Coca-Cola 600: Winners, Losers from NASCAR Race Today at Charlotte
· Yahoo Sports
The Coca-Cola 600 capped off a long and exciting day of racing for Memorial Day Weekend, following up the Indianapolis 500. While rain had some impact on Sunday’s race at Charlotte, there’s still plenty to take away from what went down on the track.
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Let’s dive into our winners and losers from the NASCAR race today at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Ordinarily, we would be very critical of how NASCAR handled the length of cautions and the rain, but tonight we’re going to try to focus more on the positives with Daniel Suarez winning one for his mentor.
Winner: The Strength of the Busch Family
USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectThe Coca-Cola 600 is the biggest points race of the season. That makes what happened to Austin Cindric even more costly. Midway through Stage 1, the No. 2 car got loose and started to spin out going into the corner. After the backend of the car hit the wall, Cindric came back down the track, where Connor Zilisch couldn’t avoid him. The front of the No. 2 was effectively torn off, ending his day. Cindric finished with one point, falling from 15th in The Chase to 18th.
Related: 5 Ways NASCAR Can Honor Kyle Busch
Loser: Austin Cindric
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectThe Coca-Cola 600 is the biggest points race of the season. That makes what happened to Austin Cindric even more costly. Midway through Stage 1, the No. 2 car got loose and started to spin out going into the turn. After the backend of the car hit the wall, Cindric came back down the track, where Connor Zilisch couldn’t avoid him. The front of the No. 2 was effectively torn off, ending his day. Cindric finished with 1 point, falling from 15th in The Chase to 18th.
Winner: Shane van Gisbergen
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectDid Shane van Gisbergen benefit from qualifying being rained out and the starting grid being determined by the metric score? Absolutely. However, two things can be true at once. SVG continues to show remarkable improvement racing on ovals, and what stood out in the NASCAR race today is the road-course master maintaining a top-10 running position, even picking up stage points tonight. The wins on road courses matter, but it’s performances like this that could be the difference-maker in SVG making The Chase.
Loser: Chase Elliott
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectOne mistake can be costly in any race, but it’s even more painful in the Coca-Cola 600. With 10 laps to go in Stage 1, Chase Elliott found himself in the top 15 with a shot at working his way up to get stage points. Unfortunately, the No. 9 car got loose and slammed into the outside wall before spinning down the track and hitting the inside barrier. A DNF on any Sunday is bad, but this one particularly stings for Elliott since he only scored a single point in the NASCAR race today.
Winner: Christopher Bell
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectChristopher Bell didn’t record the most points in the NASCAR race today, but he did something almost equally impressive. The No. 20 team had two pit-road penalties in the first two stages, first for a tire rolling into another pit box and then for Briscoe parking outside his box. He overcame both of those to win Stage 3, even after being 9 seconds behind the leader at one point. Coming off a pretty rough stretch, Bell and the No. 20 team deserve endless credit for making this a great day in Charlotte.
Loser: Ross Chastain
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectIt might now be time to worry about whether Ross Chastain will make The Chase. He already put himself in a bad spot in the NASCAR race tonight by not getting any stage points, so he needed a top-30 finish to salvage things. Unfortunately for Chastain, when he moved up to the top groove right in front of John Hunter Nemechek, JHN drove right into him. The No. 1 car then got into the wall before spinning out and slamming into the inside barrier, suffering race-ending damage. One year removed from winning the Coca-Cola 600, Chastain finished 35th and scored just two points.
Winner: Daniel Suarez
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectOn an evening that started with NASCAR honoring Kyle Busch, it was only fitting that one of the drivers he mentored won the Coca-Cola 600. Strategy and the rain might be the biggest reasons why Daniel Suarez won the NASCAR race today, but it’s a victory all the same. This has been an extremely emotionally heavy few days for the racing world, with those closest to Busch being hit the hardest. For Suarez to win tonight, a crown-jewel race just days after his mentor passed away, how can you not be romantic about NASCAR?
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