(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)
By Aaron Bearden

Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 was one of the most chaotic and unpredictable in the endurance race’s lengthy history. It’s only fitting that it ended in dramatic fashion. 

A pair of crashes and ensuing overtime periods saw at least a half-dozen drivers with a chance to win one of NASCR’s crown jewel races. In the end one of the most unexpected drivers in the group stole an unexpected triumph. 

Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe were the first ones to position themselves with a shot at the victory. A lengthy final run in regulation saw Larson push out with a lengthy advantage as he looked to redeem what had been a difficult night. Briscoe chased him down over the course of the run and closed to within striking distance as the race hit five to go. 

Briscoe tried to dive under Larson with four laps left, but couldn’t clear him. The Hoosier was attempting to run him down again with two to go when the No. 14 Ford stepped out on him, resulting in a spin off of Turn 2 that ultimately threw off both driver’s days

“I drove in there, it felt like in the same spot that I had been, but I think I entered a little bit lower and I was really loose in general,” Briscoe said. “As soon as I went in there it just spun me out.

“I was running 110 percent. It was a crown jewel race. Looking back if I would have ran about 95%. I probably would have won the race. That’s just inexperience and unacceptable on my part.” 

Crew chief Cliff Daniels quickly asked Larson if he’d gotten any damage from the incident. 

“Not at all,” Larson said with a sigh, knowing the real damage could be yet to come. 

The accident didn’t end Larson’s chances at a redemptive victory, but it did make the potential road to one steeper. Larson and the rest of the field had to come to pit road for fresh tires and decide what pit strategy they’d attempt. 

Larson’s team went with a two-tire stop. The three drivers behind him – Ross Chastain, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – did the same. Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team elected to take four, as did Austin Dillon’s team in sixth. 

That set the field up for a tricky battle on the overtime restart. Larson dove into Turn 1 and quickly cleared Chastain for the lead. Logano dove under Chastain for second, while Dillon ripped the top behind them. 

Dillon’s decision gave him a massive run down the backstretch. He wasted no time taking advantage of it, crossing down to the bottom of the track to pass Logano and Chastain in one motion. 

It looked like he would enter Turn 3 firmly in second, but Larson took the corner softly. That allowed Dillon to dive deep into the corner and pull alongside him for the lead. 

“I kind of under-drove the corner,” Larson admitted afterward. “I just didn’t really know what to expect getting into (Turn) 3 and I was the leader. You don’t have anybody to judge off of, so I kind of under-drove it and the (No.) 3 three drove in really deep.” 

Chastain followed the pair in and ran the top lane, generating a big run while to Larson’s outside. Hamlin rolled the bottom at the same time, sneakily sliding under Dillon at the exit of the corner. 

As the leaders came off of Turn 4, they found themselves four-wide.. Hamlin and Dillon had a slight edge, but Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet wiggled slightly and sent him up the track. 

When that happened there just wasn’t enough room for the three cars up top. Dillon caught the nose of Larson’s car while Larson and Chastain made contact themselves. The combined moment set off a massive crash that eliminated all three, the trailing Logano and Cole Custer from contentions. 

“I just felt like I needed to get clear in (Turns) 3 and 4; and had that one wiggle,” Dillon said of the move afterward. “I thought with the four tires, it would stick, and it didn’t and killed us.

“I had to go for it. We needed the win. I just caught in the middle and couldn’t finish the corner. You’re three wide and along for the ride.”

Hamlin emerged from the accident with the lead – a reward for a well-timed dive on the bottom. 

“I knew there was going to be a lot of guys that were going to miss the corner, drive in way too deep,” Hamlin said afterward. “I actually backed up my corner to make sure I got off the corner extremely low.

“Typically when guys drive in too deep they’re going to wash up the track. I needed to make sure I got off the corner really low and with a good run.

What your instincts say as a driver when you’re trying to go for the lead is drive it in as deep as can you on corner entry. You usually get bobbled, then you have a terrible run on corner exit. 

“The only way I thought I could win was to get a good exit and hope they washed up the track. It happened exactly that way.” 

Chastain followed in second, but was heavily damaged from the crash. The real beneficiary of the accident was Kyle Busch, who followed Chastain up top and somehow parted the seas to emerge from the accident unscathed. 

Hamlin took the inside lane and led the field to green on the ensuing restart. Chastain took the high lane in second but was far too damaged to content, meaning Busch was Hamlin’s biggest challenger from the inside of the second lane. 

Busch pushed Hamlin on the run to Turn 1 and then jumped to his outside. The two spent the better part of the next lap trading runs and side-drafts and an effort to pass each other. 

Team owner Joe Gibbs was admittedly nervous. 

“I’ve always said when I get the most nervous is when two of our cars are up there late because both of them want it so bad,” Gibbs said. “You could tell Kyle was after it, Denny was. That’s your greatest fear. The restart before that the two lead cars took each other out. That’s what you’re so afraid of.”

But the two teammates managed to stay off of each other. Busch nearly cleared Hamlin off of Turn 4 on the way to the white flag, but he lost the nose and faded as Hamlin pushed him up the track in Turn 1. 

That gave Hamlin the distance he needed to clear Busch and take the win. It crossed off the final active crown jewel that he hadn’t claimed and served as a reprieve in a year where Hamlin feels his No. 11 team hasn’t caught many breaks. 

“Obviously it wasn’t looking good for about 398 laps,” Hamlin admitted. “Considering our day, I was going to be pretty content with a fourth-place finish.

“I just knew with that number one pit stall we had an opportunity, if everyone pitted, that we could come out first. We didn’t. But we were the first car on four tires.”

“Yeah, it just worked out. Things worked out for us. They haven’t worked out very well for the first 12 races in a lot of different ways. Certainly this one was one (where) we capitalized on the opportunity.

“We managed the race. We knew we didn’t have the fastest car, the best car by any means, but we just stayed in the race. We didn’t make any mistakes, gave ourselves an opportunity when the opportunity arose for us.”

Busch settled for second. But he was equally content with the end result after struggling through tire issues, a spin and general difficulties with execution. 

“We didn’t have a good enough day to be even in that position, so just a strong fight all night by this M&M’s team,” Busch said. “I give honor to those we remember on Memorial Day weekend. I appreciate the opportunity and being able to do that. 

“We had Sergeant Thiem on here with us this weekend. We tried to come (to) victory lane and honor him, but unfortunately, one spot short.”

Briscoe used the late chaos an an opportunity to rebound and salvaged a fourth-place run. Larson crept back into the top-10 in ninth. Chastain faded to 15th. 

Logano, Custer and Dillon wound up finishing 20th though 22nd – a disappointing result, but far enough up the field to show how chaotic the overall race had been. 

They all emerged from their cars showing signs of fatigue – mentally and physically exhausted from a five-hour race that gave little reprieve to the field from start to finish.

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Aaron Bearden Charlotte Motor Speedway Chase Briscoe Coca-Cola 600 Denny Hamlin Featured Kyle Busch Kyle Larson