2018 Coca-Cola 600
The 2018 Coca-Cola 600, the 59th running of the event, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 27, 2018 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.42 km) asphalt speedway, it is the 13th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 13 of 36 in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series | |||
| Date | May 27, 2018 | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (960 km) | ||
| Average speed | 136.692 miles per hour (219.984 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 28.149 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 377 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 2.3/2.4 (Overnight)[10] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini | ||
| Turn Announcers | Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
Report
Background
The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is located in Concord, North Carolina. The speedway complex includes a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) quad-oval track that will be utilized for the race, as well as a dragstrip and a dirt track. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams based in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith serving as track president.
Entry list
First practice
Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.401 seconds and a speed of 190.134 mph (305.991 km/h).[11]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.401 | 190.134 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 28.470 | 189.673 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 28.506 | 189.434 |
| Official first practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.149 and a speed of 191.836 mph (308.730 km/h).[12]
Qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice
Second practice session for Saturday was cancelled due to weather.
Final practice
Erik Jones was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.870 seconds and a speed of 187.045 mph (301.020 km/h).[13]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.870 | 187.045 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.929 | 186.664 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 29.016 | 186.104 |
| Official final practice results | ||||||
Race
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage 2 Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Stage 3 Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage three results | |||||
Final Stage Results
Stage 4 Laps: 100
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 70 |
| 2 | 15 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 400 | 54 |
| 3 | 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 49 |
| 4 | 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 41 |
| 5 | 23 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 41 |
| 6 | 7 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 37 |
| 7 | 11 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 46 |
| 8 | 16 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 36 |
| 9 | 27 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 28 |
| 10 | 13 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 399 | 31 |
| 11 | 22 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 30 |
| 12 | 28 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 399 | 35 |
| 13 | 9 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 399 | 34 |
| 14 | 14 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 399 | 23 |
| 15 | 10 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 399 | 22 |
| 16 | 24 | 43 | Bubba Wallace (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 21 |
| 17 | 17 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 399 | 20 |
| 18 | 29 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 399 | 19 |
| 19 | 4 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 399 | 29 |
| 20 | 26 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 21 |
| 21 | 20 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 16 |
| 22 | 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 399 | 15 |
| 23 | 30 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 14 |
| 24 | 25 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 |
| 25 | 19 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 396 | 12 |
| 26 | 33 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 396 | 11 |
| 27 | 32 | 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 394 | 0 |
| 28 | 35 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 394 | 9 |
| 29 | 18 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 394 | 8 |
| 30 | 37 | 55 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 389 | 7 |
| 31 | 34 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 388 | 6 |
| 32 | 36 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 383 | 0 |
| 33 | 38 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 373 | 0 |
| 34 | 12 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 348 | 3 |
| 35 | 6 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 344 | 5 |
| 36 | 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 278 | 10 |
| 37 | 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 257 | 1 |
| 38 | 40 | 7 | J. J. Yeley (i) | NY Racing Team | Chevrolet | 191 | 0 |
| 39 | 21 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 139 | 1 |
| 40 | 39 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 83 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 4 among different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 11 for 54
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 4 hours, 23 minutes and 22 seconds
- Average speed: 136.692 miles per hour (219.984 km/h)
Media
Television
Fox Sports televised the race in the United States for the eighteenth consecutive year. Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while three-time Coca-Cola 600 winner, Jeff Gordon and five-time race winner Darrell Waltrip were the color commentators. Jamie Little, Regan Smith, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum reported from pit lane during the race.
| Fox Television | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip | Jamie Little Regan Smith Vince Welch Matt Yocum |
Radio
Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by the Performance Racing Network (PRN), and was simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race in the booth when the field raced through the quad-oval. Rob Albright reported the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field was racing through turns 1 and 2 and halfway down the backstretch. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through the other half of the backstretch and through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Steve Richards were the pit reporters during the broadcast.
| PRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow Announcer: Wendy Venturini | Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson | Brad Gillie Brett McMilan Jim Noble Steve Richards |
Standings after the race
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References
- "2018 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
- "Charlotte Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
- "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 26, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- "Coca-Cola 600 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 27, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
- "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 29, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 13, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 29, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 13, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- "Charlotte TV Ratings". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- Utter, Jim (May 24, 2018). "Denny Hamlin fastest in Thursday's lone Coke 600 practice". Motorsport.com. Charlotte, North Carolina: Motorsport Network. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- Reed, Steve (May 24, 2018). "Kyle Busch captures pole at Charlotte; Harvick starts last". Associated Press. Charlotte, North Carolina: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- Utter, Jim (May 26, 2018). "Erik Jones fastest in final NASCAR Cup practice before Coke 600". Motorsport.com. Charlotte, North Carolina: Motorsport Network. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
| Previous race: 2018 KC Masterpiece 400 |
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2018 season |
Next race: 2018 Pocono 400 |