CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) won the Coca-Cola 600 to score his eighth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season, and his first at Charlotte.
The race was called around midnight due to wet weather, with 151 laps remaining. It had been red-flagged for over two hours following a steady downpour, and attempts to dry the track were unsuccessful.
There were seven caution periods for 46 laps, including the final four laps. All but five of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
Denny Hamlin leaves Charlotte as the new championship leader with a five-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 3 Winner: None
Stewart Haas Race Finish:
- Josh Berry (Started 13th, Finished 10th / Running, completed 249 of 249 laps)
- Chase Briscoe (Started 18th, Finished 25th / Running, completed 249 of 249 laps)
- Ryan Preece (Started 31st, Finished 26th / Running, completed 249 of 249 laps)
- Noah Gragson (Started 19th, Finished 38th / Accident, completed 170 of 249 laps)
Stewart Haas Racing Points:
- Chase Briscoe (16th with 334 points, 158 out of first)
- Josh Berry (19th with 263 points, 229 out of first)
- Noah Gragson (21st with 240 points, 252 out of first)
- Ryan Preece (28th with 203 points, 289 out of first)
Josh Berry earned his second top-10 of the season and it came in his first NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte.
This was Berry’s fifth straight finish of 16th or better. He finished 16th April 21 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, 14th April 28 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, 15th May 5 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, and third May 12 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
“It was a really solid day,” said Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse. “I thought we qualified well and maintained our track position. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) made some really good adjustments to the car overnight. We were just really solid. We kept getting better and better and better. Tonight was just a night to be proud of.”
Berry finished ninth in Stage 1 to earn two bonus points and eighth in Stage 2 to earn three more bonus points.
Berry led once for seven laps. He was the highest-finishing rookie.
“Overall, it was kind of just a frustrating night,” said Chase Briscoe. “I felt like every time we would get track position, we would end up losing it, whether it was a restart not going our way or pit road. I felt like if we could ever just put it all together we had a car capable of running anywhere from eighth to 12th, but everybody from eighth on back ran the same speed, so wherever you came out on a restart or off pit road is kind of where you ran. We’ve got to clean everything up and definitely felt like we should’ve finished way better than where we did tonight from a speed standpoint. We just have to figure out our execution.”
“Yeah, he (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) just misjudged his run and got us in the left rear, just a miscalculation. It sucks, but the sun will come up tomorrow,” said Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Enjoy Illinois 300, which will be held on Sunday, June 2, at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, near St. Louis. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT and will be covered live by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
