In a wire to wire victory, Kyle Larson won the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night in Charlotte. This victory gives team owner Rick Hendrick the most wins (269) in NASCAR Cup Series history.
The win was Larson’s eighth of his career and second on the season, guaranteeing him a place in the playoffs. By the time he completed the race, which was 400 laps, he held a 10.5 second led over second place finisher, teammate Chase Elliott.
Hendrick Motor Sports (HMS) had two other drivers finish in the top five at Charlotte Motor Speedway, William Byron (4th) and Alex Bowman (5th). Kyle Busch finished in third place, making sure that the day just didn’t belong to HMS.
History sort of repeated itself Sunday. Larson was driving the #5 car which was the same number that Geoff Bodine drove in 1984 which gave HMS its’ first victory.
Jim France, NASCAR chairman and CEO, congratulated Larson on breaking the all-time wins record which was previously held by Petty Enterprise Team.
Larson led the first three stages of the race, but Elliot and Byron gave him a run for his money. At one point, (lap 231) Byron passed Larson, but after a pit stop, Larson maintained the lead of 2.5 seconds. No. 43 driver, Erik Jones made him work for it with Byron right on his tail.
Larson eventually passed Jones and left Byron in the dust, but driver Ryan Newman hit a wall and the fourth and final caution was called as the stage ended. Jones had a pit stop to get maintenance on his car during the final laps of the race, which helped Larson grow his lead.
Austin Dillon came in sixth place, followed by Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick and Kevin Harvick. Hamlin still retained the lead in the series by 76 points over Larson and Byron, who are tied for second. It was a great win for HMS and Kyle Larson.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race, Toyota/Save Mart 350. It is Sunday at Sonoma (California) Raceway.
