The Coca-Cola 600 has officially come and gone. The 600-mile endurance test for our troops surely did not disappoint. After Helio Castroneves won the Indy 500, the Coca-Cola 600 would main event the Memorial Day races. One of the best days of the year on the racing calendar has come and gone and it was a great showing from the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600.
Kyle Larson Wins Stage 1
This was the first of four stages due to the long race. Trouble struck early for Ross Chastain. After having a great qualifying run an oil line broke. He needed to head to the garage but would later return to action. At the end of the first stage, Kyle Larson earned his 7th stage win on the season after he dominated the first 100 laps.
Kyle Larson Wins 2nd Stage Of The Day
As Stage 2 rolled along Kurt Busch had engine problems much similar to his teammate Ross Chastain. This sent him to the garage. He would have it repaired only for the engine to blow up which would end his day. This gave Kurt Busch a 38th place finish. For the 8th time in 2021, Kyle Larson won a stage. Larson dominated the first 2 stages and he will look to keep this momentum going.
A Moment of Silence
Once Stage 2 came to an end all the drivers would pull down to pit road. Charlotte Motor Speedway then held a 30-second moment of silence for all of our veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice. Once again this showed that NASCAR truly does take pride in this great country. The 600-mile tribute was halfway home and all our troops were treated to a great race.
Kyle Larson Earns 3rd Stage Win
Trouble struck late in Stage 3 when Ryan Newman crashed in turn 3. He blew a right-front tire and this put him in the wall bringing out the caution. Newman managed to stay in the race. At the end of Stage 3, Kyle Larson won again. Larson had the fastest car all night and it has shown. He would be looking to complete the cycle in the 600-mile endurance test.
Kyle Larson Completes the Cycle
The final stage stayed green for the final 94 laps. This led to Kyle Larson running away with this race. That led to Kyle Larson completing the cycle in the Coca-Cola 600. Kyle Larson dominated as he led 327 of the 400 laps at Charlotte. It was an all-around great performance for Hendrick Motorsports as Larson won, Chase Elliott finished 2nd, William Byron finished 4th and Alex Bowman finished 5th. Kyle Busch was the only non-HMS car to finish in the top 5 finishing third.
Outlook
This was certainly a very fun Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. It was a very old school race with very few cautions and lots of green flag racing. It was an all-around great day of racing. Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series will be when NASCAR heads to wine country in Sonoma, CA. It will be the first time NASCAR has run at the popular road course since 2019 due to California’s COVID restrictions. It will surely be a fun race next Sunday. All in all, it was a great weekend and we want to wish all our troops a happy Memorial Day.
