By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
CONCORD, N.C. – Finally.
Breaking a 59-race drought in Monday’s rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney gave team owner Roger Penske his first same-year sweep of IndyCar’s biggest race and NASCAR’s longest.
With a dominant No. 12 Team Penske Ford that gained long-run speed as the race progressed, Blaney led a race-high 163 of 400 laps and held off polesitter William Byron for his first victory on the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval and the eighth of his career.
A day after Josef Newgarden delivered Penske’s 19th Indianapolis 500 victory with a last-lap pass, Blaney won for the first time since taking the checkered flag at Daytona on Aug. 28, 2021.
“I might shed a tear,” said Blaney, clearly emotional during his post-race interview on the frontstretch. “I just was able to get the lead, and that car was so good that I could kind of bide my time a little bit and then we were able to drive off. I was hoping no caution, just because you never know.
“I know we had the car to do it, but restarts can be crazy… You start to get to feel like you can’t win anymore when you don’t win in a while. It kind of gets hard. So just super thankful to the 12 guys for believing in me…
“It’s just so cool. What a weekend with Newgarden and Roger winning at Indy and us winning the 600. I mean that’s just so cool. That kind of snaps our winless streak right there, and that’s even better.”
After a spate of cautions late in the race, Blaney led the field to green with 20 laps left and built a one-second lead over Byron before winning by .663 seconds. Martin Truex Jr. ran third ahead of 23XI Racing teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.
Blaney won the race’s third stage and is second in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, one point behind Ross Chastain, who finished 22nd.
Byron, who collected his eighth top-10 finish this season, pursued Blaney for the final 20 laps, but to no avail.
“We just needed a little bit,” said Byron, who led 91 laps and repeatedly regained the top spot from the No. 1 pit stall in a race that featured 16 cautions for 83 laps. “Really happy for Ryan. He really deserves it. He’s a good dude. Cool to see him get a win…
“The car was great tonight. Just not quite good enough. Really proud of the effort. Pit crew was phenomenal on pit road. Those guys are just high energy, and that pit stall helps… Just proud of where our team is at. Just needed a little bit more.”
The wreck that set up the final 20-lap green-flag run was one of the race’s most severe. Kyle Larson slid sideways and after a restart on Lap 375 and bounced off other front-running cars like a pinball. Collected in the wreck were Christopher Bell, who had shown early speed; Ty Gibbs; Joey Logano and Aric Almirola.
Just as significant was an accident on Lap 185 that knocked defending race winner Denny Hamlin and five-time most popular driver Chase Elliott out of the race.
After Hamlin crowded Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet into the outside wall, Elliott hooked Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota on the frontstretch. Hamlin’s car bounced off the wall after a brutal impact and collected Elliott’s Camaro on the rebound.
Both cars were damaged too severely to continue.
Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart were convinced Elliott turned Hamlin’s Camry in retaliation.
“It’s a tantrum and he shouldn’t be racing next week,” Hamlin said after exiting the infield care center. “Right-rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable. I don’t care. It is the same thing that Bubba Wallace did with Kyle Larson. Exact same. He shouldn’t be racing. It’s a tantrum.”
Elliott denied the incident was intentional on his part.
“No, like I said, once you hit the wall in these things, you can’t drive them anymore,” Elliott said. “So, no, just unfortunate circumstances.”
NASCAR Cup Series Race – Coca-Cola 600
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Concord, North Carolina
Monday, May 29, 2023
1. (8) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 400.
2. (1) William Byron, Chevrolet, 400.
3. (18) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 400.
4. (7) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 400.
5. (15) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 400.
6. (5) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 400.
7. (10) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 400.
8. (11) Chris Buescher, Ford, 400.
9. (33) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 400.
10. (29) Zane Smith(i), Ford, 400.
11. (2) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 400.
12. (31) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 400.
13. (22) Ryan Preece, Ford, 400.
14. (27) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 400.
15. (16) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 400.
16. (36) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 400.
17. (25) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 400.
18. (13) Harrison Burton, Ford, 400.
19. (3) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 400.
20. (20) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 400.
21. (17) Joey Logano, Ford, 400.
22. (14) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 400.
23. (24) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 400.
24. (9) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 400.
25. (23) Aric Almirola, Ford, 400.
26. (19) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 398.
27. (32) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 397.
28. (30) Michael McDowell, Ford, 396.
29. (34) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 392.
30. (12) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 377.
31. (21) Austin Cindric, Ford, Accident, 369.
32. (26) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 341.
33. (35) Todd Gilliland, Ford, Accident, 265.
34. (6) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Accident, 185.
35. (4) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Accident, 185.
36. (28) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, Engine, 117.
37. (37) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Accident, 115.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 120.468 mph.
Time of Race: 4 Hrs, 58 Mins, 50 Secs. Margin of Victory: .663 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 16 for 83 laps.
Lead Changes: 31 among 13 drivers.
Lap Leaders: W. Byron 1-13;D. Hamlin 14-32;C. Bell 33-36;D. Hamlin 37;W. Byron 38-41;R. Blaney 42-62;C. Bell 63-75;W. Byron 76-103;M. McDowell 104-107;W. Byron 108-116;C. Bell 117-147;C. Elliott 148-153;T. Reddick 154-181;R. Blaney 182-191;C. Buescher 192-203;K. Harvick 204;R. Stenhouse Jr. 205-208;K. Harvick 209-225;R. Blaney 226-232;K. Harvick 233;W. Byron 234-236;R. Blaney 237-276;K. Larson 277;W. Byron 278-281;R. Blaney 282-303;W. Byron 304-307;R. Blaney 308-344;K. Busch 345;W. Byron 346-359;Z. Smith(i) 360-362;W. Byron 363-374;R. Blaney 375-400.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Ryan Blaney 7 times for 163 laps; William Byron 9 times for 91 laps; Christopher Bell 3 times for 48 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 28 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 20 laps; Kevin Harvick 3 times for 19 laps; Chris Buescher 1 time for 12 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 6 laps; Michael McDowell 1 time for 4 laps; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1 time for 4 laps; Zane Smith(i) 1 time for 3 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 1 lap; Kyle Busch 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 24,20,12,45,19,11,8,6,5,47
Stage #2 Top Ten: 17,4,6,22,12,20,54,24,1,23
Stage #3 Top Ten: 12,45,19,24,54,5,8,4,47,48
Preece finished 13th fading from a top 10 starting spot on a late race restart. He is currently 28th in points, 71 points out of position 16, the playoff cut off. He finished all laps staying out of trouble and was the second best finishing Stewart Haas car. He really needs a top 10 finish, I was hoping he would find one given his late race positioning.
Preece needs a much better crew chief.
There’s more excitement waiting to see if Elliott has to sit out a race.
Chase Elliot was given a 1 race ban for wrecking Denny Hamlin. Has Nascar done this before. I dont follow the national series that closely. I do remember a few drivers getting time off at the local level.
CSG,
Bubba Wallace was suspended for one race last October after wrecking Kyle Larson during an event in Las Vegas. Bubba Wallace Suspended After Las Vegas Incident
The #12 was THE car in the race. They made all the right adjustments, that car was fast all day and gave the driver plenty to work with. That car was so fast and smooth all day.
Good race. Elliot doesn’t deserve a suspension. If you watch the incident, which they showed several times, Hamlin crowds Elliot into the wall, he bounces off the wall and Hamlin crowds him again. When he tuned left he hit Hamlin in the door to keep from being walled again, that was in no way a hook. I guess when Denny cry’s, Nascar listens. I think he was trying to get wrecked to cover up a poor performance.
Well, all the cars have data collection/telemetry systems, so everybody can see what is going on. Data like throttle position, brake, and oh yeah, steering position. The data shows Elliott turned left and into the 11 car. The data proves it, conclusive and irrefutable.
The only reason Elliot was suspended is because Denny is a car owner any one else and it would have been a non starter. They showed the video again and you can clearly see Elliot hit him in the door not the quarter.
What’s with the Briscoe penalty? Wonder if any or all other SHR cars had the same parts?
thanks Shawn. I forgot about Wallace’s penalty.
I just read up on SHR 14 car driven by Briscoe penalty. The penalty was for use of an unapproved part which is said to create more downforce. Nascar latest gen are spec cars with single source vendor for all components. It was severe penalty, loss of 120 points, Briscoe now sits 32nd in points, loss of 25 playoff point, 250k fine, and a 6 race suspension of the crew chief. The article I saw indicated Stewart Haas would not appeal. Nascar randomly selects a couple of cars to go over more thoroughly after each race. Briscoes 14 was selected and found to have an unapproved part. I would think if one Stewart Haas car had a modified part most likely the others did too. They all come out of the same shop. The other Stewart Haas cars may have gotten lucky they were not selected.