to be the way the No. 43 intends on making the Chase.
At what point in the 2015 season is Larson going to put it together? After starting slow last year, he finished strong — but he’s not a rookie anymore.
For how poorly the No. 16 team has been this season, it was a surprise to see Biffle perform at Charlotte — where he’s had little success. Still, he’ll take it.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/clint-bowyer/
ClintBowyer
Stewart-Haas Racing
Bowyer really succeeds at Dover, where he hasn’t finished outside the top 10 since 2010. Thus, it’ll be interesting if he can use the Monster Mile to spark a summer streak of good performances.
After being knocked out of the Power Rankings for not making the All-Star Race, Menard is back after a 14th-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600, even if it did bring him down to 13th in the standings.
Posted on by George Winkler

Runner-up showing at Charlotte is first top five of season for the No. 16 Ford

RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings

CONCORD, N.C. — It’s been a while since Greg Biffle has felt like this — according to him, about a year. But the driver of the Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 Ford was pleased, albeit in a bittersweet way, with his second-place finish in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
 
Biffle netted his first top five of the season in what he said has been a well-documented slow start for him and his RFR teammates. So forgive Biffle if he felt like the monkey was finally off his back — even if it meant losing to former teammate Carl Edwards in the process.

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"It’s kind of funny because I decided if I finished in the top 10 tonight I was gonna stand on the door top and be all excited and cheer," Biffle said, "and I finished second and I’m not happy. The thing is we ran in the top 10 all night. The car was good and had a lot of speed. That was a huge improvement."


Improvement was good for a driver with an average finish of 20.5 in 2015, his worst mark since becoming a full-time driver in the Sprint Cup Series in 2003.



To get Biffle’s last top-five finish, you’d have to go back to the 2014 GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway. And in the 26 races between Pocono and Charlotte, Biffle managed only six top-10 finishes.



Sunday was a bit of the old Biffle, the driver who has won 19 times on the premier level. He even showed some spunk while engaging in a fuel-mileage battle with Edwards in the final laps.



"You know, I was putting a lot of pressure on Carl there," Biffle said. "I started going with about 10 laps to go. The crew chief (Matt Puccia) told me ‘save all you can, just stay in front of the 88,’ and I made a decision that I was going to try to beat Carl."



With two laps to go, the fuel light came on indicating the fuel pressure was low, so Biffle said he had to preserve the rest of way. Luckily for Biffle, his desire to beat Carl didn’t come back to haunt him.



"Yeah, well, we knew that Carl was going to try and make it, and certainly nobody knows whether you’ve got enough gas," Biffle said. "I was sure hoping and praying that he would be about a lap short because, you know, we’ve lost a few — everybody has lost a few — like that."



As far as whether Sunday’s showing proved that the slow start was behind him, Biffle refused to go that far. But he was feeling optimistic about the road ahead.



"I’ve got a couple of trophies from (Dover)," Biffle said. "We run good there. … You know Michigan is kind of — I’ve got it circled now on my calendar — because if we’ve got speed on these kind of tracks back again, that’s a good race track for us. So we’ll see how we stack up."

Posted on by

Complete news and notes about all 43 drivers and their Coca-Cola 600 results

RELATED: Full race results | Series standings | Chase Grid after Charlotte

1. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Sticky feet didn’t slow down Edwards, who stretched his fuel window to claim his first Charlotte 600 victory while pretty much locking up a spot in the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. | NASCAR.com goes 1-on-1 with Edwards in Victory Lane

2. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle turned in his best showing of the year, starting fourth and earning runner-up honors in the season’s longest race. | Biffle reflects on runner-up finish
 
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native overcame an early-race pit miscue to resume running in the top 10 by Lap 100 and earn his seventh top-five of the year. He now ranks fourth in the points. | Dale Jr. looks at top-five finish at Charlotte

4. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. The pole winner closed 12 spots in the final 40 laps after making an unscheduled pit stop with less than 100 laps to go for a loose wheel. | Kenseth talks about late gamble

5. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. Before a late-race fuel gamble didn’t work out, Truex led a race-high 131 laps and radioed to his team, "I’m feeling like Superman for a few laps anyway." | Truex: ‘It hurts to come home fifth’

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6. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman earned the beneficiary of the free pass during the final caution period and closed 11 places in the final 40 laps.

7. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. New father Keselowski told his team early that his "ride quality is on par with Kentucky." He won at Kentucky last year, but had to settle for a top 10 (his eighth of the season) due to the fuel mileage game. | To hear more in-car audio, sign up for RaceView Premium today

8. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin, winner of the recent Sprint All-Star race, was pacing the 600 field with a migraine when a loose wheel prompted an unscheduled pit stop with 38 laps to go. | Hamlin visits media center after trip to infield care center

9. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick recorded his 11th top-10 result in 12 appearances this season to extend his grip on the points lead

10. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch lined up 14th and posted the fastest lap of the race on Lap 143 (188.153 mph), which was one of the 118 laps he led on Sunday.

11. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. In his first points race since the Daytona crash, Busch reassured his team he could run the full 600 miles. "Tell Erik (Jones, replacement driver) I feel good," Busch radioed his team. "10-4," crew chief Adam Stevens responded. "His bedtime’s in about 20 minutes anyhow." | Busch passes big test at Charlotte

12. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne was tagged near the halfway point for speeding on pit road, but rallied to earn the beneficiary of the free pass and run inside the top 10 with 50 laps to go.

13. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. The birthday boy shook off debris in the first 24 laps to lead twice for 17 circuits on Sunday.

14. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard quietly toured Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval en route to his eighth top-15 result of the season.

15. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. After pacing the field to green in the Indy 500, Gordon lined up 18th in his Coca-Cola 600 finale and had a decent run until a loose wheel impacted his day. | Gordon leads Indy field to green

16. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon drove a new chassis to his best 1.5-mile result of the season.

17. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola earned the beneficiary of the free pass on the Lap 230 caution and found himself in position again for the free pass in the closing laps.

18. Chase Elliott, No. 25 Chevrolet. Hendrick Motorsports. Elliott, in his third Cup outing and first at a 1.5-miler, qualified 28th and mostly ran inside the top 25, despite dealing with a radio communication issue during the race.

19. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The two-time Charlotte winner had a ho hum day, running middle of the pack in his 26th appearance at the 1.5-mile track.

20. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Bowyer’s frustration sparked a late-race decision to gamble on fuel mileage. "Might as well (gamble)," Bowyer radioed crew chief Brian Pattie. "Nothing to lose." | To hear more in-car audio, sign up for RaceView Premium today

21. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart was running a lap down when he got into the back of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who slid up the track ahead of him on Lap 302.

22. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick had to make two pit stops during the third caution flag after receiving damage from a dust-up with Clint Bowyer and Chase Elliott on pit road.

23. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears battled a lack of air conditioning and tried to stay cool during the season’s longest race by taking ice bags during pit stops.

24. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Hornish couldn’t climb back from an early handling issue although he later ran lap times comparable to those inside the top 15.

25. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Larson qualified ninth, marking his first top-10 start at Charlotte, and ran as high as eighth before quietly fading.

26. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Encouraged early by crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr. not to overdrive it, Bowman went on to post his best intermediate track finish of the year.

27. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne’s tough night was further impacted when he hit the wall on Lap 230 to bring out the fourth caution flag and halt 89 laps of green-flag racing.

28. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Whitt liked his car during practice and ultimately turned in his best 2015 result on a 1.5-mile track.

29. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger required an unscheduled pit stop around Lap 160 when a hot dog wrapper stuck to his grille and raised temps.

30. Michael McDowell, No. 95 Ford, Leavine Family Racing. McDowell spent the night looking for speed as he worked with his team on the handling of the No. 95 Ford.

31. Brett Moffitt, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Spotter Tony Raines told Moffitt his car was faster than those ahead of him, but grip was a persistent problem.

32. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Annett, who dealt with a tight-handling condition early on Sunday, spun on the backstretch on Lap 328 to bring out the caution flag.

33. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Gilliland, who honored The Unknown Soldier with his car, led Lap 28 after choosing not to pit during the competition caution.

34. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. DiBenedetto, making his third 1.5-mile start and his first at Charlotte, complained early of a loose-handling condition.

35. Josh Wise, No. 98 Ford, Phil Parsons Racing. Wise lined up 38th and got behind early, but still held on to post his best Charlotte result in his last four outings at the 1.5-mile track.

36. Alex Kennedy, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport. Making his Charlotte debut, Kennedy improved upon his earlier intermediate result this season at Texas Motor Speedway.

37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse cracked the top 10 with 70 laps to go, but watched his second top-10 of the season slip through his fingers after he hit the wall eight laps later

38. J.J. Yeley, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Yeley was mired in traffic after being penalized during the competition caution when a crew member went over the wall too early.

39. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports. Cassill followed the race on Sunday by physically running 14 miles to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in support of the Folds of Honor Foundation. | Cassill completes unique Memorial Day weekend double

40. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson spun on Lap 90 and saved his car in a move reminiscent of Kansas Speedway, where he was victorious. But he wasn’t able to save it a second time after he spun on Lap 274 and collided with the inside pit wall. | Second spin crunches Johnson’s No. 48

41. David Ragan, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. In the final third of the race, Ragan cited his water temperatures were fluctuating and ultimately was sidelined by an engine issue.

42. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. Blaney cracked the top 11 on Sunday, but his strong run was halted on Lap 282 when his engine blew up.

43. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier, in his third Charlotte start, retreated to the garage after getting into the wall between Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 136.

Posted on by Staff Report

See what’s coming this week to NASCAR.com

Here’s what you’ll see on NASCAR.com this week:

MONDAY: Can’t get enough Coca-Cola 600 coverage? George Winkler and Kenny Bruce have you covered with extensive reporting on NASCAR’s longest race. … @nascarcasm dreams up what drivers would tweet to President Obama, now that he has a personal account on Twitter.

TUESDAY: Look for Power Rankings presented by John Deere to get another shakeup this week. Who would you vote for No. 1? Make sure to tell us in the comments section. Senior writer Kenny Bruce takes a deep dive into what actually goes on during a rookie meeting, and how that has changed over time. Plus, check out @nascarcasm’s always-hilarious photo recap of the Coca-Cola 600

WEDNESDAY: Check out which paint schemes will be on display at Dover International Speedway this weekend for the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks. Plus, learn more about the history of Dover in our track photo gallery. High 5, which drops every Wednesday at noon ET, will bring some of the best NASCAR-related content from around the web.

THURSDAY: It’s a tripleheader at Dover, so trucks are on track for 145 minutes — NASCAR.com has you covered with a live leaderboard. Senior writer Holly Cain will feature how Catwalk for a Cause has become so near and dear to Martin Truex Jr. Speaking of Truex, Dover is his home track, and we’ll look back on his first career win at the 1-mile concrete oval.

FRIDAY: There are six on-track events, and we’ll cover them all, starting at 10 a.m. with XFINITY Series practice and culminating later in the evening with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. We’ll also have eight of the best tweets that you may have missed from the previous week.

Also coming this week: We’ll recap the entire Charlotte weekend in GIF form, a fun way to look back at the top moments from CMS … Dover is known for its unique trophy — check out it, along with some of the others from across the sport … Kenny Bruce hits all the high notes from a technical perspective on Wednesday in Tech Talk … Thursday’s Driver Reports will forecast who should be favored at the Monster Mile.

Posted on by Nascar

Led race-high 131 laps but finishes fifth due to fuel mileage gambles of others

RELATED: Full race results | Latest Chase Grid standings

CONCORD, N.C. – Same song, different verse.
 
For the second consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race, Martin Truex Jr. led the most laps.
 
And for the second consecutive points race, leading the most laps didn’t result in a trip to Victory Lane.

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"It’s a double-edged sword," the Furniture Row Racing driver said after finishing fifth in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "It feels great to run that good again and I feel like we’re going to get one but I also know how hard it is to be in that position, how hard it is to get race cars like this to put yourself in position to win. It’s so competitive out here.
 
"There’s no telling how long it’s going to be again, it might be next week, it might be a year from now. I don’t know. It’s frustrating, but it’s also awesome. It hurts, but it’s awesome."
 
Two weeks ago in Kansas, Truex led 95 laps before a late stop for fuel only – hold the tires – proved to be the No. 78 team’s undoing.
 
At Charlotte in the series’ longest race, the Mayetta, New Jersey native paced the field for 131 of 400 laps, giving up the lead on Lap 379 when he ducked onto pit road for a final stop.
 
Others, including Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, had stopped during the night’s eight and final caution, at Lap 338, and chose to conserve fuel and hope for the best. Edwards won; Biffle finished second.
 
"As far as I knew, all I had to do was catch and pass the 11 (of Denny Hamlin)," Truex said. "I didn’t even know anyone could make it (without stopping). I didn’t know there was anything else going on other than racing the 11. …
 
"Once I caught him they told me there’s some guys that might make it on gas. There’s nothing you can do as a driver but go as hard as you can go and that’s what I did."
 
Knowing others were saving fuel and wouldn’t be stopping wouldn’t have mattered. "It would have just pissed me off even earlier," he said.
 
Crew chief Cole Pearn could only shrug his shoulders afterward.
 
"You can only run that harebrained strategy when you’re back there … that’s what’s so silly about it," he said of the outcome. "What do you do? A lot of times the fastest car doesn’t get it done. Really for us to try and pull the strategy the 19 (of Edwards) pulled would be kind of insane … it’s the way it works out.
 
"When you’re running hard you’re obviously getting worse mileage because you’re in the gas more. When you’re running around 15th … I don’t know, maybe we need to give that a try."
 
That’s not likely. If anything, the result only made Pearn that much more intent on continuing to put his driver out front. Monday might be a holiday, but Pearn said he was "ready to go to work at 6 a.m. … Work all day and kick their ass next week."
 
Truex finished 29th at Bristol, the only time in 12 starts this season he’s finished outside of the top 10. A two-time winner in the Sprint Cup Series, it’s been a resurrection of sorts for the 34-year-old this season.
 
While he may feel a bit snake-bitten, he’s too busy looking at the positives to let another missed opportunity drag him or his team down.
 
Cursed?
 
"A little bit," he said. "But at the same time blessed to be doing what I’m doing. To have an opportunity to run up front like this, I know what it’s like to be on the other side of that and I don’t take that for granted.
 
"I’ve got a lot to be thankful for and we’re going to get us a win soon; we’re going to dig hard and keep pushing forward and we’ll get one."

Posted on by Brad Norman

Drives 562.5 miles of Coca-Cola 600, runs 14 more to NASCAR Hall of Fame

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Landon Cassill wiped the sweat from his brow at the end of a 14-mile run to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, twisted the cap to his beverage and readied to take a swig of … Coors Light?

That may have been the only hydration mistake the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver made in his Herculean day (and night) Sunday (and Monday), and even then it was hard to fault the Hillman Smith Motorsports driver. He’d earned it.

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Cassill completed a double of his own on racing’s busiest day, driving the No. 40 Chevrolet in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, then turning around and jogging through the night to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

That journey of 13.92 miles took 1 hour, 41 minutes and 49 seconds — a pace of 7 minutes, 19 seconds per mile — and ended at 12:58 a.m. on Memorial Day.

Cassill accepted a hug and kiss from his wife, Kaitlan, rubbed his dog, Indie, and thanked those who came out to watch the end of his run — a group that included some of his crew members, as well as team owner Mike Hillman.

"It was definitely a mental challenge," Cassill said outside the Hall of Fame, which was lit up in red and neatly contrasted the blaring blue lights from the police vehicles that served as his escorts. "I had to talk to myself a little bit more the last two miles, because it was all uphill. It wasn’t a matter of making it to the end, it was continuing to hold the pace I was holding. You don’t want to let yourself slow down.

"It was a great night."

All told, it was a 576.42-mile evening for the 25-year-old driver, who completed 375 laps (out of 400) at Charlotte, then stretched in the garage before starting his run.

It wasn’t difficult for Cassill to keep the two distinct events separate: He focused on the race while in the car, then on his pace while running. The event was live-streamed on Periscope by Cassill’s sponsor Snap Fitness, and those tracking his progress were treated to a running dialogue, along with occasional cheers from folks watching Cassill jog by.

The event raised money for the Folds of Honor Foundation, through a partnership with Snap Fitness. For every 30-day trial pass purchased between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Snap Fitness will donate $1 to the foundation that provides scholarships to families of service members killed or disabled in active duty.

Cassill is one of the most active drivers in the garage and routinely logs 30-plus miles of running every week. He also competes in triathlons and says his commitment to fitness is what spurred this idea.

"In terms of my profession, it helps me so much in a race car," Cassill said. "It gives me the confidence I need to know I’m the best race car driver I can be. It shows my team I’m giving it all. I’m fresher at the end of a race because of my fitness. And also, people need to know how good it feels to be fit and to be healthy."

Cassill certainly looked that part after the run, bantering easily with his friends and family while cooling down. In fact, he looked like he could run another 14 miles.

Maybe he’ll do another such event in the future?

"I don’t know," Cassill said with a smile. "Maybe."

Posted on by Holly Cain

Four-time champion will start 18th in Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX)

RELATED: Starting lineup in Charlotte

With 92 NASCAR Sprint Cup victories and four championships, Jeff Gordon has said that NASCAR was "meant to be" for him. But Sunday afternoon, the former open-wheel prodigy also got to drive the path not taken, and lead the Indianapolis 500 field to the green flag as the official pace car driver.

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After a tutoring session from IndyCar great Johnny Rutherford, Gordon got the Chevy Corvette Z06 up to speed, took three laps in front of the field and then pulled off to watch the race’s opening laps unfold before climbing on an airplane to fly back to Charlotte where he will start 18th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway this evening (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) — NASCAR’s nightcap to racing’s famed Memorial Day weekend slate.

The NASCAR champion was introduced to the crowd at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway just prior to the driver lineup Sunday morning. Carrying his son Leo and walking alongside his daughter Ella and wife Ingrid, Gordon stopped briefly to shake hands and speak with the legendary Mario Andretti before waving to the crowd which offered the NASCAR great a standing and rousing ovation.

Moments later, Indy 500 starter and fellow California native Townsend Bell emerged wearing Jeff’s neon-colored 24 on his driver’s suit. His car will also carry that number as a tribute to Gordon. It was yet another recognition of Gordon’s great contributions to racing and his special place in Indiana racing lore.

Calling it an honor and speaking often about the "energy" of Indy 500 race day, Gordon described Sunday’s experience as "an opportunity of a lifetime."

"To come down that front straightaway the first time and hear that crowd cheering for the cars, the drivers, and this amazing event …to be able to hear that from inside the pace car with the windows down is just amazing," Gordon said after getting out of the car. "Not to mention that the pace car has to get after it pretty good out here because that last lap is 100 mph and through the corners, maintaining that is something. So that was definitely cool. A huge thrill and a huge honor.
 
"This whole year has just been incredible from the fan interaction, racetracks, this phone call (from stepfather John Bickford that Chevrolet offered Gordon the opportunity to drive the pace car), this moment.  This is a very, very special year.

"I mean, there’s no doubt in my mind that one thing that maybe I feel like I’ve accomplished more than I ever expected or hoped to in racing, but the one thing that did kind of did allude me and we pursued — I say ‘we’, my dad, my mom and myself — when we were trying to go to the next level, was getting a chance to race here in the Indianapolis 500.

"I’ve said this many times, I still believe it. Winning the inaugural Brickyard 400, to me, fulfilled that dream. Now I’ve had a chance to win it four more times. This is a special place for me. I love getting a chance to race here."

Gordon’s five Brickyard 400 wins is the most for a driver at the speedway, tying him with the legendary Michael Schumacher, who has five Formula One grand prix victories.

He’ll have a chance to hold the record on his own in this July’s running of the Brickyard 400 (July 26, 3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, IMS, SiriusXM). But for those hoping that the 43-year old Gordon may one day make a start in the Indianapolis 500, he dashed those thoughts Sunday morning telling reporters that would not be happening.

"I’ll be in the FOX booth next year," Gordon said. "I’m so glad that deal worked out because I wouldn’t have a better excuse for you."

And further, Gordon revealed that although he had previously left open the door to compete in random NASCAR races that now seems less and less likely.

"The way I set that up is because I’ve known too many drivers that I respect and have raced with that, you know, said, ‘OK, I’m retiring, stepping away, then they come back,” Gordon said. "I’m not quite ready, want to run a few more races.
 
"That’s why I didn’t say this is my final year of ever competing at a single event. But it really, truly is. It really is. As I get further into the year, as things come together, I don’t see myself doing any races. If I do a race, maybe a Martinsville or a short track."

In the meantime, Gordon was intent to live in the moment Sunday.

"To me, if every time I could attend something like the Indianapolis 500 and then go to my own race — it would definitely be motivating," Gordon said.

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Victory is first for Edwards with Joe Gibbs Racing

SHOP: Edwards gear | RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings

CONCORD, N.C. – Will the mystery winner of Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 enter and sign in please?

Hint: It’s the guy who does back flips every time he takes the checkered flag.

But for the first 370 of 400 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway, no one would have picked Carl Edwards or his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as the likely winner of the season’s 12th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

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Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin had spent the lion’s share of time at the head of the field, but none of that mattered when Edwards got 62 laps out of his last tank of fuel and took the checkered flag 4.785 seconds ahead of Greg Biffle, who also was on a fuel-saving strategy.

In fact, the top four finishers all stretched their gas mileage after pit stops under caution on Lap 337. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran third, followed by polesitter Matt Kenseth and Truex, who led a race-high 131 laps.

Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski, Hamlin (53 laps led), Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch (118 laps led) completed the top 10. Kyle Busch came home 11th in his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race of the season, after missing the first 11 races of the season because of injuries sustained Feb. 21 at Daytona.

The victory was Edwards first of the season, his first for Joe Gibbs Racing, his first at Charlotte and the 24th of his career.

"It’s so cool to get this win—we’ve had such bad luck," said Edwards, who joined Joe Gibbs Racing as the organization’s fourth Sprint Cup driver after the 2014 season. "And we were the slowest of the (JGR cars) tonight, but we had (crew chief) Darian (Grubb) on the box. He made the right call, he put us in a position to win, and it worked. …

"This is truly a gift. I took advantage of it to win, and we’ll get better."

In all likelihood, the victory will propel Edwards into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. It was also Toyota’s 300th national series victory in the manufacturer’s 300th Sprint Cup start.
 
But after the very early stages of the race, Edwards wasn’t a factor until fuel strategy came into play in the closing laps.

Soon after Jimmie Johnson spun off Turn 4 on Lap 90 to cause the second caution of the afternoon, the race evolved into a two-car contest between the Chevrolets of Kurt Busch and Truex.

Within two laps of a restart on Lap 95, Busch drove from ninth to the lead, passing Joey Logano for the top spot on Lap 97. From that point, Busch and Truex swapped stints at the head of the field, and by the time Johnson spun off Turn 4 and smacked the inside wall on Lap 273 to bring out the caution flag for the fifth time, Busch had racked up 118 laps led and Truex 59.

But another quick yellow flag on Lap 282 for Ryan Blaney‘s blown engine created the opportunity for divergent strategies and scrambled the running order. Truex was one of nine drivers who stayed out under the caution, but both Harvick and Kurt Busch came to pit road for fresh rubber and restarted 10th and 11th, respectively, on Lap 292.

Gradually, methodically, Harvick and Kurt Busch drove back toward the front, but the contrarian strategies introduced another major player into the mix. Denny Hamlin surged to the front of the field and led 53 laps before pitting with a loose wheel on Lap 363 and giving up the lead.

That put Truex back in front, with Harvick chasing, and both drivers needing one more pit stop to get to the end of the race.

Edwards, Biffle, Earnhardt and Kenseth, on the other hand, stopped with 62 laps left, and the decision to come to pit road and gamble on fuel proved decisive—and stole a victory from Truex’s dominant car.

Biffle put pressure on Edwards in the closing laps, until he momentarily lost fuel pressure with two circuits left.

"Running where we were running, it gave us the opportunity to try and stretch the fuel window and make it," Biffle said. "I was putting a lot of pressure on Carl there. I started going with about 10 laps to go. The crew chief (Matt Puccia) told me ‘Save all you can, just stay in front of the 88 (Earnhardt),’ and I made a decision that I was going to try and beat Carl. I got pretty close to him there, and then with two to go, the fuel light came on that the fuel pressure was low, and so I came around and had to start pushing the clutch in and shutting it off and coasting and try and preserve what fuel I had to make it back.

"So excited to see the checkered flag. I wasn’t sure I was going to stretch two laps of gas out of it. But it was probably on the straightaway it sucked some air and started flashing the fuel pressure. I was able to run it around the corners and didn’t have any more issues, but stayed in front of the 88, finished second, big boost for the team, but probably a bigger boost for the team was how we ran tonight on the race track.”

If Biffle had mixed feelings about finishing second, Truex was disconsolate.

"Hell, I didn’t even know guys could make it on gas," Truex said. I didn’t know what was going on. Just can’t catch a break there. I’m proud of the guys for an awesome race car. All my guys in Denver (where Furniture Row Racing is based) are putting a great car together. I don’t know what to do about that.
 
"We had a great car. Had a chance at it and it stinks to come up short like that on fuel mileage. I’ve never once in my whole career gained positions on a fuel mileage deal. I don’t know what I have to do to catch a break on them deals. It is what it is. Just proud of my guys for what they brought–we will get one."
 
Note: Late in the race, Hamlin reported feeling ill in his car and complained of a severe headache. He was taken to the infield care center after the race, and team owner Joe Gibbs said his driver was dehydrated, was given an IV and was feeling better after the treatment.

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Sprint Cup stars take to social media to offer congratulations

Juan Pablo Montoya‘s second career Indianapolis 500 win elicited plenty of social media reaction from his former competitors and friends in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Joey Logano were among those to offer their congratulations.

The victory came as he drove for Roger Penske, giving Penske wins in two of racing’s marquee events this season: The Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. Penske joins Chip Ganassi as the only other team owner to win both events in the same year.

Fifteen years ago, Montoya won his first Indianapolis 500 driving for Ganassi. Since then, Montoya spent time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, winning two races and competing full-time in the series from 2007 to 2013. He made two Sprint Cup starts last season for Penske.

Check out the sampling of reaction below.