While Johnson was the bridesmaid for 90 percent of the night, the driver who found his mojo late in the going was two-time 600 winner Kevin Harvick.
Harvick passed Johnson on the race’s final restart with 56 to go and proceeded to give chase to Truex, but could do nothing to close on the New Jersey driver late in the going and was forced to settle for second, 2.572 seconds behind at the finish.
“Early on, we were just really, really bad and our Jimmy John’s Chevy was tight getting into the corners and loose getting up off the corners,” said Harvick, who ran at the back end of the top 10 for much of the race before coming forward in the final 100 laps. “There were just a lot of problems that we really couldn’t narrow in on … as far as finding one thing to fix. (Crew chief) Rodney (Childers) finally came on the radio and said, ‘Hey, we just made a huge adjustment,’ and from that point on, (the car) was a lot better.”
“I really thought we were going to just drive right by him (Truex), but I got tight on the last two runs compared to the run where we were really good and made up all the ground. Considering I didn’t really see him most of the night because we were back so far, I’m really happy with how we finished and we’ll head on to the next one and try to get another win.”
Johnson, who led five laps, hung on behind Harvick to finish third — his 18th career top 10 effort at Charlotte.
“It kind of felt like he (Truex) was playing with us,” the six-time champion admitted. “He was just so fast all night. I would flat-foot (turns) 1 and 2 and have a nose on him, and he would drive right back by me going into Turn 3. He was so fast, it was just very impressive. I’m happy for Martin and that team. Those guys worked awfully hard to get where they’re at. We had a fast Lowes Chevrolet tonight and I’m proud of our whole team for a solid effort.”
Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five, followed by Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Chase Elliott, Sprint All-Star Race winner Joey Logano and Ryan Newman.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania for their next race of the season on June 5, where Truex is the defending winner.
Audio with race winner Martin Truex Jr.:
Audio with winning team owner Barney Visser:
Audio with runner-up Kevin Harvick:
RESULTS: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; 57th annual Coca-Cola 600; Charlotte Motor Speedway; May 29, 2016
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kevin Harvick
- Jimmie Johnson
- Denny Hamlin
- Brad Keselowski
- Kurt Busch
- Matt Kenseth
- Chase Elliott
- Joey Logano
- Ryan Newman
- Greg Biffle
- Austin Dillon
- Kyle Larson
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- AJ Allmendinger
- Paul Menard
- Carl Edwards
- Jamie McMurray
- Ryan Blaney
- Danica Patrick
- Kasey Kahne
- Clint Bowyer
- Tony Stewart
- Trevor Bayne
- Aric Almirola
- Landon Cassill
- Regan Smith
- Brian Scott
- Casey Mears
- David Ragan
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Kyle Busch
- Michael McDowell
- Cole Whitt
- Michael Annett
- Chris Buescher
- Josh Wise
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Reed Sorenson
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
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