Kyle Busch dominates Coca-Cola 600 to get his first Charlotte Cup Series win
By Nick Tylwalk
No one had anything for Kyle Busch and his No. 18 Toyota crew, as they dominated NASCAR’s longest race at Charlotte.
Going into the 2018 Coca-Cola 600, Kyle Busch had somehow never won a NASCAR Cup Series points race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. On Sunday night, he changed that in emphatic fashion by winning everything worth winning.
Kyle Busch won not just the race, but all three stages prior to the checkered flag, earning the maximum number of points in the longest event on the NASCAR schedule. Busch was never seriously challenged on the track in a race that had only four different leaders, and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew was virtually flawless as well, ensuring he didn’t lose any ground on any of his stops.
The win not only ends Busch’s run of futility at Charlotte but also gives him at least one Cup Series points victory at every track on the current NASCAR schedule. It was his fourth trip to Victory Lane this season and 47th of his career.
“This one’s very special,” Busch said during his Fox Sports Victory Lane interview. “I don’t think there’s anything that can top Homestead, just with what the meaning of the championship is. But the Coke 600, I’ve dreamt of this race since I was a kid and being able to win this race.”
With the laps winding down, only defending Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. was within 10 seconds of Busch, but as has been the case most of this season, he simply didn’t have enough to make a real challenge for the win.
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An expected showdown with the only driver to win more races than Busch in 2018, Kevin Harvick, never materialized. Harvick charged hard during the opening stage from his 39th starting position, only to see his night end on lap 83 when he cut down a tire and went hard into the outside wall. he finished the race dead last in 40th place.
Ryan Blaney also had a strong car early but literally flamed out during Stage 3. Of the remaining contenders. for whatever that word meant on Sunday night, only Truex looked like he might have something for the 18, but in the end, simply rallying back from two pit road penalties to end up second had to be enough.
“We got up there behind Kyle and I thought we were somewhat close, but on the long runs, man, he was just really stout,” Truex said. “Those last 20-30 laps of a run, he could really check out.
“Definitely got to clean a few things up here and there and find just a little bit more speed. But we’re getting close.”
That was relative at Charlotte, and for everyone but Harvick, it might take more than a “little” more speed to catch Busch. Unless things change over the summer, it could be an epic two-man battle for the NASCAR Cup Series championship the rest of the way.
Next: Coca-Cola 600 highlights, stage results
2018 Coca-Cola 600 results from Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Kyle Busch (Stage 1, 2 and 3 winner)
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Denny Hamlin
- Brad Keselowski
- Jimmie Johnson
- Jamie McMurray
- Kyle Larson
- Kurt Busch
- Alex Bowman
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Chase Elliott
- Clint Bowyer
- Aric Almirola
- Paul Menard
- Daniel Suarez
- Bubba Wallace
- Matt Kenseth
- Michael McDowell
- Erik Jones
- Kasey Kahne
- Ty Dillon
- Joey Logano
- AJ Allmendinger
- Ross Chastain
- David Ragan
- Corey LaJoie
- Parker Kligerman
- Landon Cassill
- Chris Buescher
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Gray Gaulding
- Timmy Hill
- BJ McLeod
- Austin Dillon
- Ryan Newman
- Ryan Blaney
- Matt DiBenedetto
- JJ Yeley
- William Byron
- Kevin Harvick