Kyle Busch, the driver of the #18 M&M’s Red White & Blue Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 27, 2018, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Sunday night, the Cup series continued the homestand at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. A great Memorial Day celebration was held during the pre-race show. All branches of the military were doing demos on how they operate in combat. It was very cool to experience and it definitely set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Kyle Busch took the green flag from the pole position, and it was safe to say he was going to have a dominant night. He had a slow start but quickly navigated his way back into the lead.
Tough luck early on for a last year’s race winner, Austin Dillon. He got into the wall which brought out the first caution of the race. His crew could not get the damage fixed in the pit box, so they had to take him back to the garage for repairs. He was able to continue racing, but not after coming out several laps down.
Kyle Busch took home the first stage after leading the first 94 laps. Some notables were drivers Kevin Harvick who drove up from 39th and finished the stage in the 11th position. Busch won the race off pit road to claim back his lead for the second stage.
There were a couple of early cautions as William Byron in the No. 24 car hit the wall, a few laps later Kyle Larson and Jimmie Johnson got into each other; causing a wreck.
Also, Harvick got into the wall and was unable to repair his car. After this, drivers settled in and the race ran green until the finish of Stage 2, Kyle Busch won the stage for his second stage win of the night.
The third stage ran green throughout most of the stage. Toward the end, a few drivers wrecked and brought out some cautions. For the most part, Kyle Busch continued to show a commanding lead over the rest of the field.
Ryan Blaney blew up later on in the stage to end his night. He had a back and forth night, racing up towards the front, and being involved in a few wrecks. Kyle Busch went on to win the third stage.
There was no real action in the final stage of the race as Kyle Busch dominated the rest of the field. The only times where he did not lead a lap was when drivers were cycling through green flag stops in the middle of the stage. Kyle Busch just dominated the rest of the field and no cautions ever came out at the end of the race for other teams to use strategy. It was a great performance for Busch as he won the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.
Busch also made history Sunday night as his win in Charlotte was the first time he won at the speedway. Which also meant that Busch has won at every single NASCAR race track in his career. His career is still young, and that it is scary considering all the other achievements he will accomplish and records he could possibly break by the time his career is over.
Kyle Busch is not exactly a fan favorite, but to his credit fans are cheering more and more for him as the time goes by. NASCAR’s bad boy still lives up to this name by letting his emotions out in press conferences and on the race track. However, over the last year cheers for him are getting louder and louder. He is only 33 years old and he races in a sport where drivers can race into their late 40s or even into the 50s. There are no limits for him as he continues to dominate this sport for years to come.