2026 Coca-Cola 600
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 13 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | May 24, 2026 | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, U.S. | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 373 laps, 559.5 mi (895.2 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (965.6 km) | ||
| Weather | Mostly cloudy 80 °F (27 °C) | ||
| Average speed | 119.921 miles per hour (192.994 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | 23XI Racing | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | |
| Laps | 119 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Time | 29.667 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 7 | Daniel Suárez | Spire Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Prime Video | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Steve Letarte | ||
| Nielsen ratings | 1.07 (2.649 million) | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Brad Gillie and Alex Hayden | ||
| Turn announcers | Andrew Kurland (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 Coca-Cola 600 was an NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on May 24, 2026, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina and the 67th running of the event. Originally scheduled for 400 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt speedway, the race was shortened to 373 laps due to rain. It was the 13th race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as the second of the four crown jewel races.
Daniel Suárez won the race, his first win of the season and the third of his career. Christopher Bell finished 2nd, and Denny Hamlin finished 3rd. Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five, and Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, William Byron, and Zane Smith rounded out the top ten.
Report
[edit]Background
[edit]
The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, located in Concord, North Carolina. The speedway complex includes a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) quad-oval track is 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.
- Storylines
For the third year in a row, a driver attempted to complete the "Double Duty," as Katherine Legge attempted to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.[7][8] After crashing out early in the Indianapolis 500, Legge reached Charlotte and raced the Coca-Cola 600, finishing the latter 12 laps behind the winner and in 31st place, last among cars still in the race.[9]
Kyle Busch was scheduled to race but died on May 21, from complications with pneumonia three-days prior; Austin Hill raced in Busch's stead, RCR later changed the number 8 to number 33 and announced that the number 8 would be reserved for his son when he begins his NASCAR Cup career.[10][11] During pre-race, NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell honored the late driver with a moment of silence, a missing man formation during the pace laps, as well as a silent lap on lap 8.[12] Busch was also remembered at the Indianapolis 500 earlier that day.[13]
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
[edit]Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.069 seconds and a speed of 185.765 mph (298.960 km/h).
Practice results
[edit]| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.069 | 185.765 |
| 2 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.175 | 185.090 |
| 3 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.200 | 184.932 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying for the race was canceled due to inclement weather. Tyler Reddick was awarded the pole for the race as a result of NASCAR's pandemic formula with a score of 3.800.[15]
Starting lineup
[edit]Race
[edit]Race results
[edit]Stage results
[edit]Stage One Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage Three Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Final Stage results
[edit]Stage Four Laps: 73 (shortened by rain)
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | 7 | Daniel Suárez | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 373 | 55 |
| 2 | 17 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 373 | 50 |
| 3 | 11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 373 | 60 |
| 4 | 1 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 373 | 53 |
| 5 | 18 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 373 | 54 |
| 6 | 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 373 | 53 |
| 7 | 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 373 | 41 |
| 8 | 33 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 373 | 29 |
| 9 | 31 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 373 | 28 |
| 10 | 19 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 373 | 27 |
| 11 | 3 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 373 | 33 |
| 12 | 32 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 373 | 29 |
| 13 | 21 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 373 | 30 |
| 14 | 4 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 373 | 23 |
| 15 | 26 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 373 | 25 |
| 16 | 22 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 373 | 21 |
| 17 | 29 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 373 | 20 |
| 18 | 10 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 373 | 19 |
| 19 | 39 | 67 | Corey Heim (i) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 373 | 0 |
| 20 | 20 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 373 | 17 |
| 21 | 30 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 372 | 16 |
| 22 | 24 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 372 | 15 |
| 23 | 23 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 372 | 14 |
| 24 | 28 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 372 | 13 |
| 25 | 35 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 372 | 12 |
| 26 | 15 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 372 | 11 |
| 27 | 13 | 33 | Austin Hill (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 372 | 0 |
| 28 | 38 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 371 | 9 |
| 29 | 34 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 371 | 8 |
| 30 | 7 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 367 | 10 |
| 31 | 37 | 78 | Katherine Legge | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet | 361 | 6 |
| 32 | 9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 338 | 5 |
| 33 | 12 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 328 | 7 |
| 34 | 5 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 328 | 27 |
| 35 | 27 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 317 | 2 |
| 36 | 36 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | Garage 66 | Ford | 291 | 0 |
| 37 | 16 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 1 |
| 38 | 8 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 52 | 1 |
| 39 | 25 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 52 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
[edit]- Lead changes: 32 among 13 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 12 for 75 laps
- Red flags: 2 for inclement weather
- Time of race: 4 hours, 39 minutes, and 56 seconds
- Average speed: 119.921 miles per hour (192.994 km/h)
Media
[edit]Television
[edit]Prime Video covered the race on the television side. Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Kim Coon, Marty Snider, and Trevor Bayne handled pit road for the television side.
| Prime Video | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Adam Alexander Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Color-commentator: Steve Letarte | Kim Coon Marty Snider Trevor Bayne |
Radio
[edit]Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by the Performance Racing Network (PRN), and was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Brad Gillie and Alex Hayden called the race in the booth when the field races through the quad-oval. Andrew Kurland called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field raced 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. Wendy Venturini, Brett McMillan, and Alan Cavanna were the pit reporters during the broadcast.
| PRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Brad Gillie Announcer: Alex Hayden | Turns 1 & 2: Andrew Kurland Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson | Wendy Venturini Brett McMillan Alan Cavanna |
Standings after the race
[edit]
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References
[edit]- ↑ "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Charlotte Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 18, 2026. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Coca Cola 600 Results". Racing-Reference. May 24, 2026. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 24, 2026. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ DeGroot, Nick (May 13, 2026). "Katherine Legge secures last-minute deal to attempt Indy 500/Coke 600 Double next week". Motorsport.com. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
- ↑ "Katherine Legge to attempt historic 'Double' at Indianapolis 500, Coca-Cola 600". NASCAR. May 13, 2026. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
- ↑ "Katherine Legge calls Double attempt a "calamity of errors" after tough Coke 600". www.motorsport.com. May 25, 2026. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Kyle Busch to miss Charlotte races this weekend due to illness". Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 21, 2026. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
- ↑ Page, Scott (May 21, 2026). "Sad News: Kyle Busch has passed away at 41". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
- ↑ "From Raleigh to Charlotte, fans remember Kyle Busch ahead of Coca-Cola 600". ABC 11. May 24, 2026.
- ↑ "2-time NASCAR champion Kyle Busch receives tributes at Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500". Associated Press. May 24, 2026.
- ↑ "2026 600 Miles of Remembrance". NASCAR.com. May 24, 2026. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ DeGroot, Nick (May 23, 2026). "Coca-Cola 600 starting lineup: NASCAR Cup qualifying canceled due to rain". Motorsport.com. Charlotte, North Carolina: Motorsport Network. Retrieved May 23, 2026.