Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Pocono Raceway
Location: Long Pond, PennsylvaniaYear of first Cup event: 1974Banking: Turn 1 (14), Turn 2 (8), Turn 3 (6)Backstretch, Frontstretch and Shortstretch (0)Length/Track type: 2.5 miles, PavedCup events currently hosted: Axalta Presents the Pocono 400 (held in June) and Gander Outdoors 400 (held in July)Most frequent winner: Jeff Gordon (6)
CONCORD, N.C. — Kevin Harvick and the Ford’s may have had everyone’s attention going into the Coca-Cola 600, but it was Kyle Busch who imposed his will on the competition on Sunday night and came away with the checkered flag.
Busch was as dominant as possible at Charlotte Motor Speedway leading for 377 total laps of the 400-lap race and winning all four stages of NASCAR’s longest race of the season.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a car that good in Charlotte,” Busch said post-race. “I could pretty much go anywhere I wanted. That thing was so racy I could go to the middle, to the bottom, I could run wherever I wanted to. It was good and gripped up and felt really, really strong and comfortable wherever I needed to go.”
The No. 18 driver has never won the Coca-Cola 600 before but crept closer to Harvick’s NASCAR-leading five wins, adding a fourth to his total while holding a firm grasp atop the Monster Energy Cup Series points standings.
NASCAR AT CHARLOTTE: Starting lineup for the Coca-Cola 600
Busch currently has wins at Texas, Bristol and Richmond and has 10 top 10 finishes and eight in the top five. With Sunday night’s win he’s also the first driver to win on every track he’s raced on in his career.
Martin Truex Jr. finished second behind Busch and despite hanging close, was never able to catch the No. 18 car.
“Those guys did an awesome job all night with qualifying, pole, perfect pit stops,” Truex Jr. said after the race. “I don’t think they ever lost the lead. They did an incredible job, they have a really fast car. He kicked everybody’s tail.”
The rest of the field featured plenty of action and more than a few caution flags. The race was void of any big, multiple car wrecks but did see a number of drivers wreck out.
The most notable was Harvick who blew a tire and slammed into the wall on Turn 3 during Stage 1 ending his pursuit of a third straight victory.
Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 car were consistently part of the top four spots but after reporting early engine heating issues, saw the engine blow and the car catch fire ending his night.
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Below are results and highlights from the Coca-Cola 600.
NASCAR Coca-Cola 600: Results, highlights from Charlotte Motor Speedway
(All times Eastern)
10:58 — Bravo, Kyle Busch.
10:52 — That's number four on the year and number 47 in his career for Kyle Busch.
10:46 — Kyle Busch is your Coca-Cola 600 winner!
10:43 — Five to go and this one is all but in the bag for Busch.
10:33 — Twenty-five laps to go and it's Kyle Busch's race to lose. His lead is out to 5.5 seconds.
10:22 — Several drivers hitting pit road, likely for the final time in this race.
10:09 — Seventy laps to go and Kyle Busch is holding court. Nearly a four second lead over Brad Keselowski.
10:02 — Ryan Newman decides to take his No. 31 car to the garage with mechanical issues.
9:57 — One stage left tonight and it's back to green with 92 laps to go.
9:47 — Three stages complete and three stage wins for Kyle Busch tonight who has dominated in Charlotte.
STAGE WINNER: @KyleBusch is 3 for 3 tonight after a dominant showing in Stage 3.
Who has the best shot at challenging the 1️⃣8️⃣ in the final 100 laps? #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/VEvdyXNKEP — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 28, 2018
9:43 — Ten laps left to go in Stage 3 and it's Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Kurt Busch battling it out.
9:30 — They were green for a lap before Blaney's car caught fire. He literally drove it until the engine blew up.
9:23 — Yet another caution on the night. Larson spins into the wall on Turn 1.
9:19 — Green flag racing again. Hamlin and McMurray make some light contact but stay in control. McMurray has a hold of P2 now.
9:10 — Yellow flag back out a CMS. Chris Buescher goes hard into the wall to bring out the caution.
9:07 — Less than 50 to go in Stage 3. Still Kyle Busch, Larson and Hamlin sitting 1-2-3.
8:56 — The race is back to green. It's Kyle Busch, Larson and Hamlin leading the pack.
8:53 — Truex gets his second penalty of the night, this time for an uncontrolled tire.
8:50 — Gray Gaulding spins out of Turn 4 and there will be another caution.
Caution! A spinning Gray Gaulding slows the race. No major damage. #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/hz5boXsUzg — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 28, 2018
8:43 — Close call for Jamie McMurray but he hangs on.
8:40 — Stage 3 green flag is out. This has officially turned into a night race here at CMS.
8:36 — Truex gets hit with a penalty for speeding on pit road. He was in second for much of this one so that one will cost him.
Penalty: @MartinTruex_Jr too fast on pit road. @KyleBusch wins the race off of pit road once again as we get set for Stage 3 in the #CocaCola600 : https://t.co/byUUyxcWMO pic.twitter.com/8M9nniJLxV — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 28, 2018
8:30 — Kyle Busch is firmly in control of this one. He takes the Stage 2 green-checkered flag.
STAGE WINNER: @KyleBusch gets it done again! Can anyone stop the No. 18?
See who else scored points in the #CocaCola600 : https://t.co/byUUywVlVg pic.twitter.com/ZuwU81vZQn — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 28, 2018
8:24 — Ryan Blaney reporting some engine trouble as he's started dropping spots.
8:16 — After green flag pits get sorted out Kyle Busch finds his way up front again. He's been the clear leader for a majority of this one.
8:08 — Green flag pit stops have started for drivers.
8:04 — William Byron's No. 24 car is headed to the garage.
8:03 — With 50 laps left in Stage 2 not much has changed among the leaders. Kyle Busch is still out front followed by Truex, Larson and Blaney.
7:50 — A quick caution and they're green again. We'll see how long this one lasts.
7:45 — Green flag is back out with 20 laps down in Stage 2 but it doesn't last long. Jimmie Johnson gets bumped and spins in the middle of the pack causing Logano to spin as well. Somehow no other drivers took contact.
7:38 — Williams Byron gets into the wall and takes some heavy damage. They'll go under caution again.
Take another look at the cause for the caution involving @WilliamByron . #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/5O2s2tTKSa — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 27, 2018
7:34 — Back to green for Stage 2 now at CMS.
7:31 — Kyle Busch wins the race off pit road and Landon Cassill gets hit with a penalty and will be forced to the back
7:29 — The top 10 for Stage 1.
7:24 — Kyle Busch holds on to the lead and takes Stage 1. Blaney and Larson followed up behind him.
7:19 — Back to green at CMS. Keselowski missed the pit box as most drivers headed to pit road. He quickly drops to P19 though with 10 laps to go in Stage 1.
7:15 — And it looks like that damage will end Harvick's day and his chance at a sixth win and third straight. He's headed to the garage.
7:11 — Wow. Harvick blows a right front tire and gets into the wall on Turn 3. The caution flag is out.
CAUTION! @KevinHarvick slams the wall in Turn 3.
The 4️⃣ was up to 4th before the incident. #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/TCEv0lMf2d — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 27, 2018
7:05 — Austin Dillon's car is in the garage after taking damage earlier in the race. It looks like the defending winner's day is done.
7:04 — Seventy laps down and 30 to go in Stage 1. It's still Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Larson in the lead but a lot of movement going on within the top 10. Harvick is up to P4 now.
6:51 — They're back to green and it's Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Larson out front. Harvick is all the way up to P6. It only took him 46 laps to do so.
6:41 — Austin Dillon loses a tire and the caution yellow comes out.
6:37 — Parker Kligerman has some trouble with the wall but hangs in there. Logano keeps falling back and was just passed again and falls to P9.
. @pkligerman makes contact with the outside wall, but stays on track and we remain green. #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/eXLYvkJ3Zx — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 27, 2018
6:35 — Some early action going on behind the leaders. Harvick has currently crept his way up to P14.
6:30 — Kyle Busch now back out front. Erik Jones sitting comfortably behind him in P2.
6:24 — It didn't take long for our first lead change here. Logano overtakes Kyle Busch on Lap 1 for the top spot.
6:22 — We are green at CMS. Let's get this going!
6:16 — Bubba Wallace (43) and Landon Cassill (00) forced to the back for unapproved adjustments and inspection issues, respectively.
6:14 — The engines are fired. It's almost time for this marathon race in Charlotte.
6:10 — A special national anthem for Memorial Day weekend.
5:30 — About an hour to go until race time in Charlotte. Driver intro are up now.
CONCORD, N.C. — Kevin Harvick and the Ford’s may have had everyone’s attention going into the Coca-Cola 600, but it was Kyle Busch who imposed his will on the competition on Sunday night and came away with the checkered flag.
Busch was as dominant as possible at Charlotte Motor Speedway leading for 377 total laps of the 400-lap race and winning all four stages of NASCAR’s longest race of the season.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a car that good in Charlotte,” Busch said post-race. “I could pretty much go anywhere I wanted. That thing was so racy I could go to the middle, to the bottom, I could run wherever I wanted to. It was good and gripped up and felt really, really strong and comfortable wherever I needed to go.”
The No. 18 driver has never won the Coca-Cola 600 before but crept closer to Harvick’s NASCAR-leading five wins, adding a fourth to his total while holding a firm grasp atop the Monster Energy Cup Series points standings.
NASCAR AT CHARLOTTE: Starting lineup for the Coca-Cola 600
Busch currently has wins at Texas, Bristol and Richmond and has 10 top 10 finishes and eight in the top five. With Sunday night’s win he’s also the first driver to win on every track he’s raced on in his career.
Martin Truex Jr. finished second behind Busch and despite hanging close, was never able to catch the No. 18 car.
“Those guys did an awesome job all night with qualifying, pole, perfect pit stops,” Truex Jr. said after the race. “I don’t think they ever lost the lead. They did an incredible job, they have a really fast car. He kicked everybody’s tail.”
The rest of the field featured plenty of action and more than a few caution flags. The race was void of any big, multiple car wrecks but did see a number of drivers wreck out.
The most notable was Harvick who blew a tire and slammed into the wall on Turn 3 during Stage 1 ending his pursuit of a third straight victory.
Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 car were consistently part of the top four spots but after reporting early engine heating issues, saw the engine blow and the car catch fire ending his night.
WATCH: Tune in to NASCAR all season long on fuboTV (7-day free trial)
Below are results and highlights from the Coca-Cola 600.
NASCAR Coca-Cola 600: Results, highlights from Charlotte Motor Speedway
(All times Eastern)
10:58 — Bravo, Kyle Busch.
10:52 — That's number four on the year and number 47 in his career for Kyle Busch.
10:46 — Kyle Busch is your Coca-Cola 600 winner!
10:43 — Five to go and this one is all but in the bag for Busch.
10:33 — Twenty-five laps to go and it's Kyle Busch's race to lose. His lead is out to 5.5 seconds.
10:22 — Several drivers hitting pit road, likely for the final time in this race.
10:09 — Seventy laps to go and Kyle Busch is holding court. Nearly a four second lead over Brad Keselowski.
10:02 — Ryan Newman decides to take his No. 31 car to the garage with mechanical issues.
9:57 — One stage left tonight and it's back to green with 92 laps to go.
9:47 — Three stages complete and three stage wins for Kyle Busch tonight who has dominated in Charlotte.
STAGE WINNER: @KyleBusch is 3 for 3 tonight after a dominant showing in Stage 3.
Who has the best shot at challenging the 1️⃣8️⃣ in the final 100 laps? #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/VEvdyXNKEP — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 28, 2018
9:43 — Ten laps left to go in Stage 3 and it's Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Kurt Busch battling it out.
9:30 — They were green for a lap before Blaney's car caught fire. He literally drove it until the engine blew up.
9:23 — Yet another caution on the night. Larson spins into the wall on Turn 1.
9:19 — Green flag racing again. Hamlin and McMurray make some light contact but stay in control. McMurray has a hold of P2 now.
9:10 — Yellow flag back out a CMS. Chris Buescher goes hard into the wall to bring out the caution.
9:07 — Less than 50 to go in Stage 3. Still Kyle Busch, Larson and Hamlin sitting 1-2-3.
8:56 — The race is back to green. It's Kyle Busch, Larson and Hamlin leading the pack.
8:53 — Truex gets his second penalty of the night, this time for an uncontrolled tire.
8:50 — Gray Gaulding spins out of Turn 4 and there will be another caution.
Caution! A spinning Gray Gaulding slows the race. No major damage. #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/hz5boXsUzg — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 28, 2018
8:43 — Close call for Jamie McMurray but he hangs on.
8:40 — Stage 3 green flag is out. This has officially turned into a night race here at CMS.
8:36 — Truex gets hit with a penalty for speeding on pit road. He was in second for much of this one so that one will cost him.
Penalty: @MartinTruex_Jr too fast on pit road. @KyleBusch wins the race off of pit road once again as we get set for Stage 3 in the #CocaCola600 : https://t.co/byUUyxcWMO pic.twitter.com/8M9nniJLxV — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 28, 2018
8:30 — Kyle Busch is firmly in control of this one. He takes the Stage 2 green-checkered flag.
STAGE WINNER: @KyleBusch gets it done again! Can anyone stop the No. 18?
See who else scored points in the #CocaCola600 : https://t.co/byUUywVlVg pic.twitter.com/ZuwU81vZQn — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 28, 2018
8:24 — Ryan Blaney reporting some engine trouble as he's started dropping spots.
8:16 — After green flag pits get sorted out Kyle Busch finds his way up front again. He's been the clear leader for a majority of this one.
8:08 — Green flag pit stops have started for drivers.
8:04 — William Byron's No. 24 car is headed to the garage.
8:03 — With 50 laps left in Stage 2 not much has changed among the leaders. Kyle Busch is still out front followed by Truex, Larson and Blaney.
7:50 — A quick caution and they're green again. We'll see how long this one lasts.
7:45 — Green flag is back out with 20 laps down in Stage 2 but it doesn't last long. Jimmie Johnson gets bumped and spins in the middle of the pack causing Logano to spin as well. Somehow no other drivers took contact.
7:38 — Williams Byron gets into the wall and takes some heavy damage. They'll go under caution again.
Take another look at the cause for the caution involving @WilliamByron . #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/5O2s2tTKSa — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 27, 2018
7:34 — Back to green for Stage 2 now at CMS.
7:31 — Kyle Busch wins the race off pit road and Landon Cassill gets hit with a penalty and will be forced to the back
7:29 — The top 10 for Stage 1.
7:24 — Kyle Busch holds on to the lead and takes Stage 1. Blaney and Larson followed up behind him.
7:19 — Back to green at CMS. Keselowski missed the pit box as most drivers headed to pit road. He quickly drops to P19 though with 10 laps to go in Stage 1.
7:15 — And it looks like that damage will end Harvick's day and his chance at a sixth win and third straight. He's headed to the garage.
7:11 — Wow. Harvick blows a right front tire and gets into the wall on Turn 3. The caution flag is out.
CAUTION! @KevinHarvick slams the wall in Turn 3.
The 4️⃣ was up to 4th before the incident. #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/TCEv0lMf2d — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 27, 2018
7:05 — Austin Dillon's car is in the garage after taking damage earlier in the race. It looks like the defending winner's day is done.
7:04 — Seventy laps down and 30 to go in Stage 1. It's still Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Larson in the lead but a lot of movement going on within the top 10. Harvick is up to P4 now.
6:51 — They're back to green and it's Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Larson out front. Harvick is all the way up to P6. It only took him 46 laps to do so.
6:41 — Austin Dillon loses a tire and the caution yellow comes out.
6:37 — Parker Kligerman has some trouble with the wall but hangs in there. Logano keeps falling back and was just passed again and falls to P9.
. @pkligerman makes contact with the outside wall, but stays on track and we remain green. #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/eXLYvkJ3Zx — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 27, 2018
6:35 — Some early action going on behind the leaders. Harvick has currently crept his way up to P14.
6:30 — Kyle Busch now back out front. Erik Jones sitting comfortably behind him in P2.
6:24 — It didn't take long for our first lead change here. Logano overtakes Kyle Busch on Lap 1 for the top spot.
6:22 — We are green at CMS. Let's get this going!
6:16 — Bubba Wallace (43) and Landon Cassill (00) forced to the back for unapproved adjustments and inspection issues, respectively.
6:14 — The engines are fired. It's almost time for this marathon race in Charlotte.
6:10 — A special national anthem for Memorial Day weekend.
5:30 — About an hour to go until race time in Charlotte. Driver intro are up now.
Kyle Busch dominated at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night to win his fourth race of the season. With the victory, Busch becomes the first driver in NASCAR history to win a points-paying race at every track on the Cup Series schedule.
"Ever since I was a kid I dreamed of this!" Busch exclaimed on the radio after taking the checkered flag.
The 33-year-old now moves into sole possession of 15th all-time on the wins chart with 47. Next in line for Busch is Hall of Famer Herb Thomas with 48 and Tony Stewart with 49. Richard Petty holds the all-time wins record with 200 and Jimmie Johnson's 83 is the most among active drivers.
Busch led the most overall laps after starting on the pole and swept the stages. The No. 18 team entered the race with the points lead and two stage wins on the season and more than doubled their green-and-white checkered total by the end of the night.
Kevin Harvick started the race from the rear of the field after failing to make a qualifying run, but was able to climb into the top five 68 laps into Stage 1. Unfortunately for the series leader in wins, Harvick blew a tire and hit the wall with less than 20 to go in the stage. He was forced to bring his No. 4 to the garage, ending his day.
2018 Coca-Cola 600 results
Kyle Busch 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 Darrell Wallace Jr. 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
Unofficial NASCAR Cup Series regular season standings
POSITION DRIVER CAR # POINTS BEHIND WINS 1. Kyle Busch 18 573 LEADER 4 2. Joey Logano 22 506 -57 1 3. Kevin Harvick 4 485 -88 5 4. Brad Keselowski 2 437 -136 0 5. Martin Truex Jr. 78 420 -143 1 6. Kurt Busch 41 429 -144 0 7. Denny Hamlin 11 429 -144 0 8. Clint Bowyer 14 421 -152 1 9. Kyle Larson 42 382 -191 0 10. Aric Almirola 10 376 -197 0 11. Ryan Blaney 12 375 -198 0 12. Jimmie Johnson 48 327 -246 0 13. Erik Jones 20 314 -259 0 14. Alex Bowman 88 299 -274 0 15. Chase Elliott 9 296 -277 0 16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 296 -277 0
CUTOFF
17. Paul Menard 21 263 -310 0 18. Daniel Suarez 19 245 -328 0 19. Austin Dillon 3 244 -329 1 20. Jamie McMurray 1 231 -342 0
Stage 1: Harvick crashes out of the race
Kyle Busch started on the pole but was passed on the first lap by Joey Logano for the lead. A few laps later, Busch took the lead back from Logano. As Harvick began making his way up from the rear of the field, Chase Elliott dropped through the back of the pack after reporting a vibration.
Busch continued to expand his lead as Logano fell out of the top 10. Defending race winner Austin Dillon lost a tire on Lap 35, bringing out the first caution of the evening. Busch won the race off pit road as Ryan Newman, who was running inside the top five, was penalized for his pit crew jumping over the wall too soon.
Tough break for Austin Dillon. pic.twitter.com/zTm75ZWUrS — FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 27, 2018
The Daytona 500 champion Dillon wouldn't have much luck after the yellow either as he watched his car go up in smoke on pit road. Dillon had to shut his car off and bring it into the garage for repairs.
68 laps into the race, Harvick finally cracked the top five. Elliott seemed to recover from his issues too, moving up through the field as Kyle Busch continued to hold the top spot. Unfortunately for Harvick, he blew a tire with less than 20 to go in the stage and hit the wall. His damage was so significant that he had to bring his car to the garage and retire from the race.
CAUTION! @KevinHarvick slams the wall in Turn 3.
The 4️⃣ was up to 4th before the incident. #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/TCEv0lMf2d — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 27, 2018
Brad Keselowski missed his pit box under yellow and restarted as the race leader. Unfortunately for him, everyone else around him had four fresh tires and Keselowski dropped like a fly through the field. His on-track adversary, Busch resumed the race lead and drove on to win Stage 1.
Stage 1 results
Kyle Busch (10 points plus 1 playoff point) Ryan Blaney (9 points) Kyle Larson (8 points) Martin Truex Jr. (7 points) Jimmie Johnson (6 points) Aric Almirola (5 points) Clint Bowyer (4 points) Denny Hamlin (3 points) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2 points) Erik Jones (1 point)
Stage 2: Busch continues domination
Busch restarted as the race leader after winning the race off pit road between stages and got out to a hot start. William Byron was having a solid day before losing control and hitting the wall just 15 laps into stage 2. Byron later brought his car to the garage.
Take another look at the cause for the caution involving @WilliamByron.#CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/5O2s2tTKSa — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 27, 2018
On the restart, Busch battled Blaney and Larson for the lead while behind them Hamlin turned Johnson and caused a big wreck involving Logano as well. Despite the spinning, none of the cars took on much damage and all were able to continue.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got green flag pit stops going with 45 to go in the stage. Logano and Kasey Kahne stayed out as long as they could hoping for a caution, but they were eventually caught by Busch, who went on to win the stage. Blaney dealt with some mechanical issues towards the end of the stage but was able to complete it after losing position.
Stage 2 results
Kyle Busch (10 points plus 1 playoff point) Martin Truex Jr. (9 points) Kyle Larson (8 points) Denny Hamlin (7 points) Clint Bowyer (6 points) Aric Almirola (5 points) Chase Elliott (4 points) Jimmie Johnson (3 points) Ryan Newman (2 points) Erik Jones (1 point)
Stage 3: Busch keeps on leading
Truex was caught speeding on pit road between stages and had to drop from second to the end of the lead lap. Busch led on the restart and continued to do his thing in the front of the field before Gray Gaulding went spinning and brought out the seventh caution.
Caution! A spinning Gray Gaulding slows the race. No major damage. #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/hz5boXsUzg — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 28, 2018
Busch won the race off pit road narrowly over Hamlin. Truex again was penalized, this time for an uncontrolled tire and had to restart from the rear of the field. It was all Busch again throughout the stage before Chris Buescher spun out 59 laps into it to bring out another caution.
Again it was Busch who led on the restart however this time around it was Jamie McMurray making moves. McMurray flew up to second place before his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Larson went spinning in Turn 2. Fortunately for Larson, he didn't hit anything and sustained minimal damage.
Kyle Larson NEVER STOPS DRIVING it. Never ever. pic.twitter.com/QJyASZ6KMX — FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 28, 2018
Stenhouse got caught for speeding on pit road and restarted from the rear of the field as Busch led them back to green. As Kyle Busch held off his brother Kurt Busch, Blaney saw his car go up in flames. He had reported electrical issues earlier in the race and said over the radio he would drive until his car blew up. His car did in fact blow up.
Ryan Blaney's car lit up like a marshmallow over a campfire pic.twitter.com/Vqy6c92x0z — Matthew Mayer (@MatthewMayerCBS) May 28, 2018
Busch had no problem restarting from the lead again, driving on to win his third stage of the day.
Stage 3 results
Kyle Busch (10 points plus 1 playoff point) Erik Jones (9 points) Brad Keselowski (8 points) Kurt Busch (7 points) Jamie McMurray (6 points) Denny Hamlin (5 points) Kasey Kahne (4 points) Martin Truex Jr. (3 points) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2 points) Ryan Newman (1 point)
Final Stage: Busch seals the deal
Stenhouse was again penalized for an uncontrolled tire between stages. After Busch led them to green, Ryan Newman brought his car into the garage with tire issues. Newman was running fifth at the time and was en route to one of his strongest finishes of the season.
Green flag pit stops began with 60 to go in the race however Busch and the other Toyotas out front stayed on the track for an extra 10 laps. When Busch cycled back to the lead, it was Keselowski three seconds behind him in the rearview. Jones was penalized this time around for an uncontrolled tire and had to serve a pass-through penalty.
Much like the rest of the race, Busch was untouchable after taking the lead. Once green flag pit stops wrapped up, it was Busch who easily drove onto become the first driver in NASCAR history to record wins at every track on the schedule.
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