2018 Coca-Cola 600

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 13 of 36 in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
2018 Coca-Cola 600 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date	May 27, 2018 (2018-05-27)
Location	Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance	400 laps, 600 mi (960 km)
Average speed	136.692 miles per hour (219.984 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Time	28.149
Most laps led
Driver	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	377
Winner
No. 18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings	2.3/2.4 (Overnight)[10]
Radio in the United States
Radio	PRN
Booth Announcers	Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini
Turn Announcers	Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4)

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

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).^[11]

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).^[12]

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).^[13]

Race

Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 100

Stage 2 Laps: 100

Stage 3 Laps: 100

Final Stage Results

Stage 4 Laps: 100

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.

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.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings 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

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 472 2 Toyota 467 (–5) 3 Chevrolet 416 (–56) Official manufacturers' standings Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.