CONCORD, N.C. — Recap by Race Chaser Online Correspondent James Pike — Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images North America photo —
Carl Edwards spent the final run in the Coca-Cola 600 coaxing every last drop of fuel — or, as his sponsor would have it, making every bite of his sub last — out of his No. 19 Subway Toyota Camry.
In the end, it paid off, as Edwards stretched out his final fuel run for the remaining 62 laps to snatch the victory in the 56th Coca-Cola 600.
Though he won the race, Edwards did not have the dominant car for the majority of the event. That honor was shared between Kurt Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. The drivers of the No. 41 and No. 78 combined to lead 249 of 400 laps, respectively.
Busch was the first to seize control of the race as it settled into a green-flag rhythm. After a rotating cast of leaders in the opening 100 laps of the race, which included polesitter Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin, Busch took the lead for the first time in the race on lap 97. He would then control the field for the second quarter of the race, leading the next 93 laps in succession.
After its period of domination, fortunes changed for the Haas Automation Chevrolet on lap 192. Busch made contact with the wall exiting turn 4, and that allowed the No. 78 of Truex to get by and claim the lead. From that point on in the race, it was no longer Busch who had the dominant car in the event, but Truex.
Though Busch would lead once more for a brief 24-lap spell beginning on lap 237, it was Truex who would dominate the event for the majority of the second half. Busch would end up finishing in 10th place.
As Busch’s time in the sun set, Truex rose to the front of the field just as the moon was rising in the sky above Charlotte Motor Speedway. Save for Busch’s final stint in front, Truex led all of the laps between lap 192 and lap 329 — a total of 114 laps.
It was at lap 329, however, that the penultimate caution of the race came out, and the shape of the race change dramatically.
During the first of the final two cautions, all of the lead lap cars for service — for many teams, it fell within their pit window. The final caution of the race followed some 9 laps later. Given how close the two cautions fell to one another, few drivers were expected to come back down pit road the second time around. Edwards, however, was one of five lead-lap cars that did.
After the race, Edwards’ Crew Chief, Darian Grubb, said that the decision to come down pit road the second time was easy for him to make. “Two runs from the end, we realized that this race had the potential to be a fuel mileage race,” Grubb said.
“The last caution came out on the lap that we were originally planning to pit on had the race stayed green. For us, it seemed like a no-brainer to go ahead and pit then. I was surprised that so few people came down pit road during that caution, but I guess our fuel mileage was just a little bit better than everybody else’s!”
Edwards was the first of the quintet to come off of pit road, and restarted 12th. Though he had spent the majority of the race running between 12th and 16th, he gained the lead off of his pit strategy on lap 380 as the drivers who came to pit on lap 329 came for their necessary splash of fuel to make it to the end.
This group of drivers included Harvick, Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Truex (who pitted from the lead). They all made a frantic effort to chase down Edwards in the closing laps of the event, hoping that Edwards would run out of fuel before the end. But Edwards kept the car running through to the checkered flag, and claimed the 24th victory of his Sprint Cup career.
After having the dominant car once the sun set, Truex was naturally disappointed not to bring home the trophy. “It feels great, but it hurts so bad. It’s a double-edged sword,” he said following the race.
“It feels great to run like that again, and I feel like we’re gonna get (a victory), but I also know how hard it is to get into positions like this to win races- there’s no telling how long it’s gonna be before we’re back in this position again.”
Edwards, on the other hand, was very appreciative of the historical significance of his win. “I spent a lot of time this week on YouTube watching races here from the ‘60s, he said. “I didn’t realize how many great races there had been here.”
“To be on the list of guys that have won the 600 here is huge. That’s bigger than any of the reasons I’m happy to win this year- that’s something that I’ll be proud of my whole life.”
In the end, it may have been Truex who offered the loudest parting shot from Charlotte: “I’ve always considered this my worst or second-worst race track, and next week, we’re going to one of my best tracks,” he said. “I hope everybody’s ready, because we’re going to be fast!”
That “best track” that Truex is referring to is Dover International Speedway, where he claimed the first victory of his Sprint Cup career in 2007. It is also where the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will compete next, when they run the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks on May 31.
