After winning the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Joey Logano had a rough night the second time around at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600.
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For Furniture Row Racing, Martin Truex Jr.’s historical domination in the Coca-Cola 600 was just as sweet as the Broncos beating the Panthers in Super Bowl 50, if not sweeter.
Martin Truex Jr. finally outran his bad luck, finishing off an absolutely dominating performance to score his first victory of the season.
Truex ran strong enough the past year to grab a bunch more checkered flags, but something always went awry.
Truex has come close to winning several times this season, only to suffer heartbreaking losses in the closing laps including at the Daytona 500. At Kansas a few weeks later, he again had a dominant vehicle, leading 172 laps before a faulty bracket behind a tire cost him.
Jimmie Johson finished third while Denny Hamlin and Brad Keslowski finished fourth and fifth. Johnson called the auto among the best he’s ever had at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but it simply wasn’t as powerful as the one Truex had under him.
Usually, Truex said, Charlotte is a hot, grueling affair where drivers jostle with rivals, deal with changing conditions from late afternoon to evening and wonder when the finish will come.
Truex’s win finished Memorial Day weekend’s mega-day of high-end racing, which began with Lewis Hamilton’s win at the Monaco Grand Prix and continued with American rookie Alexander Rossi’s surprise triumph in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Truex took the surprise out of the race early and was barely touched by the field. He broke a 49-year-old race record for most laps led, replacing the mark set by Jim Paschal in 1967.
“There’s a lot of emotion right now, not real sure it’s sunk in yet”, Truex said. “It’s a weekend that you dream about”.
Johnson was right. His comment implied that Truex, while driving away with the easiest victory ever seen at Charlotte Motor Speedway, did so with a hint of mischief.
Harvick, who won the race in 2011 and 2013, was the best of rest as he got by Johnson 44 laps from the end – yet never made a serious run at the top. Got the troops on the cars.
Truex showed that in a big way Sunday night, leading a NASCAR-record 588 of 600 miles to win the Coca-Cola 600 and break free of the bad luck that seemed to hit him when dominating races. The new tires proved to pay off and Kyle Busch drove around and captured the victory.
“Oh, yeah, I had confidence, in my team, I have a lot of great people behind me”. He has one top-five, two top-10s and two races he did not finish.
Though the 600 did not feature much late-race drama or many lead changes, it did deliver with it’s incredible atmosphere on one of racing’s greatest days. Check out a few winners and losers from the race.
By “Charlotte guys”, Pearn of course refers to the home teams, if you will. Stewart-Haas Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Team Penske, Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing, among others, all operate out of the Charlotte area, most within a 30-mile radius.
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Truex Jr’s girlfriend Sherry Pollex was diagnosed with ovarian cancer almost two years ago and has fought the disease admirably all the while supporting Truex Jr.’s career.
