Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 3 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-100):
● Kevin Harvick started fifth and finished fourth, earning seven bonus points.
● Despite starting fifth and grabbing fourth on lap four, Harvick reported that his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was “really loose.”
● As the run went on, the No. 4 machine shifted toward being too tight. Nonetheless, Harvick maintained fourth place.
● Made scheduled, green flag pit stop on lap 49 for four tires and fuel with a track bar adjustment.
● Pit stops cycled through by lap 60 and Harvick was back in fourth place.
● On lap 94, Harvick keyed his mic to say: “Too tight. Need the back (of the car) to stay where it is, but need it to turn better.”
● Maintained fourth place through the end of the stage.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel with another track bar adjustment upon the completion of the stage. Gained one spot on pit road.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 101-200):
● Harvick started third and finished sixth, earning five bonus points.
● Dropped back to fourth when William Byron passed Harvick on lap 129.
● “Light in the back. Still tight in the front,” said Harvick on lap 138 about the handling of his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang.
● Made scheduled, green flag pit stop on lap 149 for four tires and fuel with a track bar adjustment.
● Pit stops cycled through by lap 153 and Harvick was back in fourth place.
● “Starting to get too loose getting into (turn) one,” said Harvick shortly after the caution flag waved on lap 174.
● Took advantage of caution to pit for four tires and fuel. Lined up fifth for lap-178 restart.
● Fell to 10th on lap 179 after field got stacked up on restart, but Harvick clawed his way back to finish the stage in sixth.
● “Quite a bit tighter on this run on entry,” said Harvick at the end of the stage.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel with another track bar adjustment upon the completion of the stage.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 201-300):
● Harvick started fifth and finished 10th, earning one bonus point.
● Picked up fourth place by getting around Kyle Busch on the restart, but Busch earned the spot back on lap 217, sending Harvick back to fifth.
● “Can’t turn,” said Harvick on lap 229 after Alex Bowman got by to put Harvick in sixth.
● On lap 234, Harvick mentioned that he felt like he had a loose wheel. He pitted under green on lap 237, where in addition to four new tires and fuel, crew chief Rodney Childers called for a left-rear wedge adjustment. Despite the loose wheel, Harvick stopped at the beginning of his pit window, maintaining his sixth position after all the pit stops had cycled through by lap 253.
● “I’m plowing,” said Harvick on lap 270.
● Fell to 10th by the time the caution came out on lap 297 and effectively ended the stage.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel at the end of the stage, but team took the time to fix some right-front damage, which likely contributed to the car’s tight handling condition.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 301-400):
● Harvick started 14th and finished 10th.
● Climbed back into the top-10 on lap 320 with pass of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
● “Still plowing,” said Harvick on lap 345 while running 10th.
● Made scheduled, green flag pit stop on lap 347 for four tires and fuel with a right-rear wedge adjustment.
● Pit stops quickly cycled through and Harvick returned to 10th. He held this spot through the end of the race.
Notes:
● Harvick earned his 11th top-10 of the season and his 20th top-10 in 39 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte.
● This was Harvick’s fourth straight top-10 at Charlotte.
● Kyle Larson won the Coca-Cola 600 to score his eighth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Charlotte. His margin over second-place Chase Elliott was 10.051 seconds.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 26 laps.
● Only 14 of the 38 drivers in the Coca-Cola 600 finished on the lead lap.
● Denny Hamlin remains the championship leader after Charlotte with a 76-point advantage over second-place Larson.
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Save Mart 350k on Sunday, June 6 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The race begins at 4 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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