CONCORD, N.C. – A late charge past defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott gave Kyle Larson his second straight stage win to open the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night.
Larson got around Elliott for the top spot on lap 188 led the final 13 laps of stage two to remain perfect on the night. It marked his eighth stage win of the year and the 26th of his Cup Series career.
The Elk Grove, Calif., native led four times for 155 laps in Sunday’s race as of the lap-200 benchmark.
What appeared to be a straightforward stage was thrown a curveball on lap 173, when Kurt Busch’s ailing engine expired on the backstretch and generated the first caution for cause to that point.
That led to split strategy, with three drivers taking two tires – Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano – while many of the other frontrunners opted for four tires during the pit exchange.
Bowman led the first two circuits following the lap-178 restart, but was overhauled by Denny Hamlin on lap 180 as the two-tire strategy began to fade somewhat.
Hamlin then raced side-by-side with Elliott for nearly a half lap before Elliott passed him on lap 183 and brought Larson with him into the runner-up spot.
It was then five laps before Larson found his way back to the point for good, eventually taking the green-and-white checkered flag in front of Elliott by 1.576 seconds.
Though Elliott came home as the runner-up in stage two, he believes the transition from day-to-night will suit his team as he attempts to challenge for his first Coca-Cola 600 victory.
“Charlotte always gains a lot of grip here at night. Today is no different. We’re getting into the part of the race that I think is important, where you might see some of the players change a bit,” tipped Elliott. “We kept up with it pretty well there, but we’ve still got some work to do before it’s time to race for it, as you can see. We’ll see how it goes from here.”
William Byron finished third for the second straight stage behind his two Hendrick Motorsports teammates, followed by the Toyota of Kyle Busch and another Chevrolet in Tyler Reddick.
Kevin Harvick, Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon closed the point-scoring positions in the top 10 at the second of three scheduled stage breaks in the longest race of the year.
Following the caution at the end of stage two, the field was brought down pit road and stopped just shy of the start/finish line for the annual Moment of Remembrance – held annually during the Coca-Cola 600 to honor the men and women who gave their lives in service of the United States military.
The Moment of Remembrance tradition was begun in 2019.