CONCORD, N.C. — For the first time in the team’s storied history, Team Penske swept the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same year.
First to triumph was Josef Newgarden in the NTT IndyCar Series.
On Sunday afternoon at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Tennessee native put his No. 2 entry ahead of Marcus Ericsson during the one-lap dash to the finish line, securing his first Indy 500 crown.
Ryan Blaney was next in line.
On Monday night at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Blaney conquered the NASCAR Cup Series field during the Coca-Cola 600, collecting the checkered flag with a .663-second gap over Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron.
“Watching Josef win his first one, and watching Mr. Penske win No. 19 — especially when that stuff happens, it’s like, the pressure’s on for us to sweep the weekend,” Blaney said. “That was the goal and fortunately we executed well enough to get it done. I’m really looking forward to talking to Roger once I get done and get back to the bus … I look forward to hearing his voice.”
Monday night marked Blaney’s first career win at the 400-lap race, though his personal roots run much deeper at the event.
Some of his fondest childhood memories involve visiting the speedway to watch his dad, former Cup Series driver Dave Blaney, race in the 600-mile endurance test, adding another layer of meaning to the young Blaney’s triumph.
“Really cool for my parents to be here as well, that was a special moment,” Blaney said.
Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick completed the top five.
Stage One — William Byron
The 64th running of the Coca-Cola 600 commenced at 3:24 p.m. (ET) on Monday, nearly 24 hours after it was originally scheduled to take the green.
Polesitter Byron and Kevin Harvick led the field to the green flag, with RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin close behind. After starting eighth, Blaney was on the move quick, pushing past Hamlin to take fourth by lap four.
The first lead change occurred on lap 13, as a resurgent Hamlin slid underneath Byron in turn two to put his No. 11 Toyota in the lead. Hamlin’s teammate, Christopher Bell, was the fast one on track in his No. 20 and overtook Hamlin for first position on lap 33. There was a competition caution on lap 35.
Harvick, who had started on the front row, had lost 28 spots by lap 35.
With Blaney on the front row for the lap 42 restart, he slid under Byron to secure the lead. Bell again showed a wheel, moving up from third and pushing ahead of the No. 12 Team Penske entry on lap 63. The first caution flag waved on lap 74, when Jimmie Johnson spun in his No. 84 Chevrolet.
Byron took the lead on the restart and was under fire from Blaney on lap 91. Bell, Reddick and Truex were in tow. On the last lap of stage one, Byron, Blaney and Bell took it three-wide. Bell rode the outside line to pass Blaney, but came up short of the stage win, which went to Byron.
It was the seventh stage win of Byron’s career.
Stage Two — Chris Buescher
Bell continued to shine in his JGR entry during the second stage. He dove to the inside of Byron on lap 117, Reddick following, and took over the lead for the third time in the 600-mile marathon, setting a torrid pace around the 1.5-mile oval.
The red flag came out on lap 155, due to rainfall on portions of the track. Engines re-fired at 5:37 p.m. (ET).
Reddick and Blaney led the field on the restart, with Truex making an early move past the No. 12 and into second. Johnson brought out another caution after squeezing the No. 42 of Noah Gragson into the wall and spinning to the infield. RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher snuck into third on lap 176 and began to put on a dominant run in his No. 17 Ford.
The major incident of the second stage involved Hamlin and Chase Elliott, who came together on lap 186. The contact between the two effectively ended their runs, as both cars sustained significant damage.
Hamlin Says Elliott ‘Shouldn’t Be Racing Next Week’
Meanwhile, Buescher took the stage two win ahead of Harvick, Keselowski, Team Penske’s Joey Logano and JGR’s Ty Gibbs.
Stage Three — Ryan Blaney
With 200 laps to go, it was JTG Daughtery Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leading the field to the green flag.
Harvick, on the prowl in second, surged to the lead on lap 209 in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing entry. But Blaney, who had led 35 laps at that point, was hungry for more.
He passed Logano for second on lap 218 and slid past Harvick on lap 228.
There was a multi-car wreck on lap 274, involving J.J. Yeley, Justin Haley, Todd Gilliland and Keselowski, among others. On the restart, it was Byron, Blaney, Harvick, Reddick and Gibbs ahead in the 38-car field. On lap 300, Blaney scored his first stage win of the season and his first-ever stage win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Final Stage — Ryan Blaney
Blaney led the field to the restart, with Byron, Reddick, Larson and Gibbs running top five behind him.
Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch put on a late surge, passing Gibbs for fifth with 89 to go. He then dove under Larson, with the cars making contact coming out of turn four. The No. 8 driver held the inside line, taking third from the No. 5. With 81 laps to go, Busch and Byron were side-by-side. The No. 8 used the middle groove to take the advantage over the Hendrick Motorsports driver.
The last stage involved a flurry of cautions, as several other drivers also had close calls. Reddick and Harvick were two drivers who slid across the artificial turf on the frontstretch after getting loose coming out of turn four.
The “big one” came with 26 laps to go, bringing out the 16th caution flag of the 400-lap race.
Larson got sideways on the backstretch, hitting the front end of Gibbs in the No. 54. Logano and Bell were also collected, with the No. 22 Team Penske driver slamming into the inside wall and the No. 20 Toyota taking on significant damage. Larson was unable to complete the race.
The last restart came with 20 laps to go, Blaney leading.
Truex and Byron were door-to-door for second, but a slight miscue by Blaney ahead forced Truex to check up and hit the brakes. Byron slid into second. Reddick came back with a fire in his No. 45 Toyota in the late laps, running up the inside of Truex with 18 laps to go to take third.
With less than 10 laps to go, Wallace triumphed in his battle against Reddick, earning third in his No. 23 23XI Racing entry.
Out front, Blaney had a comfortable lead in his No. 12 Ford, shutting the door on Byron at the checkered flag.
The crowd screams “BLANEY” as Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney wins the #CocaCola600 and celebrates with the fans in the stands 🏆 pic.twitter.com/71o3LL4RRI
— SPEED SPORT (@SPEEDSPORT) May 30, 2023
It has been 59 races since the Team Penske driver secured a points-paying victory.