NASCAR Cup Charlotte: Hamlin wins hectic Coca-Cola 600

Hamlin started on the pole but struggled to stay in contention for the win for most of the race and was even collected in a 13-car accident near the end of Stage 2.

But as the caution-filled race wound to a close, the field went four-wide off Turn 4 on the first lap of the first overtime, and Hamlin scooted by with the lead as a seven-car wreck erupted behind him.

Hamlin led entering the second overtime stint after the earlier crash, but his Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Kyle Busch briefly grabbed the lead, only to get loose to allow Hamlin to reclaim the advantage on the final lap.

Hamlin held off Kyle Busch by 0.119 seconds to claim victory and his first-ever triumph at Charlotte.
The win is the 48th of Hamlin’s NASCAR Cup career and second this season.

Hamlin also now holds the record for winning the longest race in NASCAR history in distance – 413 laps or 619.5 miles.

“It’s so special. It’s the last big one that’s not on my résumé. It means so much,” Hamlin said. “Man, just can't thank this whole team enough. Never won the Coke 600 before. This means a lot.

“Man, we weren’t very good all day. Just got ourselves in the right place at the right time. What a battle there.”

Race winner Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, FedEx Ground Toyota Camry

Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images

With Kyle Busch having to settle for the runner-up spot, still his best result since winning on dirt in Bristol back in April, Kevin Harvick ended up third ahead of Chase Briscoe in fourth.

Christopher Bell held on to fifth place to match his result from Kansas, leading Tyler Reddick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr to the finish.

Michael McDowell secured a strong eighth place in front of reigning NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Larson, who had led for large parts of Stage 4 only to fade in overtime, with Alex Bowman rounding out the top 10 on a hectic night at Charlotte.

The race was red flagged on lap 346, when Daniel Suarez failed to clear Briscoe and the two made contact which sent Suarez spinning into traffic. Chris Buescher was hit by Suarez and then again by Todd Gilliland, and that hit sent Buescher’s car into the infield turf.

A broken piece of Buescher’s Ford got caught in the turf and sent his car barrel-rolling down the front stretch before ending up on its roof, triggering the red flag, with safety personnel getting the car turned on its side before Buescher was able to get out of the car under his own power.

NASCAR Cup Charlotte - Coca-Cola 600 race results

Cla	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Retirement
1	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	413	5:13'06.732
2	Kyle Busch	Toyota	413	5:13'06.851	0.119	0.119
3	Kevin Harvick	Ford	413	5:13'07.397	0.665	0.546
4	Chase Briscoe	Ford	413	5:13'07.517	0.785	0.120
5	Christopher Bell	Toyota	413	5:13'07.949	1.217	0.432
6	Tyler Reddick	Chevrolet	413	5:13'08.259	1.527	0.310
7	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Chevrolet	413	5:13'08.304	1.572	0.045
8	Michael McDowell	Ford	413	5:13'08.333	1.601	0.029
9	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	413	5:13'08.427	1.695	0.094
10	Alex Bowman	Chevrolet	413	5:13'08.459	1.727	0.032
11	Harrison Burton	Ford	413	5:13'08.947	2.215	0.488
12	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	413	5:13'09.034	2.302	0.087
13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	413	5:13'09.433	2.701	0.399
14	Erik Jones	Chevrolet	413	5:13'09.997	3.265	0.564
15	Ross Chastain	Chevrolet	413	5:13'13.082	6.350	3.085
16	Todd Gilliland	Ford	413	5:13'13.908	7.176	0.826
17	Aric Almirola	Ford	412	5:13'13.774	1 Lap	1 Lap
18	Cody Ware	Ford	412	5:13'16.550	1 Lap	2.776
19	B.J. McLeod	Ford	407	5:13'19.074	6 Laps	5 Laps
20	Joey Logano	Ford	405	5:01'45.203	8 Laps	2 Laps	Accident
21	Cole Custer	Ford	405	5:01'45.247	8 Laps	0.044	Accident
22	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	405	5:01'46.549	8 Laps	1.302	Accident
23	Kaz Grala	Chevrolet	400	5:13'15.590	13 Laps	5 Laps
24	Noah Gragson	Chevrolet	386	4:47'25.501	27 Laps	14 Laps	Throttle
25	Daniel Suarez	Chevrolet	346	4:18'36.569	67 Laps	40 Laps	Accident
26	Chris Buescher	Ford	346	4:18'36.992	67 Laps	0.423	Accident
27	Justin Haley	Chevrolet	343	4:15'09.321	70 Laps	3 Laps	Engine
28	Bubba Wallace	Toyota	200	2:33'58.566	213 Laps	143 Laps	DVP
29	Ryan Blaney	Ford	195	2:31'34.379	218 Laps	5 Laps	Accident
30	Brad Keselowski	Ford	193	2:28'43.761	220 Laps	2 Laps	Accident
31	Kurt Busch	Toyota	191	2:22'42.849	222 Laps	2 Laps	Accident
32	William Byron	Chevrolet	191	2:22'42.941	222 Laps	0.092	Accident
33	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	188	2:18'03.117	225 Laps	3 Laps	DVP
34	Austin Cindric	Ford	145	1:45'58.499	268 Laps	43 Laps	Accident
35	Corey Lajoie	Chevrolet	60	45'02.089	353 Laps	85 Laps	Accident
36	Josh Bilicki	Chevrolet	31	20'31.578	382 Laps	29 Laps	Accident
37	Ryan Preece	Ford	16	8'25.493	397 Laps	15 Laps	DVP
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