2018 Coca-Cola 600
# 2018 Coca-Cola 600

The 2018 Coca-Cola 600, the 59th running of the event, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 27, 2018 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.42 km) asphalt speedway, it is the 13th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

## Report

### Background

The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is located in Concord, North Carolina. The speedway complex includes a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) quad-oval track that will be utilized for the race, as well as a dragstrip and a dirt track. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams based in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith serving as track president.

**Entry list**

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| - | - | - | - |
| 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 7 | J. J. Yeley (i) | NY Racing Team | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Bubba Wallace (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 55 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota |
| 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet |
| 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| Official entry list ||||

## First practice

Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.401 seconds and a speed of 190.134 mph (305.991 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.401 | 190.134 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 28.470 | 189.673 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 28.506 | 189.434 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.149 and a speed of 191.836 mph (308.730 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.407 | 28.185 | 28.149 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 28.510 | 28.379 | 28.240 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.539 | 28.360 | 28.265 |
| 4 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.425 | 28.555 | 28.288 |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 28.565 | 28.590 | 28.338 |
| 6 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.579 | 28.408 | 28.391 |
| 7 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.267 | 28.433 | 28.430 |
| 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 28.463 | 28.387 | 28.437 |
| 9 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.741 | 28.448 | 28.465 |
| 10 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.662 | 28.591 | 28.465 |
| 11 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.629 | 28.461 | 28.580 |
| 12 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.626 | 28.560 | 28.712 |
| 13 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.542 | 28.595 | — |
| 14 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 28.519 | 28.601 | — |
| 15 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 28.632 | 28.620 | — |
| 16 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.481 | 28.668 | — |
| 17 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.685 | 28.726 | — |
| 18 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.652 | 28.738 | — |
| 19 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.756 | 28.796 | — |
| 20 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 28.734 | 28.815 | — |
| 21 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.722 | 28.835 | — |
| 22 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.588 | 28.860 | — |
| 23 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.652 | 28.935 | — |
| 24 | 43 | Bubba Wallace (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.673 | 29.061 | — |
| 25 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.781 | — | — |
| 26 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 28.787 | — | — |
| 27 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.801 | — | — |
| 28 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.834 | — | — |
| 29 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.894 | — | — |
| 30 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.921 | — | — |
| 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 29.025 | — | — |
| 32 | 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 29.173 | — | — |
| 33 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.484 | — | — |
| 34 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 29.486 | — | — |
| 35 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 29.513 | — | — |
| 36 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 29.963 | — | — |
| 37 | 55 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.172 | — | — |
| 38 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 30.383 | — | — |
| 39 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 0.000 | — | — |
| 40 | 7 | J. J. Yeley (i) | NY Racing Team | Chevrolet | 0.000 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Practice (post-qualifying)

### Second practice

Second practice session for Saturday was cancelled due to weather.

### Final practice

Erik Jones was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.870 seconds and a speed of 187.045 mph (301.020 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.870 | 187.045 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.929 | 186.664 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 29.016 | 186.104 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race

### Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 100

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||

Stage 2 Laps: 100

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

Stage 3 Laps: 100

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage three results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage 4 Laps: 100

| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 70 |
| 2 | 15 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 400 | 54 |
| 3 | 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 49 |
| 4 | 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 41 |
| 5 | 23 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 41 |
| 6 | 7 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 37 |
| 7 | 11 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 46 |
| 8 | 16 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 36 |
| 9 | 27 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 28 |
| 10 | 13 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 399 | 31 |
| 11 | 22 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 30 |
| 12 | 28 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 399 | 35 |
| 13 | 9 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 399 | 34 |
| 14 | 14 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 399 | 23 |
| 15 | 10 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 399 | 22 |
| 16 | 24 | 43 | Bubba Wallace (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 21 |
| 17 | 17 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 399 | 20 |
| 18 | 29 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 399 | 19 |
| 19 | 4 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 399 | 29 |
| 20 | 26 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 21 |
| 21 | 20 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 16 |
| 22 | 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 399 | 15 |
| 23 | 30 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 14 |
| 24 | 25 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 |
| 25 | 19 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 396 | 12 |
| 26 | 33 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 396 | 11 |
| 27 | 32 | 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 394 | 0 |
| 28 | 35 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 394 | 9 |
| 29 | 18 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 394 | 8 |
| 30 | 37 | 55 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 389 | 7 |
| 31 | 34 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 388 | 6 |
| 32 | 36 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 383 | 0 |
| 33 | 38 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 373 | 0 |
| 34 | 12 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 348 | 3 |
| 35 | 6 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 344 | 5 |
| 36 | 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 278 | 10 |
| 37 | 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 257 | 1 |
| 38 | 40 | 7 | J. J. Yeley (i) | NY Racing Team | Chevrolet | 191 | 0 |
| 39 | 21 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 139 | 1 |
| 40 | 39 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 83 | 1 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 4 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 11 for 54
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 4 hours, 23 minutes and 22 seconds
* Average speed: 136.692 miles per hour (219.984 km/h)

## Media

### Television

Fox Sports televised the race in the United States for the eighteenth consecutive year. Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while three-time Coca-Cola 600 winner, Jeff Gordon and five-time race winner Darrell Waltrip were the color commentators. Jamie Little, Regan Smith, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum reported from pit lane during the race.

Fox Television :

| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip | Jamie Little Regan Smith Vince Welch Matt Yocum |

### Radio

Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by the Performance Racing Network (PRN), and was simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race in the booth when the field raced through the quad-oval. Rob Albright reported the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field was racing through turns 1 and 2 and halfway down the backstretch. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through the other half of the backstretch and through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Steve Richards were the pit reporters during the broadcast.

PRN Radio :

| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - | - |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow Announcer: Wendy Venturini | Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson | Brad Gillie Brett McMilan Jim Noble Steve Richards |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1 | Kyle Busch | 573 |
| | 2 | Joey Logano | 506 (–67) |
| | 3 | Kevin Harvick | 485 (–88) |
| | 4 | Brad Keselowski | 437 (–136) |
| 3 | 5 | Martin Truex Jr. | 430 (–143) |
| 1 | 6 | Kurt Busch | 429 (–144) |
| | 7 | Denny Hamlin | 429 (–144) |
| 2 | 8 | Clint Bowyer | 421 (–152) |
| 1 | 9 | Kyle Larson | 382 (–191) |
| 1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | 376 (–197) |
| 2 | 11 | Ryan Blaney | 375 (–198) |
| | 12 | Jimmie Johnson | 327 (–246) |
| | 13 | Erik Jones | 314 (–259) |
| | 14 | Alex Bowman | 299 (–274) |
| | 15 | Chase Elliott | 296 (–277) |
| | 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 296 (–277) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| | 1 | Ford | 472 |
| | 2 | Toyota | 467 (–5) |
| | 3 | Chevrolet | 416 (–56) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||
