Entry List

Coca-Cola 600

Sunday, May 29th, 2022

Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, NC

  • 15 Ford
  • 6 Toyota
  • 16 Chevrolet

  • Charlotte Motor Speedway
  • 63rd Annual COCA-COLA 600
  • Busch Pole Award Pole Winner: Denny Hamlin
  • Age: 41
  • Team : No. 11 - FedEx Ground Toyota
  • Owner: Coy Gibbs
  • Crew Chief: Samuel McAulay
  • Denny Hamlin won the Pole Award for the 63rd Annual COCA-COLA 600 with a lap of 29.399 seconds, 183.680 mph.
  • This is his 34th pole in 592 NASCAR Cup Series races.
  • This is his first pole and seventh top-10 start in 2022.
  • This is his third pole in 31 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
  • Kurt Busch (second) posted his fifth top-10 start of 2022 and his 11th in 41 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
  • Christopher Bell (third) posted his first top-10 start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is his 10th in 14 races this season.
  • Austin Cindric (sixth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

  • Sunday, May 29th, 2022
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Polesitter Denny Hamlin overcomes chaos to win wild Coca-Cola 600

Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway started with Denny Hamlin out front and ended with Denny Hamlin out front.

What happened in-between defied belief. And a driver who claims to thrive in chaos proved to be a man of his word.

Hamlin won the longest race in NASCAR history—619.5 miles—in two overtimes, beating Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch to the finish line by .014 seconds.

With the victory—the second this season and the 48th of his career—Hamlin now holds trophies in all three of NASCAR’s Crown Jewel races: the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500. Kevin Harvick is the only other active driver with all three titles.

Hamlin’s victory spoiled what could have been one of the most astonishing comebacks in racing history. Kyle Larson started from the rear in a repaired car, suffered three pit road penalties, a spin off Turn 4 and a fire in his pit stall but—miraculously—was leading the race on the next-to-last lap of regulation when Chase Briscoe spun underneath him while battling for the lead and caused the 17th caution of the night.

A wreck on the first attempt at overtime collected Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet and scrambled the running order, leaving Hamlin in the lead on four fresh tires.

“The first half (of the race) was a struggle for all of us,” said Larson, who finished ninth. “I was especially frustrated with myself. To rebound from that and have a shot to win there late was something to be proud of. Our team fought really hard. Happy with that.

“Briscoe was really good, that long run there. Wish we would have just been a little bit better so he never would have got to me, ultimately spin.”

After the second overtime restart, Hamlin and Busch battled side-by-side until Hamlin pulled ahead on Lap 412 of 413, 13 laps beyond the scheduled distance. Busch rallied but couldn’t get back to Hamlin’s bumper.

“It's so special,” Hamlin said. “It's the last big one that's not on my résumé. It meant so much.

“Man, we weren't very good all day. Just got ourselves in the right place at the right time. What a battle there!”

Hamlin, however, was far from the likely winner as the race unfolded. Daniel Suarez arguably had the fastest car. His Trackhouse Racing teammate, Ross Chastain, led 153 laps—more than any other driver. 

In the closing stages of regulation, it appeared for all the world that Larson and Briscoe would decide the outcome between them, until Briscoe spun as he was attempting to pass the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion to the inside.

But in the first attempt at overtime, Austin Dillon’s bold move on four fresh tires to Larson’s two went awry off Turn 4, damaging seven cars and setting up Hamlin’s win in the second overtime. 

That was merely the concluding chapter in a five-hour thriller.

On a night that already had seen a surfeit of breathtaking action, Suarez’s Chevrolet turned sideways on Lap 346 after contact with Briscoe’s Ford an ignited a four-car wreck that ended with Chris Buescher’s Ford barrel-rolling five times through the frontstretch infield and landing on its roof.

Buescher climbed from his car uninjured, but a strong run for the Roush Fenway Keselowski driver ended abruptly. So did a remarkable run from Suarez, who had led four times for 38 laps, only to lose spots on every pit stop, with the cars of Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin blocking his egress from pit road.

“I’m going to be a bit sore tomorrow,” Buescher said after an obligatory trip to the infield care center. “I haven’t been upside-down in a really long time. The team did a really nice job. We had great speed and had a chance at this thing, it just didn’t work out.”

The opening laps of the event were an omen of things to come.

How intense was the racing? Here’s a microcosm: The first lap ended in a dead heat, with Kurt Busch nosing ahead of Hamlin by less than one thousandth of a second. Racing side-by-side with Hamlin, Busch extended his lead to .004 seconds on Lap 2—roughly six inches.

A determined Hamlin regained the top spot on Lap 3, but only by .011 seconds. The opening action set the tone for the entire race, which produced 31 lead changes between 13 different drivers.

But what happened at the front of the field was multiplied exponentially by aggressive, close-quarters racing throughout the pack.

On Lap 192—eight laps short of the halfway point—the close-quarters competition ended badly. In the second turn after a restart following the 10th caution, Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford hooked the apron with the left-front tire and spun sideways.

That misstep triggered a 13-car wreck that eliminated the contending cars of Blaney, Kurt Busch and William Byron. 

“I was tucked up tight behind the 8 (Tyler Reddick), and he was kind of lower than I thought on the frontstretch and kind of ran through the turf, and then got to (Turn) 1 and jerked right,” Blaney said after the wreck. 

“I think he was up behind the 99 (Suarez) and thinking he was going hit the apron, and I didn’t have time to kind of get right, and I just kind of hit the apron and got me loose. I hate that other cars got tore up.” 

That wreck wouldn’t be the last. By the end of the race, 17 pf the 37 cars that started the event already sat in the garage in various states of disrepair.

Kevin Harvick soldiered to a third-place finish, followed by Briscoe and Christopher Bell. Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Larson and Alex Bowman completed the top 10.

  • Drivers Entered: 37
  • Laps Scheduled: 400
  • Laps Actual: 413 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
  • Margin of Victory: 0.119 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 5 Hours 13 Minutes 8 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 118.703
  • Cautions: 18 for 90 laps
  • Lead Changes: 31
  • Green Flag Passes: 3,821 (11.8 passes per green flag lap)

  • Charlotte Motor Speedway
  • 63rd Annual COCA-COLA 600
  • Race Winner: Denny Hamlin
  • Age: 41
  • Team : No. 11 - FedEx Ground Toyota
  • Owner: Coy Gibbs
  • Crew Chief: Samuel McAulay
  • Denny Hamlin won the 63rd Annual COCA-COLA 600, his 48th victory in 592 Cup Series races.
  • This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in 2022.
  • This is his first victory and 20th top-10 finish in 31 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
  • Kyle Busch (second) posted his 21st top-10 finish in 34 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is his 10th top-10 finish in 2022.
  • Kevin Harvick (third) posted his 21st top-10 finish in 40 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
  • Harrison Burton (11th) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • Chase Elliott leads the point standings by 34 points over Ross Chastain.
Kyle Larson celebrates after winning
Concord, North Carolina - May 30, 2021 : Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 Metro Tech Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 30, 2021 in Concord, North Carolina.
Brian LawdermilkGetty Images
Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Entry List
ENTRY # DRIVER HOMETOWN DOB AGE MAKE SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 10 Aric Almirola Tampa, FL Mar 14, 1984 40 Ford Smithfield Stewart-Haas Racing Drew Blickensderfer
2 6 Brad Keselowski Auburn Hills, MI Feb 12, 1984 40 Ford Kohler Generators RFK Racing Matt McCall
3 11 Denny Hamlin Chesterfield, VA Nov 18, 1980 43 Toyota FedEx Ground Joe Gibbs Racing Sam McAulay
4 22 Joey Logano Middleton, CT May 24, 1990 34 Ford Shell Pennzoil Team Penske Paul Wolfe
5 4 Kevin Harvick Bakersfield, CA Dec 8, 1975 48 Ford Mobil 1 Stewart-Haas Racing Rodney Childers
6 45 Kurt Busch Las Vegas, NV Aug 4, 1978 46 Toyota Monster Energy 23XI Racing Billy Scott
7 18 Kyle Busch Las Vegas, NV May 2, 1985 39 Toyota M&M's Red White and Blue Joe Gibbs Racing Ben Beshore
8 19 Martin Truex Jr Mayetta, NJ Jun 29, 1980 44 Toyota Bass Pro Shops Red White and Blue Joe Gibbs Racing James Small
9 34 Michael McDowell Phoenix, AZ Dec 21, 1984 39 Ford Fr8Auctions.com Front Row Motorsports Blake Harris
10 3 Austin Dillon Lewisville, NC Apr 27, 1990 34 Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Richard Childress Racing Justin Alexander
11 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Olive Branch, MS Oct 2, 1987 37 Chevrolet Kroger/ Reese's JTG Daugherty Racing Brian Pattie
12 5 Kyle Larson Sacremento, CA Jul 31, 1992 32 Chevrolet Hendrickcars.com Hendrick Motorsports Cliff Daniels
13 48 Alex Bowman Tuscon, AZ Apr 25, 1993 31 Chevrolet Ally Patriotic Hendrick Motorsports Greg Ives
14 12 Ryan Blaney High Point, NC Dec 31, 1993 30 Ford BodyArmor EDGE Team Penske Jonathan Hassler
15 7 Corey Lajoie Kannapolis, NC Sep 25, 1991 33 Chevrolet The USO & Coca-Cola Spire Motorsports Ryan Sparks
16 42 Ty Dillon Lewisville, NC Feb 27, 1992 32 Chevrolet Black Rifle Coffee Company Petty GMS Motorsports Jerame Donley
17 9 Chase Elliott Dawsonville, GA Nov 28, 1995 28 Chevrolet NAPA Hendrick Motorsports Alan Gustafson
18 17 Chris Buescher Prosper, TX Oct 29, 1992 31 Ford Fifth Third Bank RFK Racing Scott Graves
19 43 Erik Jones Byron, MI May 30, 1996 28 Chevrolet FOCUSfactor Petty GMS Motorsports Dave Elenz
20 78 BJ McLeod Wauchula, FL Nov 17, 1983 40 Ford Circle B Diecast Live Fast Motorsports Lee Leslie
21 15 Ryan Preece Berlin, CT Oct 25, 1990 33 Ford Hunt Brothers Pizza Rick Ware Racing Kevyn Rebolledo
22 99 Daniel Suarez Monterrey, Mexico Jan 7, 1992 32 Chevrolet CommScope TrackHouse Racing Travis Mack
23 51 Cody Ware Greensboro, NC Nov 7, 1995 28 Ford Nurtec ODT Military Salutes Rick Ware Racing Billy Plourde
24 1 Ross Chastain Alva, FL Dec 4, 1992 31 Chevrolet Advent Health TrackHouse Racing Phil Surgen
25 23 Bubba Wallace Mobile, AL Oct 8, 1993 31 Toyota McDonald's 23XI Racing Bootie Barker
26 24 William Byron Charlotte, NC Nov 29, 1997 26 Chevrolet Liberty University Patriotic Hendrick Motorsports Rudy Fugle
27 41 Cole Custer Ladera Ranch, CA Jan 23, 1998 26 Ford Chicken Cock Whiskey Stewart-Haas Racing Mike Shiplett
28 77 Josh Bilicki Menomonee Falls, WI Jun 3, 1995 29 Chevrolet Zeigler Auto Group Spire Motorsports Kevin Bellicourt
29 8 Tyler Reddick Corning, CA Jan 11, 1996 28 Chevrolet Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Richard Childress Racing Randall Burnett
30 31 Justin Haley Winamac, IN Apr 28, 1999 25 Chevrolet LeafFilter Gutter Protection Kaulig Racing Caleb Williams
31 20 Christopher Bell Norman, OK Dec 16, 1994 29 Toyota Yahoo! Joe Gibbs Racing Adam Stevens
32 50 Kaz Grala Boston, MA Dec 29, 1998 25 Chevrolet SEGI TV TMT Racing Tony Eury Jr
33 2 Austin Cindric Columbus, OH Sep 2, 1998 26 Ford Menards\Cardell Cabinetry Team Penske Jeremy Bullins
34 14 Chase Briscoe Mitchell, IN Dec 15, 1994 29 Ford Mahindra Tractors Stewart-Haas Racing Johnny Klausmeier
35 21 Harrison Burton Huntersville, NC Oct 9, 2000 24 Ford Motorcraft \ Quick Lane Wood Brothers Racing Brian Wilson
36 16 Noah Gragson Las Vegas, NV Jul 15, 1998 26 Chevrolet Charlotte Knights Kaulig Racing George Spencer
37 38 Todd Gilliland Sherrills Ford, NC May 15, 2000 24 Ford Boot Barn Front Row Motorsports Seth Barbour