Posted on by Zack Albert

When Kyle Busch dialed back the throttle on the cool-down lap of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, he thanked his Joe Gibbs Racing crew for providing him with a stout No. 18 Toyota for NASCAR’s longest race. But his appreciation after a third-place finish came with an admission.

“The rest of the competition, we stomped their ass,” Busch said over the team’s radio, “but we got a problem … with HMS.”

Busch notched his fifth top-five result of the season Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but the effort had the feel of a best-in-class finish. Hendrick Motorsports occupied the rest of the top-five spots, led by Kyle Larson’s dominant victory that put his organization atop the Cup Series’ all-time team owner win list. Larson was followed by teammate Chase Elliott as the runner-up, with Busch breaking up the Hendrick monopoly ahead of William Byron and Alex Bowman.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Sunday’s 600 marked Busch’s third top-three finish in the last five races, a modest improvement from the earlier portions of the 2021 schedule. It’s another step in his progression during this first season with new crew chief Ben Beshore.

“We’ve had some really strong runs,” said Busch, who moved forward from a 20th starting spot. “We’ve been fast this year, just haven’t quite got some of the finishes we deserve with that, but overall Ben and the guys gave me a great piece tonight. It was really good from start to finish. We didn’t qualify as good as I wanted to, I was pissed off about that. We rallied in race trim so that felt good.”

Still, the performance was overshadowed by the recent lights-out surge by Hendrick Motorsports, which enjoyed a 1-2 finish for the third straight week — a first. Hendrick drivers led 373 of the 400 laps Sunday night, leaving only remnants up front for the rest of the field.

Hendrick Motorsports notched seven wins and Elliott’s first championship last season. This year, the organization already has six victories through just 15 Cup Series races.

“They’ve certainly gone to work and done their homework,” Busch said. “They’ve also plugged in a superstar driver to one of their cars. Chase is no slouch, William is really good, but Kyle is arguably one of the best. I think they’ve done a really good job obviously of getting good equipment, good pieces and Kyle is making the most of it for sure.”

Busch acknowledged the special nature of Hendrick’s milestone, saying he still had some relationships with the team that launched his Cup Series career back in 2004. His first win came a year later, flying the No. 5 that Larson carried to victory Sunday night.

Busch has already won this season, as have two of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates in Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell. The fourth, Denny Hamlin, has yet to win but holds a commanding lead in the Cup Series standings.

Busch, however, thinks those performance standards are just a tick off where Hendrick Motorsports ranks in the pecking order.

“Not close enough,” Busch said. “On a one to 10 (scale), if Larson was a 10 tonight, we’re about a seven so we’ve got some work to do.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

CONCORD, N.C. — In dominating fashion, Kyle Larson won NASCAR’s longest race Sunday night and in the process gave team owner Rick Hendrick a record 269th victory, most in NASCAR Cup Series history.

Larson’s win in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was the eighth of his career and his second of the season, guaranteeing the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet a spot in the playoffs. By the time he crossed the finish line at the end of 400 laps, Larson held a 10.051-second lead over runner-up and teammate Chase Elliott.

RELATED:  Official results | At-track photos

The 1-2 finish was the third straight for Hendrick Motorsports. Only third-place finisher Kyle Busch found a way to break up the HMS party, with Hendrick drivers William Byron and Alex Bowman running fourth and fifth, respectively.

Larson led 327 of the 400 laps, with his only real challenges coming from Elliott and Byron, who led 22 and 19 laps, respectively.

“It feels great to be that guy who helped Mr. H break that record finally,” Larson said of the victory that broke a tie with Petty Enterprises for most wins in the series.

Larson signed on with Hendrick to start the 2021 season. The car he drove to victory Sunday night bore the same number as the Chevrolet Geoff Bodine piloted at Martinsville Speedway on April 29, 1984 to give Hendrick’s fledgling — and struggling — organization the first of those 269 wins.

“It’s been better than I ever could have imagined,” Larson said of his first 15 races with HMS. “For us to lead as many laps as we’ve got this year (a series-best 1,105), to contend for as many wins as we have and now to get our second win in a crown-jewel event, too, it feels great.

“I’m just very lucky that Mr. H was able to put a deal (together) for me. It’s just awesome. I’m living a dream, for sure.”

NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France was one of the first to congratulate Hendrick.

“I am proud to congratulate Rick Hendrick and all of Hendrick Motorsports on breaking the all-time wins record for a NASCAR Cup Series race team, long held by the legendary Petty Enterprises team,” France said in a statement issued at the conclusion of the race. “With nearly 40 years of excellence, Hendrick Motorsports has set the gold standard for race team success. Rick Hendrick has already cemented his legacy as a NASCAR Hall of Famer, and now adds another incredible accomplishment to an exemplary NASCAR career.”

Larson started from the pole and swept the first three stages, but not without challenges from Elliott and Byron.

In fact, in the green-flag run after the second stage break, Byron passed Larson for the lead on Lap 231. During the subsequent exchange of pit stops, however, Larson came in for service one lap earlier than Byron and was roughly one second faster on and off pit road than his teammate.

Larson built a lead of more than 2.5 seconds but spent more than 15 circuits trying to lap the No. 43 Chevrolet of Erik Jones, as Byron closed to his bumper.

“Make him work for it,” Jones’ spotter, Rick Carelli, radioed to his driver as he fought to stay on the lead lap, and Jones certainly followed those instructions.

But Larson finally passed the No. 43 Camaro and began to pull away from Byron before Ryan Newman slammed the outside wall to cause the fourth and final caution of the race on Lap 296. The stage ended under yellow, with Larson the winner.

Coincidentally, it was also Jones who pitted for fresh tires during the final run to the finish, returned to the track ahead of Larson and helped Larson build his winning margin.

“I just towed with him for a while and stretched my lead out,” said Larson, who for the second time in his career followed three straight runner-up finishes with a pole and a victory.

Austin Dillon ran sixth, followed by Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick and Kevin Harvick. Hamlin retained the series lead by 76 points over Larson and Byron, who are tied for second in the standings.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (4 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM) at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

Notes: Post-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage revealed no issues, validating the No. 5 Chevrolet’s victory. The Nos. 24 and 48 Chevrolets each had one lug nut not safe and secure, which will result in fines for the crew chiefs. The No. 77 Chevrolet had two lug nuts not safe and secure, which will result in a fine and a crew-chief suspension.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Hendrick Motorsports passed Petty Enterprises on NASCAR’s all-time wins list for team owners Sunday night, with Kyle Larson breaking the tie by providing the organization’s 269th Cup Series victory, a Coca-Cola 600 triumph at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Rick Hendrick, 71, celebrated at the 1.5-mile track located nearly the same distance away from his team’s sprawling campus, a hometown venue where his team has now won 21 times. The Charlotte-based automotive mogul and businessman took the top spot from the Pettys, one of the first families of NASCAR who formed one of stock-car racing’s earliest powerhouses.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

“I am proud to congratulate Rick Hendrick and all of Hendrick Motorsports on breaking the all-time wins record for a NASCAR Cup Series race team, long held by the legendary Petty Enterprises team,” said Jim France, NASCAR’s chairman and CEO. “With nearly 40 years of excellence, Hendrick Motorsports has set the gold standard for race team success. Rick Hendrick has already cemented his legacy as a NASCAR Hall of Famer, and now adds another incredible accomplishment to an exemplary NASCAR career.”

Ties between the two organizations still bind them together. Hendrick Motorsports launched as All-Star Racing in 1984, the same year Richard Petty scored the last of his record 200 wins. Hendrick was enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017, preceded by four inductees who made up the core of Petty Enterprises — father-son drivers Lee (2011) and Richard Petty (2010), crew chief Dale Inman (2012) and engine builder Maurice Petty (2014).

“I have tremendous respect for the Petty family and what they’ve accomplished,” Hendrick said. “Someone will probably break my record, so it’s just — records are made to be broken.

Both teams also share common ground in the way their win totals accumulated, with two drivers each amassing the primary share of their victories. Patriarch Lee Petty netted all 54 of his Cup Series wins for the family-owned team, and Richard Petty contributed all but four of his 200 wins overall. Twenty drivers — including all four on Hendrick’s current roster — have added to Hendrick Motorsports’ record tally, but two standouts lead the way. Jeff Gordon’s 93 wins rank third on NASCAR’s all-time list, and Jimmie Johnson’s 83 wins are tied with the legendary Cale Yarborough for sixth.

When Hendrick announced the creation of his new racing team in January 1984, he expressed confidence that All-Star Racing would win “three or four races and finish high in the Winston Cup point race.” Doubters seized on the brazen prediction, even with Modified hotshot Geoff Bodine and veteran crew chief Harry Hyde forming the nucleus of the team. In a full-circle twist, Petty was the top candidate to be Hendrick’s first driver. “I thought we had a deal,” Hendrick said. “It didn’t come together.”

The group nearly ceased operations shortly after it started, but Bodine’s stirring and surprising breakthrough win at Martinsville Speedway that April kept the fledgling No. 5 team afloat. Two more wins followed that first year, fulfilling Hendrick’s vision and providing a foundation for the 266 wins that would come next.

“It feels good. I can’t believe we got 269,” Hendrick said. “It was kind of neat to — I want any one of them to win, but the first one was 5 and this one was the number 5. I just remember how close it was not to finish out the first year.”

Hendrick Motorsports had previously supplanted Petty Enterprises atop the list of most team owner championships in NASCAR’s top division. Hendrick holds a 13-10 lead in that category, with four series champions on its all-time roster — seven-time champ Johnson, four-time title winner Gordon and one-time title winners Terry Labonte and Chase Elliott.

Elliott, the defending Cup Series champ, is part of a talented young driver lineup that has rejuvenated Hendrick’s performance this season. Through 15 Cup Series races in 2021, all four drivers have won races, virtually clinching berths in the 16-driver postseason field.

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, May 31
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
7:30 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire 150 (re-air), FS2
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
10 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1

Tuesday, June 1
12 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Charlotte Motor Speedway, FS2
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (re-air), FS2
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 (re-air), FS2
10:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS2

Wednesday, June 2
1:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 (re-air), FS2
4 a.m., NASCAR Classics: 1995 Coke 600 (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
2 p.m., IMSA: Lamborghini Super Trofeo at Circuit of the Americas (tape delay), NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Practice, FS1
8 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course, FS1
9:30 p.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS1
10:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Road Courses, FS1
11:30 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course (re-air), FS1

Thursday, June 3
6 a.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 1986 Budweiser at the Glen, FS2
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 1988 Checker 500, FS2
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Road Courses, FS2
12:30 p.m., Renegades, The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS2
1:30 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course (re-air), FS2
5 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: Jennerstown Salutes 150 at Jennerstown Speedway (tape delay), NBCSN
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download: Ty Norris, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
10 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Road Courses, FS2
11 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course (re-air), FS2

Friday, June 4
3:30 a.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course (re-air), FS1
5 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Road Courses (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course (re-air), FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1
9:30 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS2

On MRN:
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Saturday, June 5
1 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., NASCAR Classics: 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS2
11 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1

On MRN:
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Sunday, June 6
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, FS1 (Canada: TSN)
7:30 p.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (re-air), FS1
11:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1

On PRN:
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway

Posted on by Staff Report

The cars driven by Kurt Busch and BJ McLeod will drop to the rear of the field for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) because of unapproved adjustments.

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos

Busch’s Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 Chevrolet lines up in the 12th starting spot, and McLeod’s Live Fast Motorsports No. 78 Ford will leave the starting grid in 33rd. Both cars will fall to the back of the 38-car field in pace laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch has one Coca-Cola 600 win, achieved in 2010 during his time with Team Penske.

Posted on by Staff Report

JENNERSTOWN, Pa. — Justin Bonsignore dominated the first trip to Jennerstown Speedway last year, and let the second visit slip away.

Saturday night, the Long Island driver almost did both in the Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV.

Instead, he walked away with his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win of 2021 and his 30th of his career.

Bonsignore won his 15th career Mayhew Tools Pole Award and led nearly the entire event. A slip off Turn 2 of the white flag lap nearly sent him for a spin. But he righted it and fended off the fiece challenge from Doug Coby to drive the No. 51 Coastal Fiber LLC Chevrolet across the finish line .112 seconds ahead of his rival.

Coby, who passed Bonsignore late to steal the win last time out at Riverhead Raceway, settled for second. Craig Lutz, the winner in the tour’s second race at Jennerstown last year, finished third.

RELATED: Complete Jennerstown Results | Justin Bonsignore Career Wins

Woody Pitkat was fourth and Patrick Emerling fifth.

Emerling’s finish, along with a short night by Eric Goodale (18th after a lap 103 wreck), allowed him to build a xx point lead in the championship standings after four races. The two entered the night tied for first.

Jon McKennedy was sixth, followed by Kyle Bonsignore, JB Fortin, Tommy Catalano and Dave Sapienza.

The Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Gold, and will re-air on NBCSN on Thursday, June 3 at 5 p.m. ET. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will return to action with the Steel Palace 150 at New York’s Oswego Speedway on Saturday, June 12.

Image From Ios (2)
Justin Bonsignore held off Doug Coby (10) to win the Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway on Saturday, May 29. (Nate Smallwood/NASCAR)
Posted on by Staff Report

JENNERSTOWN, PA. — Practice was limited because of wet conditions Saturday, but Justin Bonsignore and Craig Lutz showed they still have the speed at Jennerstown Speedway that made them winners there last year.

Bonsignore piloted the No. 51 Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet around the half-mile in 17.951 seconds (104.685 mph).

Lutz was on top of the speed charts when the session was briefly interrupted by weather. He finished second quick at 18.061 (104.047).

RELATED: Complete practice results

Doug Coby was third fastest at 18.070 (103.996), followed by Ron Silk and Anthony Nocella.

Timmy Solomito was sixth, followed by Kyle Bonsignore, Tyler Rypkema, John McKennedy and Woody Pitkat.

Eric Goodale and Patrick Emerling were 11th and 17th, respectively. They enter the fourth race of the season tied for the championship points lead.

Qualifying for Jennerstown Salutes 150 Presented By DGV is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. ET, and fans can watch the race live on TrackPass on NBC Gold.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

CONCORD, N.C. – A gamble paid off for Brandon Brown on a steamy Saturday afternoon, earning a fourth-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After starting 32nd in the 36-car field, the No. 68 Brandonbilt Motorsports team elected to save a set of fresh Goodyear tires in case a caution flag flew late in the 200-lap race. The team got its wish on Lap 182 when race leader Chase Briscoe spun off Turn 2 while battling with eventual winner Ty Gibbs.

Brown brought his Chevrolet in for service to put on the sticker-tire set during the caution period. On the ensuing restart, three drivers ahead of him — Noah Gragson, Justin Haley and Daniel Hemric — crashed at the entrance of Turn 1. The incident meant Brown would restart 10th, working his way up into the top five when the checkered flag flew.

RELATED: Official results | Ty Gibbs wins Charlotte

“My mindset going into this was control your own destiny,” Brown said. “… A lot of this racing is just circumstantial where you’ve gotta make the best with what’s going on. I’d like to say we would have gotten a top five even if they didn’t wreck over there, but I don’t know. It’s one of those things where you’re grateful for the opportunity, but we know we needed at least one more restart with fresher tires because we’re down in the other areas.”

It was the second top-five effort of the 2021 season for Brown. The first came at Phoenix Raceway when he scored a career-best third-place result. It was also his sixth top 10, which matches his career high.

Brown acknowledged these are the runs he needs to make the Xfinity Series playoffs once again after doing so in 2020. He sits 13th in the current standings, just outside the provisional 12-driver cutoff for the postseason.

“We’re not here to just play,” Brown said. “Given the right opportunity and the right circumstance, we’re going to pounce on it. I think they all saw that, and I think we’re earning a lot of these teams’ respect, which is definitely what’s needed.”

Brown noted he didn’t feel too confident a top-10 run was in the cards when he started the day. Driving for a smaller team, Brown hopes to take advantage of the result and show potential sponsors the team is capable of running up front on a more consistent basis.

“When we have a great day, we’re getting some media coverage out of it,” Brown said. “It’s up to us now to really take it and run it, blow it up, show it to sponsors, show it to everybody.

“With the right circumstances, we have the car to be there. But a lot of it is playing the cards right.”

Posted on by Terrin Waack

Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (⏰ 6 p.m. ET | 📺 FOX | 📻 PRN, SiriusXM)

Everything you need to know for Sunday’s race, the 15th points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event of the 2021 season. 

Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile oval located in Concord, North Carolina
Practice: 7 p.m. ET (Friday, FS1) | Results
Qualifying: 11:05 a.m. ET (Saturday, FS1) | Lineup
Green flag: 6:23 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Forecast: Sunday night is predicted to be partly cloudy, with a low around 52, according to NOAA.gov.
Grand Marshal: Kevin Eubanks and Jay Leno
Race Distance: 400 laps, 600 miles
Stages: 100 | 200 | 300 | 400
Pit-road speed: 45 mph
Caution car speed: 55 mph
Charlotte 101: Get the full lowdown
Entry list: See who’s in the field
Pit-stall assignments: See who is pitting where | Expert breaks down pit selections

2021 600gallery

Five to watch

Here are five big story lines we’ll be following at Circuit of The Americas.

1. Through 14 races, there are only two repeat winners — Alex Bowman (two wins) and Martin Truex Jr. (three wins). Chase Elliott is the most recent driver to join the rather large group of one-race winners, after being proclaimed victor of the rain-shortened race at Circuit of The Americas. Kevin Harvick, last season’s winningest driver, and Denny Hamlin, the series’ points leader, both have yet to reach Victory Lane.

2. Three of the last five Coca-Cola 600 races have been won by current Joe Gibbs Racing drivers. Truex won in 2016 and 2019. Kyle Busch won in 2018. To complete the team’s four-car garage, neither Hamlin (in 29 career starts) nor Christopher Bell (in two career starts) have won at Charlotte in the NASCAR Cup Series.

3. Sunday’s race will be the fifth of nine races on a 1.5-mile track this season — and it’ll be the last until July at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The four others were won by four different drivers — William Byron at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kyle Larson at Last Vegas Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney at Atlanta and Kyle Busch at Kansas Speedway. It is worth noting: Larson led the most laps in the last three 1.5-mile races and was passed for the final lead change in the two he did not win.

4. Ten drivers scored their first career win at Charlotte, and seven of those first-time winners did so in the Coca-Cola 600. Those crown-jewel winners were David Pearson (1961), Jeff Gordon (1994), Bobby Labonte (1995), Matt Kenseth (2000), Casey Mears (2007), David Reutimann (2009) and Austin Dillon (2017). There are still plenty active drivers looking for their first win, such as Tyler Reddick, Matt DiBenedetto, Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe.

5. No one has been able to win both the Coca-Cola 600 and the NASCAR Cup Series title in the same year since Gordon in 1998. He did so in 1997, too. Byron now pilots that same No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. BetMGM has Bryon at 16-1 odds to win Sunday and 12-1 odds to with the championship in November.

Race-day staples

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.

• Com Powerrankings HeroPower Rankings: Hendrick dominates top five | Scope the ranks
• Paint Scheme Preview: Check out the patriotic designs for Memorial Day weekend | See the schemes
• Fantasy Fastlane: See which drivers to use, avoid | Full Fantasy advice | Set your roster
• Preview Show: Jonathan Merryman and Alex Weaver preview the race | Watch the show

Get in on the action

Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.

• Betting odds for Coca-Cola 600 race | See the odds
• Rare to win Coca-Cola 600, title in same year | Analyze the stats
• Which driver is most likely to score first Coca-Cola 600 | Judge the debate
• Take a shot at winning cash prizes with the free-to-play Jackpot Races app | Hit the jackpot
• Full guide to 2021 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ

Crown-jewel gems

Learn all about the history of the Coca-Cola 600 — one of NASCAR’s four crown-jewel events. 

• How the Coca-Cola 600 rose to storied status | Learn the path
• All-time Coca-Cola 600 winners | See the drivers
• Who has crown-jewel wins among active drivers? | See the drivers
• 600 Miles of Remembrance honors the fallen | Learn their stories
• Jeff Gordon won his first Coca-Cola 600 in 1994 | Relive the race

Fast facts

Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

2021 Kylebusch
Matt Sullivan | Getty Images

• The eventual race winner did not lead until after halfway in both Charlotte races last year.
• The driver who led the most laps won only twice in the last six Charlotte races.
• The final lead change came with five laps to go in two of the last three races at Charlotte.
• Nine different drivers won the last 10 races on 1.5-mile tracks; Kyle Busch is the only repeat winner.
• Brad Keselowski won the 2020 Coca-Cola 600; it was the first Coca-Cola 600 win for Ford since Mark Martin in 2002.

Catch the pack

Read up on all the headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.

• No. 9 team: NASCAR suspends spotter Eddie D’Hondt indefinitely | Read more
• Pick your favorite: Top five drivers in All-Star Race Fan Vote revealed | Read more
• Gaming world: eNASCAR, ASUS renew partnership for 2021 | Read more
• More races: TrackPass to broadcast U.S. Legend Car Series live | Read more
• ‘Tiniest Gator:’ Allgaiers welcome second baby girl, Willow |Read more
• ‘The car doesn’t know gender:’ Toni Breidinger joins ‘I Am Athlete’ podcast | Read more
• Venue change: NASCAR shifts Camping World Trucks playoff race to Darlington | Read more

Say what?

Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.

“It would mean a lot to be the driver who breaks the all-time Cup Series win record for Hendrick Motorsports, especially if it happened at Charlotte. Not only is this race huge for me being my hometown, but it’s really where I became a fan of Hendrick Motorsports. I used to watch Jeff (Gordon) and Jimmie (Johnson) be so successful at Charlotte. To then be able to get win No. 269 would be historic for everyone involved but just a whole extra meaning at my hometown track. Charlotte is what gave me my love of racing and Hendrick Motorsports.” — William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2021 Joeylogano
Chris Graythen | Getty Images

“Love-hate (relationship), I guess. I haven’t won it yet, so I think I’d love it more if we were able to win. I’ve been able to run really well at Charlotte over the years. It’s been a really good racetrack for us, whether it’s been the Roval or the All-Star Race, BOA 500. Whatever it is, those have been some good ones. I just haven’t won the Coke 600 yet, which is the one that stands out for me. Every time I look at a bucket list race, probably Southern 500 and Coca-Cola 600 and Brickyard are the ones that stand out that I really want next.” — Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

“This is always a big weekend for our sport and what the industry does as a whole to recognize Memorial Day. We’re excited about the opportunity to honor the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and to learn their stories. For us, we’re also looking forward to the race because Charlotte has been a great track for us the last few years and we’ve been fortunate to have had some strong runs and a few wins going back to the 78 days. I approach this as another opportunity to win and hopefully work our way back up the points standings after last week.” — Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

“Your neck is tired, your lower back is tired, legs are tired and you’re just fatigued. You definitely feel it the next morning after a 600-mile race. You feel like you worked out a lot the day before, and you did inside the car. Two-and-a-half of these 600-mile races and I could be home in Monterrey, Mexico. It’s crazy to think of it that way.” — Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Not bad for a part-timer.

Ty Gibbs won his second NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in the sixth start of his career, recovering from a spin off Turn 4 to take the checkered flag in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs led the final 20 laps, surviving two eventful restarts during that stretch to beat series leader Austin Cindric to the finish line by .437 seconds.

RELATED: Official results | Weekend schedule

Gibbs, who won’t turn 19 until Oct. 4, is the youngest winner at Charlotte in any of NASCAR’s top three national divisions.

The race came down to a battle for the lead between Gibbs and Chase Briscoe, who led 30 laps before spinning off Turn 2 as Gibbs closed near his bumper and packed the air on the left rear of Briscoe’s Ford.

Gibbs apologized immediately on his team radio for putting Briscoe in a precarious position.

“I wasn’t trying to wreck him — I was trying to race him,” Gibbs said. “That was never my intention.”

After taking the checkered flag and climbing from his car, Gibbs was still apologizing, even though there was clearly no contact between his No. 54 Toyota and Briscoe’s No. 99 Ford.

“First off, I just want to say sorry to the 99 and Chase and his crew,” said Gibbs, who spun through the artificial turf in the tri-oval at the end of Stage 2. “I didn’t hit him, but I definitely helped him out with him getting loose there, and it was not my intention. Already wrecked myself so, I just want to say sorry to them more importantly than this entire win.’”

But the victory nevertheless assuaged whatever guilty feelings he might have had.

“It’s just awesome,” Gibbs said. “I’ll take it. This is a good day — we got one more (race) to go. So, I just want to say thank you all the fans out there and hell, yeah!”

Briscoe conceded his spin was simply the product of hard racing between two quality cars. Gibbs had closed on Briscoe in traffic and had actually led the previous lap as the drivers raced side-by-side across the start-finish line.

“It felt like there at the end we just made the wrong adjustment, and I was too tight,” Briscoe said. “But truthfully, Ty was probably going to get me either way… After leading that many laps, it’s frustrating for sure.”

Seeking his first victory in his 99th start in the series, Daniel Hemric swept the first two stages, but a pit-road mistake cost him dearly. During a pit stop under the sixth caution on Lap 121 of 200, Hemric was blocked by the Toyota of Chad Finchum and had to back up to escape his pit stall.

That was the least of Hemric’s problems. A tire rolled away from the car and impeded the pit stop of Landon Cassill, who was pitting behind Hemric. The resulting penalty sent Hemric to the back of the field, and though he recovered to run as high as seventh, he couldn’t avoid a seven-car wreck after a restart on Lap 187.

That accident knocked Hemric and Noah Gragson out of the race. After the subsequent restart on Lap 194, Gibbs pulled away from Cindric and sealed the victory, lowering his average finish in his six starts to 5.17 — from an average starting position of 18.2.

Harrison Burton finished third, followed by Brandon Brown, whose crew chief, Doug Randolph, made the call of the race by saving a set of tires for the final 20 laps. Fighting for a playoff spot and currently 13th in the series standings, Brown was outside the top 15 for the penultimate restart on Lap 187 but took advantage of his fresh rubber to charge to fourth.

Tyler Reddick came home fifth, followed by Briscoe, Ty Dillon, Brandon Jones, Jeb Burton and Jeremy Clements.

Cindric, the reigning series champion, now leads the standings by 84 points over second-place Harrison Burton.

Riley Herbst won the pole position in Saturday morning qualifying but faded to a 12th-place finish, a result further hampered by a pit-road penalty for removing equipment during the Stage 2 break.

The Xfinity Series’ next race is scheduled Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

Note: No issues were reported in post-race inspection in the Xfinity Series garage. NASCAR officials indicated three cars — the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet driven by Jeb Burton, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driven by Harrison Burton and the No. 99 BJ McLeod Motorsports Ford driven by Chase Briscoe — would be taken to the NASCAR R&D Center for further inspection.

Contributing: Staff reports