Kyle Busch led 377 of the 400 laps on his way to winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. The win was his first in Charlotte, and gives Busch at least one win at every single track on the NASCAR Cup Series.
It was a dominating performance from Busch, who started from pole position and won every stage of the race as well as his fourth race victory of the 2018 season.
Busch Makes History in Charlotte
Busch is the first driver in the modern era of NASCAR to capture a win at every track on the schedule. On the current Cup Series, that means wins at 23 tracks, something nobody else has accomplished. This particular race had eluded Busch for a long time: this was his 29th time racing at Charlotte.
“This one’s very special,” Busch said in Victory Lane following his win. “To be able to come out here and win the Coca-Cola 600, it’s a little boy’s dream come true.”
Busch was scarcely challenged throughout the race, and the outcome was hardly in doubt heading into the final laps. In the end, Busch crossed the finish line more than 3.8 seconds ahead of Martin Truex Jr., who finished in second place.
“It was one of those nights where we just fought until the end and felt like we had a second place car to Kyle,” Truex said after the race. “I felt like that last run we were catching him a bit but he was probably just managing his lead and taking care of his tires.”
Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five.
Harvick Bows Out Early
Kevin Harvick came into Charlotte having won the last two NASCAR Cup Series points races, as well as last week’s All-Star event. He had the opportunity to win his sixth race of the year and put together his second three-race winning streak, though he was forced to start 39th due to failed inspections.
Harvick managed to race his way up to fourth place in the early going, but disaster struck on Lap 83 when he slammed into the wall. He was forced to take a DNF for the first time since the Daytona 500 in February, finishing the race in 40th place.
Perhaps because he’s had such a good season, Harvick was able to take the disappointing result in stride.
“Sometimes those things happen,” Harvick told reporters. “I can’t complain about anything that’s happened this year. We have to take the good with the bad.”
The Coca-Cola 600 marked the midway point of NASCAR’s regular season schedule, with 13 of 26 points races still remaining. Busch currently leads the NASCAR Cup Series with 573 points, 67 ahead of Joey Logano. Harvick is currently third, 88 points behind the leader.
Harvick remains the betting favorite to win this year’s NASCAR championship. William Hill puts Harvick at 11/4 to be the Cup Series winner, with Truex (4/1), Busch (5/1), and Kyle Larson (6/1) following close behind.