CONCORD, N.C. — Daniel Suarez withstood two dramatic late-race restarts and a trio of contenders chasing him to enter the history books in spectacular fashion on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Suarez became the first driver born outside the United States to win the Coca-Cola 600, triumphing in an action-packed affair that featured 32 lead changes before concluding 27 laps early due to heavy rain.
Pole winner Tyler Reddick led a race-high 119 laps and fellow Toyota drivers Denny Hamlin (75 laps led) and Christopher Bell (44) held the point for much of the night, but a yellow flag for rain on Lap 354 opened the door for a new challenger to emerge.
Suarez, who started 14th Sunday, hadn’t led all night – but an aggressive two-tire call by Ryan Sparks, Suarez’s crew chief, put the No. 7 Spire Motorsports machine out front for the first time on Lap 357.
Suarez had Reddick, Hamlin, Bell and defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson chomping at the bit to pass him. All four drivers had four fresh tires on their car to Suarez’s two – but none of them could pass Suarez in spite of the advantage.
“Today wasn’t easy. We had a loose wheel, we had a flat tire, everything,” Suarez said. “I knew my car was fast but we didn’t get a lot of chances to show it. I’m so proud of all the guys on my team. Are we the best? Probably not, but people aren’t surprised when we do well anymore. We’re a winning organization who can battle with the big boys up front, but this weekend isn’t about us. It’s about Kyle and us being able to get it done for him.
“I felt like if I had four tires (after the penultimate caution period) I’d be in good shape, because our car was fast, but with just two new tires, we had to handle it differently. I got a good push from Larson (on the final restart) but if the race went another 15 laps or so, it would’ve been tough. The team did an amazing job and the car handled well enough to hold them off.”
Bell settled for second when the race was called after Lap 373 due to considerable rain. Hamlin was third with Reddick fourth and Larson fifth.
“I’m happy we got away with a great race. A second-place finish, a lot of points is really good,” Bell said. “Obviously, could have had more today. Daniel (Suarez) did a great job. He did everything right to defend the position and win the race. I knew it was going to come down to keeping him pinned on the restart (and) not letting him clear me for the lead, and he cleared me for the lead.”
Ty Gibbs was sixth with Ryan Blaney seventh and Joey Logano eighth. William Byron and Zane Smith completed the top 10.
Larson won Stage 1, Hamlin claimed Stage 2 and Bell captured Stage 3.
Suarez dedicated the victory to the late Kyle Busch, whose tragic death on Thursday created a heavily emotional environment on race day. Busch – a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and the 2018 Coca-Cola 600 winner – played an instrumental role in helping Suarez get accustomed to the U.S. after Suarez moved to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2014 from the NASCAR Mexico Series.
Suarez’s win was the third of his NASCAR Cup Series career.
“The first thing to come to my mind was Kyle,” Suarez said. “As we all know, this has been a difficult weekend for all of us. I was still hoping somebody was going to say it wasn’t real, so the fact that Kyle helped me so much through the (O’Reilly) Series, ultimately to a Cup opportunity, and Spire Motorsports’ building was originally Kyle Busch Motorsports.”
