Daniel Suarez wins the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway – Team Chevy Photo
· In the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600, Daniel Suarez capitalized
on a clutch late-race two-tire pit strategy to earn his first crown
jewel victory in NASCAR’s premier series. The victory marks
Chevrolet’s second-straight, and 27th all-time, triumph in the crown
jewel event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
· The Monterrey, Mexico, native drove Chevrolet to its
fourth-consecutive trip to victory lane in NASCAR’s premier series,
setting the season record for the longest points-paying win streak by a
single manufacturer with 13 races complete.
RACE RECAP:
Stage One:
With inclement weather altering Saturday’s on-track schedule, the
lineup for the 67th running of the Coca-Cola 600 was set by the
rulebook, putting Shane van Gisbergen and Michael McDowell on the second
row to lead Team Chevy to the green flag. The first green flag run saw
the majority of the lead pack settle into their starting positions,
quickly approaching lap traffic when the first caution of the day flew
at Lap 34. Maintaining a top-10 position for the opening run, the 2017
Coca-Cola winner, Austin Dillon, gave an initial report that he was
overall happy with the handling of his No. 3 Chevrolet, resulting in a
call for just four tires and fuel under the caution by crew chief
Richard Boswell.
Kyle Larson turned an 18th-place starting spot into a climb to 11th when
the caution flag flew, and with a three-position gain in the race off
pit road by the No. 5 pit crew, Larson made his first appearance in the
top-10 of the day when the reigning champion inherited the eighth
position for the restart. While the next green flag run was short,
another trip to pit road saw a mix bag of strategy among the leaders.
Electing for another set of four fresh Goodyear tires by crew chief
Cliff Daniels, Larson was able to continue his progressive climb through
the field with a steady position in the top-five. Yet another caution
flew with less than 10 laps to go in the stage, setting up the
opportunity to employ a new pit strategy. With a call for four tires and
fuel from atop the No. 5 box, Larson took advantage of the fresh rubber
on the restart to make a powerhouse move towards the front and enter
into the battle for the lead with Denny Hamlin, ultimately going on to
lead Team Chevy to the stage win.
Stage Two:
Electing to stay out during the first stage break, Larson kept his
position at the top of the leaderboard to lead the field to the green
flag for Stage Two. A long green flag run opened the next 100-lap
segment with Larson continuing to be a fixture in the top-five. The
first green flag pit cycle of the race was on the horizon near the
midway point of the stage. Larson was among the first group of cars to
get the call to hit pit road, and once the cycle was completed, the team
found themselves back up in the fourth position. Going caution-free for
the second-half of the stage, tire wear began to affect the handling of
Larson’s Chevrolet, but he was able to hang on to earn fifth-place
points in Stage Two.
(HHP/Jacy Norgaard) – Team Chevy Photo
Stage Three:
Larson’s average running position in the top-five continued throughout
Stage Three, only falling out of the lead pack for a brief single-digit
lap count during the green flag pit cycle. Also driving to
points-earning efforts in both of the first-two stages, Van Gisbergen
and Stenhouse Jr. kept their cars in position to give three Chevrolet
organizations representation in the top-10 throughout Stage Three.
Larson went on to lead Chevrolet to the green-white checkered flag,
becoming one of three drivers to earn top-five points in each of the
first-three stages.
Final Stage:
After a trip down pit road during the final stage break, the No. 5 pit
crew kept their driver in the fifth position to take the green flag to
mark 88 laps to go in the race. But a short green flag run saw varying
pit strategies among the leaders, with Van Gisbergen being one of the
two drivers that opted to stay out for track position and a position on
the front row for the restart. A masterful restart for the Auckland, New
Zealand, native saw the No. 97 Chevrolet take the top position on Lap
328 to lead their first laps of the race. But it was a clutch two-tire
call by crew chief Ryan Sparks that gave Daniel Suarez a front-row
position for a pair of late-race restarts. Sitting in the top position
when rain took over the 1.5-mile oval, Suarez went on to capture his
first career Coca-Cola 600 victory.
Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 Results
Pos. Driver
1st – Daniel Suarez
5th – Kyle Larson
9th – William Byron
Chevrolet’s season statistics with 13 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 5
Poles: 3
Top-Fives: 24
Top 10s: 47
Stage Wins: 11
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Nashville Superspeedway
with the Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday, May 31, at 7 p.m. ET. Live
coverage can be found on Amazon Prime, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Channel 90.
Post-Race Driver Quotes:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in the final stage.
Finished: 35th
“I’m not really sure what happened. We were on the straightaway and
the last I saw in my camera was that the No. 47 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.)
had a run. He went to go to the inside of me and hit me in the back
bumper. It turned me right into the wall and then I hit the ROVAL
chicane wall, which is the worst thing you could hit. Just an
unfortunate way to end the night in our Jockey Chevrolet.”
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 5th
“The No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team did a great job tonight. I
thought we made the most out of it. We got a stage win there early.
Other than that, I thought we had the fifth- or sixth-best car behind
the Gibbs cars. I thought the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) and I were pretty
equal, but better at different points of the run. My pit crew did a
really good job all night. They were extremely solid. I thought
everything was going as good as it could. The restarts could have played
out a little differently there at the end. I don’t really know what I
could have done differently. Overall, just happy for this entire No. 5
HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team. It’s cool to get Chevrolet a win
today. We’ll keep trying to build on this.
Daniel (Suarez, race winner) earned that win. He had to hold off some
extremely good cars behind him. Super happy for Daniel, Jeff Dickerson
and everyone at Spire Motorsports. It was really cool and definitely
meant to be. It was super special.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 1st
What a call by Ryan Sparks, but you’ve got to give the driver a lot of
credit on those several restarts. I know you said on our pre-race show,
you’ve thought about it since Thursday, how badly did you want this one
for Kyle Busch?
“It really means a lot. 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.”
You mentioned your championship. In some ways, is this win more
meaningful than that?
“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.”
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage One.
Finished: 37th
“I just made a mistake, spun out and hit the wall, unfortunately. I
hate it. It’s been a terrible race, I feel like, throughout the course
of my career, just crashed a bunch. Just a lot of race left. I was
trying to find something. We were bleeding pretty bad, and I moved up to
the top there, trying to click off some faster laps and, yeah, I made a
mistake, stepped over the line and paid the price.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 18th
“I felt like we got pretty much everything we could out of the No. 16
Black’s Tire Chevrolet. We really struggled on restarts. The dirty air
was really bad. I thought our clean air pace was decent, but we would
lose so much on the restarts no matter what lane I would choose. It was
just a struggle. We got the free pass there that probably saved our
race. We just need more speed in our racecars. I’m proud of everyone
on this team. We’re trying, but it’s just hard. I thought we
maximized the day. I thought we would be maybe one or two spots better,
but we weren’t much better than that.”
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 14th
“It’s amazing to see my teammate, Daniel Suarez, get the win. It was
a great call there by Ryan Sparks (crew chief for the No. 7 team) to
take two-tires and get track position. Just really happy for everyone at
Spire Motorsports. That’s two wins this year for the organization. The
No. 71 Modo Casino Chevrolet team had a good run today, too. We lost a
few spots on that last restart, but I felt really good about our speed
tonight.”
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage One.
Finished: 39th
“I saw the No. 2 (Austin Cindric) spinning quite aways in front of me.
As soon as I hit the apron, I was just going too fast to really be able
to maneuver the car. I got loose and ended up getting clipped in the
right-rear. It’s really unfortunate for our No. 88 Red Bull Chevrolet
team. I felt like we made a good adjustment on that last pit stop. We
just have to keep our heads down and it’ll turn around.”
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 11th
“It’s hard. 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.”
You said you had some balance issues early in the race, but you were
ripping the fence like you’ve been doing it for decades. How was that
experience for you?
“I was just a little bit tight. When the track was fresh after every
restart, I couldn’t find good speed in dirty air. But when it migrated
to the top, my No. 97 SuperFile Chevrolet came alive. My late-run speed
was really good because I started tight. Some restarts were good, and
others, I was putting myself in bad spots. But overall, it was a lot of
fun.”