Chaotic Coca-Cola 600 on the Charlotte oval: Denny Hamlin wins after two overtimes – rollover by Chris Buescher – mass crash with twelve cars
Denny Hamlin (Gibbs-Toyota) won a scrappy Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night. The longest race of the NASCAR Cup season at 600 miles saw a multitude of spins and crashes, most of which were once again caused by tyre problems. Those, in turn, were caused in some cases by rear suspension problems.
The three most spectacular scenes over the course of the four 100-lap segments occurred in the second and fourth segments. First it was a mass crash with twelve cars in Stage 2, then in the final segment (Stage 4) it was a rollover by Chris Buescher (RFK-Ford) and finally another crash with several cars in the leading group. Everything went smoothly.
In the end, the race went over 619.5 miles due to overtime. There were 18 yellow phases. There had only been more cautions in the Coca-Cola 600 once before, namely in the chaos race of the 2005 season with no less than 22.
The winner of the similarly chaotic race in 2022 after a race duration of 5:13 hours was the driver who started the race from the pole: Denny Hamlin. For him it is the second win of the season after Richmond and his first triumph in the Coca-Cola 600.
For the first time this season, Denny Hamlin started a race from the pole. It was the 34th pole in Hamlin’s Cup career, making him the most successful among the active drivers. Hamlin won the start, Kurt Busch (23XI-Toyota) held off early, but the first lead laps went to Hamlin.
Early spin by Kyle Busch in battle for the lead
Even before the first pit stop, Kyle Busch (Gibbs-Toyota) took the lead. But when Daniel Suarez (Trackhouse-Chevrolet) attacked on the inside lane, Busch spun. But Suarez also failed to make it across the line as the first stage winner of the night.
The 1️⃣8️⃣ spins while battling for the lead! pic.twitter.com/LntKfgMBue
– NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 29, 2022
Because the last pit stop in this first of four race segments, Chase Elliott (Hendrick-Chevrolet) was dispatched the fastest. As a result, Elliott took the Stage 1 win ahead of Tyler Reddick (Childress-Chevrolet) and Christopher Bell (Gibbs-Toyota).
The second segment was initially dominated by Chase Elliott, later by Ross Chastain (Trackhouse-Chevrolet) after he had passed Elliott on one of the restarts. The Stage 1 winner retired a little later after wall contact. And shortly afterwards there was a mass crash.
Mass crash with twelve cars in Stage 2
Trigger for the “Big One” with twelve cars: Ryan Blaney (Penske-Ford) had gone off track on another of the numerous restarts. Apart from Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Noah Gragson, Martin Truex Jr, Matt DiBenedetto, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Michael McDowell, Todd Gilliland and Kurt Busch were also more or less permanently involved.
Big trouble in Turns 1 and 2! @Blaney, @KurtBusch and @keselowski are among those collected! pic.twitter.com/fTV2NNJSIV
– NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 30, 2022
Stage 2 was finally won by Daniel Suarez ahead of Trackhouse teammate Ross Chastain and ahead of Erik Jones (Petty/GMS-Chevrolet). The third race segment was then a comparatively quiet one with only three yellows (including the stage caution). Chastain took the Stage 3 win ahead of Chase Briscoe (Stewart/Haas-Ford) and Kyle Larson (Hendrick-Chevrolet), who started from the back of the field.
Hit by Chris Buescher in Stage 4
The final race segment saw the biggest scare of the night. In the battle for fourth position, Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe had touched at start/finish level. Suarez spun and was caught by Todd Gilliland (Front Row Ford). The spinning Trackhouse-Chevy of Suarez could not be avoided by Chris Buescher (RFK-Ford), who was already in a spin.
Buescher’s turquoise-coloured Ford Mustang was stuck on the grass of the infield. It was lifted by a part that had broken off shortly before during the spin. The car rolled over several times and came to rest on its roof. The red flag came out. And after the car was very carefully turned back onto its wheels by means of a crane and several safety personnel, Buescher got out under his own power.
Here is a look at the accident midway through the final stage at @CLTMotorSpdwy pic.twitter.com/msDdFeeoJ9
– NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 30, 2022
During a routine check at the track’s medical centre, Buescher was found to have no injuries. Minutes after the rollover, he was ready for the interview. “It did hurt a little bit,” said the Texan, adding, “I had a good car, but unfortunately got involved in this situation. “
Late spin by Chase Briscoe in battle for the lead
The supposed duel for the win was between Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe after they both got past Ross Chastain. With 13 laps to go, chasing Briscoe was right on top of leader Larson but couldn’t get past at first.
With four laps to go, Briscoe tried but had to get in line again. On the penultimate lap, the next attempt – and it went wrong. Briscoe spun in Turn 1 when he lost control on the inside lane next to Larson. There was no contact between the two cars.
Wow. Just wow. pic.twitter.com/adIGOh7ffq
– NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 30, 2022
The result of Briscoe’s spin was that what was already the longest race of the season also went into overtime. It was off to the pits for two fresh tyres one last time. Kyle Larson left the pit lane in the lead, just ahead of Ross Chastain.
Lead group crash in overtime
At the overtime restart, Larson chose the inside lane, Chastain lined up on the outside. Joey Logano (Penske-Ford) and Ricky Stenhouse (JTG-Chevrolet), who had been mostly inconspicuous up to that point, formed up on the second row. Larson got off to the best start. But then things got turbulent.
On the inside lane of the back straight, Austin Dillon (Childress-Chevrolet) shot up with fresh tyres. Exiting Turn 4, Larson found himself in the middle of a three-wide situation – and it didn’t go well. Larson caught Dillon and he spun in front of the field. Apart from Dillon, Larson and Logano also spun, while Chastain just managed to avoid a spin. There was the 18th and final caution period.
– NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 30, 2022
The second overtime restart saw Denny Hamlin leading on the inside and the amazing Ross Chastain back on the outside of the front row. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick (Stewart/Haas-Ford) lined up on the second row.
Hamlin led, but was pushed hard by Gibbs teammate Kyle Busch at the start of the last lap. Hamlin just managed to hold on to the lead. And one lap later, the driver of the 11 Gibbs Toyota, who had started from pole more than five hours earlier, actually had the win in the bag.
Kyle Busch was second, Kevin Harvick third. The top 5 of the chaos race was completed by Chase Briscoe after his late spin and Christopher Bell. Kyle Larson still finished ninth after his very late spin.
The next stop on the calendar is a premiere. Next Sunday (5 June), NASCAR’s top league will make its first guest appearance on the 1.25-mile oval at Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis, which is familiar from the IndyCar Series.
