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Kyle Busch cruises to first Charlotte win, dominating the Coke 600

Kyle Busch is finally a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Race winner Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Red White & Blue

Race winner Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Red White & Blue

Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images

Race winner Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Red White & Blue
Race winner Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Red White & Blue
Race winner Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Red White & Blue
Race winner Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Red White & Blue
Race winner Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Red White & Blue
Race winner Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Red White & Blue
Race winner Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Red White & Blue
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Red White & Blue takes the checkered flag

Charlotte remained the only current track on the schedule on which Busch had never earned a points-paying series victory but filled in that line on his racing resume in dominant fashion Sunday night.

"This one's very very special," Busch said in Victory Lane. "It's hard to top Homestead and the meaning of what winning the championship is but the Coke 600, I've dreamed of this race since I was a kid and being able to win this race.

"I was always watching the All-Star Race and the 600 the following weekend and then to be to come out here and now win the Coca-Cola 600, it's phenomenal. It's a little boy's race come true.

"I want to thank NASCAR for giving me the chance to come out here and have this opportunity to race for my dreams and to accomplish all those things."

 

Busch led all but 23 of 400 laps en route to a lopsided win in the Coca-Cola 600, his fourth series victory of the season.

Martin Truex Jr. finished second, nearly four seconds behind Busch.

Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, finished third, Brad Keselowski was fourth and Jimmie Johnson completed the top-five.

Also finishing in the Top 10 were Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The win is the 47th of Busch’s career. His only previous Cup win at Charlotte was a victory in last year’s All-Star Race.

During the break between Stages 3 and 4, all of the lead-lap cars pit for fuel and tires and once again Kyle Busch was the first driver off pit road followed by Keselowski and Kurt Busch.

Stenhouse was penalized for an uncontrolled tire during his pit stop and had to restart at the rear of the field.

The race returned to green with 93 laps remaining.

Three laps after the start, Kyle Busch had moved out to more than a second lead over Keselowski.

With 88 laps to go, Ryan Newman pulled down pit road and headed directly to the garage with a mechanical issue. He was running fifth at the time.

With 70 laps remaining in the race, Busch held more than a 3.5-second lead over Truex as Keselowski dropped to third.

A final round of green-flag pit stops began with 56 laps to go. With 48 to go, Kyle Busch missed the entry to pit road while attempting to make his stop but continued on and completed his stop on the following lap.

Even with the miscue, Busch still held the lead when the cycle of stops were completed on Lap 355. He was followed by Keselowski, who was now 3.8 seconds behind him.

Erik Jones had an uncontrolled tire penalty during his stop and had to make a pass-thru on pit road.

With 40 laps to go, it was Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Johnson, McMurray and Truex.

On Lap 387, Truex made his way into the runner-up position as Keselowski dropped back to third.

With 20 to go, Busch held a more than 5-second lead over Truex with Hamlin even further back in third.

With five to go, Busch still lead by nearly four seconds over Truex.

Cla#DriverManufacturerLapsTimeLaps Led
1 18 united_states Kyle Busch  Toyota 400   378
2 78 united_states Martin Truex Jr.  Toyota 400 3.823  
3 11 united_states Denny Hamlin  Toyota 400 13.598 9
4 2 united_states Brad Keselowski  Ford 400 16.777 2
5 48 united_states Jimmie Johnson  Chevrolet 400 17.164  
6 1 united_states Jamie McMurray  Chevrolet 400 17.925  
7 42 united_states Kyle Larson  Chevrolet 400 20.548  
8 41 united_states Kurt Busch  Ford 400 26.093  
9 88 united_states Alex Bowman  Chevrolet 400 28.140  
10 17 united_states Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  Ford 399 1 lap  
11 9 united_states Chase Elliott  Chevrolet 399 1 lap  
12 14 united_states Clint Bowyer  Ford 399 1 lap  
13 10 united_states Aric Almirola  Ford 399 1 lap  
14 21 united_states Paul Menard  Ford 399 1 lap  
15 19 mexico Daniel Suarez  Toyota 399 1 lap  
16 43 united_states Darrell Wallace Jr.  Chevrolet 399 1 lap  
17 6 united_states Matt Kenseth  Ford 399 1 lap  
18 34 united_states Michael McDowell  Ford 399 1 lap  
19 20 united_states Erik Jones  Toyota 399 1 lap  
20 95 united_states Kasey Kahne  Chevrolet 399 1 lap  
21 13 united_states Ty Dillon  Chevrolet 399 1 lap  
22 22 united_states Joey Logano  Ford 399 1 lap 12
23 47 united_states A.J. Allmendinger  Chevrolet 399 1 lap  
24 15 united_states Ross Chastain  Chevrolet 398 2 laps  
25 38 united_states David Ragan  Ford 396 4 laps  
26 72 united_states Corey Lajoie  Chevrolet 396 4 laps  
27 96 united_states Parker Kligerman  Toyota 394 6 laps  
28 00 united_states Landon Cassill  Chevrolet 394 6 laps  
29 37 united_states Chris Buescher  Chevrolet 394 6 laps  
30 55 united_states Jeffrey Earnhardt  Chevrolet 389 11 laps  
31 23 united_states Gray Gaulding  Toyota 388 12 laps  
32 66 united_states Timmy Hill  Toyota 383 17 laps  
33 51 united_states B.J. McLeod  Chevrolet 373 27 laps  
34 3 united_states Austin Dillon  Chevrolet 348 52 laps  
35 31 united_states Ryan Newman  Chevrolet 344 56 laps  
36 12 united_states Ryan Blaney  Ford 278 122 laps  
37 32 united_states Matt DiBenedetto  Ford 257 143 laps  
38 7 united_states J.J. Yeley  Chevrolet 191 209 laps  
39 24 united_states William Byron  Chevrolet 139 261 laps  
40 4 united_states Kevin Harvick  Ford 83 317 laps  

 

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