Martin Truex Jr. Goes from Wall to Win in Coca-Cola 600

The NASCAR Memorial Day Weekend tradition provided plenty of action for fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Martin Truex Jr. hit the wall early in the race, but rallied back to win the Coca-Cola 600.

There was a total of 16 caution periods in the race. Martin was the reason for the third yellow flag when he became the third Toyota to have a tire issue and hit the wall.

This was the only race of the year to have four stages because of the length of the race. With 600 miles (400 laps) NASCAR split the race into 100 lap stages. Brad Keselowski looked to be the car to beat early as he won stages one and two of the race.

When the sun went down the track conditions transitioned to the night and different cars began to move toward the front. Martin Truex Jr.’s team repaired his car and adjusted it and he began to show he could still win the race. He won stage three and went on to lead a race high 116 laps in the race.

The final caution was issued late in the race. Martin went four-wide on the restart to gain the lead and hold it for the final five laps to win the 60th Coca-Cola 600. Joey Logano claimed the runner-up finish. Kyle Busch crossed the finish line third followed by Chase Elliott and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in fourth and fifth places respectively. See the complete results for the Coca-Cola 600 here.

Kyle Busch takes the lead back in the point standings as Joey Logano slips back to second place. Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick also swap spots with Chase moving up to third and Kevin back to fourth. Brad Keselowski holds steady in fifth place. See the complete Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.

The NASCAR drivers and teams head to the “Tricky Triangle” of Pocono Raceway this week for the Pocono 400 Sunday afternoon June 2nd.

By: Buck Stevens