Information By: HEATHER GRIFFIN / RICK WARE RACING – CONCORD, NC
RICK WARE RACING
Coca-Cola 600
Date: May 26, 2024
Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 14 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 400 laps, broken into four stages (100 laps/100 laps/100 laps/100 laps)
Note: Race called official due to rain after 249 laps.
Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 3 Winner: None
RWR Race Finish:
● Justin Haley (Started 22nd, Finished 22nd/ Running, completed 249 of 249 laps)
● Kaz Grala (Started 33rd, Finished 34th/ Running, completed 249 of 249 laps)
RWR Points:
● Justin Haley (31st with 177 points)
● Kaz Grala (34th with 122 points)
RWR Notes:
● This was Haley’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte. His best finish remains 15th, earned in May 2023.
● This was Grala’s second NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte. His best finish remains 23rd, earned in May 2022.
Race Notes:
● Christopher Bell won the Coca-Cola 600 to score his eighth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Charlotte.
● There were seven caution periods for a total of 46 laps, including the final four laps.
● All but five of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Denny Hamlin leaves Charlotte as the new championship leader with a five-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.
Sound Bites:
“We had a really strong Ford Mustang Dark Horse this weekend in Charlotte. We’ve been aiming to qualify better and this weekend was a good step for that. The balance in the race was great, we just had some trouble on pit road that led to our finish not being quite as strong as it could’ve been. Proud of the RWR guys for bringing a competitive car again. Lots of momentum for the next one..”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 The Cleaning Authority Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“We really struggled with the handling right from the start of the race tonight. By the halfway point, we finally got the balance to a pretty good place, and then it got away from us just a little bit at the very end. We’re on the lead lap, and I think if the race had gone the full distance we could have rebounded to a good finish. Unfortunately, the race was called short right after our worst stint of the night, so we didn’t get the finish we could have.” – Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday, June 2 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, near St. Louis. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.