Coca-Cola 600: Daniel Suárez earns emotional, hard-fought Charlotte victory

CONCORD, N.C. — Spire Motorsports driver Daniel Suárez earned an emotional, hard-fought NASCAR Cup Series victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway after the race was shortened due to weather.

Suárez’s No. 7 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet team made a strategy call with 44 laps to go to take two tires after a brief lightning caution, while the rest of the field decided to take four tires. After a few more restarts and cautions for rain, Suárez held his own up front until it started downpouring with 26 laps to go, effectively ending the 600-mile race and giving Suárez his third career Cup Series win.

As a former Kyle Busch Motorsports driver in the Craftsman Truck Series, Suárez dedicated his victory to two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who passed away unexpectedly last Thursday due to complications of severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.

“It really means a lot,” Suárez said. “I’ve been saying for years this is my favorite race of the year. I get to have my family here every year. It’s been a very tough week. Kyle (Busch), he was special, man. This one is for Kyle, Samantha, Brexton, Lennix, all his family. This win is for him. If it wasn’t for Kyle, I wasn’t going to be an Xfinity champion. I wasn’t going to have my shot in the Cup Series. To win this race for him is unbelievable.

“Every win is special, but it’s been a second, right? To win for Spire Motorsports, with Freeway Insurance on the car, it’s just unbelievable. The team did an amazing job. It wasn’t easy. We had a lot of issues throughout the race. They put us in contention, and we executed well. I want to thank all of our partners; Chevrolet, the Hendrick Engine Shop, there’s so many people that makes this program as successful as it is.”

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell seemed to have the car to beat after he overcame two pit-road penalties and had his car come to life toward the end of Stage 3. Bell fought hard, leading 44 laps en route to a runner-up finish.

“I knew after the first restart that he (Suárez) couldn’t get clear,” Bell said. “I knew that we would have to stay beside him and I couldn’t. He cleared me and once he cleared me, I knew it was going to be a really tough pass with it being a short run. He was going to block like hell, and he did a good job blocking and won the race. It is the opposite of what happened to me when I won. I honestly think they made the right call. It is really late, but it is a bummer. It is 2026 for us.”

Bell’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin was also one of the drivers to beat all race long during the Coke 600. Hamlin led 75 laps and finished fourth in Stage 1, first in Stage 2 and second in Stage 3, earning a race-high 60 points en route to a third-place finish in NASCAR’s longest race.

“Every time it got called, we were on the bottom about to make a move on the 7 (Suárez),” Hamlin said about the finish. “Me and the 20 (Bell) were fighting really hard. We knew whoever could get clear could make a move on the 7. I don’t know. It could rain till 2 am. We have no idea. Just unfortunate for us. We had a really fast National Debt Relief Camry all day. We got really good restarts when I really needed them there at the end. Just didn’t pan out. I couldn’t quite clear the 20.”

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick led the most laps (119) and spent almost the entirety of the event inside the top eight. Reddick, who now leads the Cup Series standings by 122 points, finished fourth to earn his ninth top-five finish of the 2026 season.

“It is a 600-mile race,” Reddick said. “It’s tough, it is grueling, and you want to finish it out in the end. Twice, I’ve been in this spot where I felt like we had a car that I think could have won the race. A couple of years ago, it was just past halfway, and it started on pit road. This year, it was much more of a clean race, but man, I just didn’t have a couple of good restarts at the end. Just gutted. I want to win this race so bad for this Mobil 1, O’Reilly Auto Parts Toyota team. One of the biggest races we have on our schedule. I really want to win it. Yes, it is a good points day, but there are a couple of the schedule that it is not about the points — winning crown jewels.

“Just gutted we didn’t see the race end,” Reddick added. “On the other hand, thoughts and prayers are with the Busch family and what they are going through. I hope this weekend and the racing and the support they saw from everyone in the racing community helps them move forward. One hand there is that, but on the more important hand, I hope this weekend helps them and their path forward.”

Results from the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedwayare listed below:

NASCAR Legend Kyle Busch Passes Away

The NASCAR community experienced a traumatic loss on Thursday, May 21, as two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch passed away at age 41 due to severe pneumonia that later turned into sepsis.

The loss of Busch, who had just won the Craftsman Truck Series race at Dover Motor Speedway just six days before his unexpected death, hit the entire NASCAR world super hard.

Busch was honored in numerous ways during the NASCAR spring race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Richard Childress Racing announced that they have decided to take Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet off the track, out of respect for the late driver, and replace it with the No. 33 until Busch’s son, Brexton Busch, is ready to take over the No. 8 when he makes it to the Cup Series.

NASCAR also held multiple tributes for one of the sport’s greatest drivers, and many competitors shared their thoughts on the 234-time NASCAR national series race winner.

In a Sunday evening surprise, the Busch family was in attendance at the Coca-Cola 600, just 72 hours after losing the husband and father of two. Busch’s widow, Samantha, children Brexton and Lennix, brother Kurt and parents Tom and Gaye were all at Charlotte Motor Speedway to honor their fallen loved one.

NASCAR fans honored Busch on Lap 8, his last Cup Series car number before his passing.

NASCAR will continue to honor the late Busch throughout the 2026 season and for the foreseeable future.

Other Race Facts

Daniel Suárez was one of many drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series field who previously raced for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He was also teammates with Busch when he raced for Joe Gibbs Racing. KBM used to operate out of the current Spire Motorsports shop, where Suárez currently races. Suárez earned the Coca-Cola 600 victory in Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 car, while Busch earned his final career NASCAR win driving the No. 7 Spire Motorsports truck.

Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota overall were the heavy favorites throughout the Coca-Cola 600. In fact, at the end of Stage 3, Joe Gibbs Racing had all four of its Toyotas inside the top four. Christopher Bell won the stage, Denny Hamlin was second, Ty Gibbs was third and Chase Briscoe was fourth.

Trackhouse Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen almost had a top-10 finish and a possible oval victory after leading for 11 laps during a period of late-race uncertainty while rain and lightning were around the area. Van Gisbergen went on to finish 11th, but had one of his best performances on an oval, scoring 33 points and earning stage points in all three stages.

“It’s hard,” van Gisbergen said about his day. “I had an amazing day, but I’m pissed. We were a top-five or six car, but we just didn’t execute at the end. It was really cool to run up front all day. We were gifted a good starting position with qualifying getting canceled. It was a good call by Stephen (Doran, crew chief) to stay out there. It was awesome to be able to lead some laps.”

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson showed tons of pace all race long and was the only Chevrolet driver that contended up toward the front until the SVG and Daniel Suárez strategy calls bundled up the racing order. Larson, in his first Coca-Cola 600 not doing “The Double” since 2023, finished in fifth and earned 54 points.

Speaking of “The Double,” Katherine Legge became the first woman and non-American driver to ever race in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Unfortunately for Legge, she had terrible luck in both races, as she was caught up in an accident less than 20 laps into the Indy 500 and struggled in the Coca-Cola 600, even losing a wheel at one point. Legge finished 33rd at Indy and 31st at Charlotte, completing 584 miles of the 1,059.50 miles run (55%).

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