Austin Dillontook the checkered flag at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but you can see where everyone finished behind him here.
How do you make the longest race on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule extra long? Throw a long rain and lightning delay into the middle of the Coca-Cola 600, of course.
That’s exactly what happened Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as a thunderstorm that initially looked like it would miss the track ended up smacking into it instead. Alas, the rain didn’t hamper the strategy of Austin Dillon, who earned his first Cup Series win by staying out when others pitted in the final stage and just having enough gas to come home first.
In doing so, he extended the winless streak of Joe Gibb Racing, whose drivers have yet to find Victory Lane in 2017. Kyle Busch looked like he would put an end to that futility, winning Stage 1 and staying right near the front for most of the night. He passed Martin Truex Jr., who led the most laps at Charlotte for the third straight year, with two laps to go, but he ran out of time to track down Dillon.
The Coca-Cola 600 was surprisingly welcoming to rookies Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones, who both finished in the top 11 despite never running a race this long before. Their success stood in stark contrast to the likes of Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski, taken out together in a wreck early in the race, and points leader Kyle Larson, whose night ended after hitting the wall twice.
Next: See Elliott, Keselowski share the same bad luck in the Coca-Cola 600
Here’s a look at where everyone finished when the long night finally came to an end in Charlotte.
2017 Coca-Cola 600 complete finishing order
- Austin Dillon
- Kyle Busch
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Matt Kenseth
- Denny Hamlin
- Kurt Busch
- Erik Jones
- Kevin Harvick
- Ryan Newman
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Daniel Suarez
- Jamie McMurray
- Paul Menard
- Clint Bowyer
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Trevor Bayne
- Jimmie Johnson
- A.J. Allmendinger
- Michael McDowell
- Chris Buescher
- Joey Logano
- Regan Smith
- David Ragan
- Ryan Blaney
- Danica Patrick
- J.J. Yeley
- Gray Gaulding
- Landon Cassill
- Timmy Hill
- Reed Sorensen
- Derrike Cope
- Corey LaJoie
- Kyle Larson
- Cole Whitt
- Kasey Kahne
- Ty Dillon
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Chase Elliott
- Brad Keselowski
- Jeffrey Earnhardt