Record-breaking Truex Jr. dominates Coca-Cola 600

Omnisports

May 30, 2016 10:58 AM

Martin Truex Jr. took the chequered flag after leading a track-record 392 of the 400 laps in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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Martin Truex Jr. took the chequered flag after leading a track-record 392 of the 400 laps in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

For the majority of the race, pole-sitter Truex enjoyed a 4-5 second lead over runner-up cars but as the track cooled under the lights, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick were able to close the gap within a second before a caution for debris reset the field with 55 laps remaining.

Truex, who was passed just once under green-flag racing on Sunday, was able to lead the final 55 laps to capture his fourth career win and all but guarantee a spot in the 2016 Chase. Harvick finished second, followed by Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski.

Looking for a Coca-Cola 600 win to go alongside his All-Star race victory, Joey Logano spent the majority of the race running in the top five, even leading a lap before serving a pass-through penalty for his crew being over the wall too soon with just under 150 laps remaining. The penalty put him one lap down, but Logano was able to salvage the race with a ninth-place finish.

Similar fate met Carl Edwards, who had to serve a speeding penalty with 100 laps to go while running from the third spot. While serving the drive-through penalty, Edwards was too fast again on pit road and was hit with a stop-and-go penalty resulting in going a lap down. The penalty proved too much for Edwards to overcome as he finished 18th.

Fan-favourite Dale Earnhardt Jr. saw his series-leading winless streak continue at non-points paying races at Charlotte, with the number 88 driver now winless in 33 starts at the 1.5-mile North Carolina track. He finished 14th on Sunday.

Omnisports