After completing 251 of the planned 400 laps, Christopher Bell was declared the winner of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday evening.
Kyle Larson’s double attempt at an Indianapolis-Charlotte double, meanwhile, was rained out.
Bell led 90 laps and was the race leader when the race was red flagged due to weather at 9:31 p.m. local time at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A lightning delay during the third of four stages turned into a rain delay of about two hours that extended well into the evening. Workers attempted to dry the track in time to end the race, but officials called it 11:30 PM local time with 149 laps incomplete.
Brad Keselowski secured second place, while William Byron, Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five. Last year’s winner, Ryan Blaney, suffered damage to the right front of his car after blowing a tire and dropped out of the race on the 143rd lap. He finished in 39th place out of 40 drivers.
The shortened race, combined with a weather delay earlier Sunday in Indianapolis, spoiled Larson’s efforts to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. His backup driver Justin Allgaier – an Xfinity Series regular – circuit – achieved 13th place. finish in Larson’s No. 5 car.
Kyle Larson denied a shot on the Indy-Charlotte double
Larson started Sunday with a goal of riding a total of 1,100 miles in both races. A four-hour weather delay in the Indianapolis 500 prevented him from reaching Charlotte in time to start the race.
Larson earned an 18th-place finish at the Indianapolis 500 and traveled to Charlotte in hopes of taking his car from Allgaier for the final 151 laps.
Mad dash from Indianapolis to Charlotte
After finishing in Indianapolis, Larson left the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a helicopter to board a private jet headed to Charlotte.
After landing in Charlotte, he then took another helicopter to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he rushed to the track to get ready to take over.
Kyle Larson lands by helicopter at Charlotte Motor Speedway and then heads to the pits via golf carts while the Coca-Cola 600 faces a weather delay. Larson finished 18th in this afternoon’s Indy 500 and takes over the No. 5 car with 151 laps remaining. #nascar pic.twitter.com/I3U6dtwFvm
— Pat Welter WRAL (@PatrickWelter) May 27, 2024
But he arrived just in time due to the weather delay and did not complete a lap.
The decision to race in Indianapolis after the weather delay came with high stakes for Larson, who entered Sunday as the points leader in the NASCAR Cup standings. Larson is competing for his second NASCAR Cup title after winning his first in 2021.
Drivers must start in every race to be eligible for the playoffs. Are commonly believed that Larson will be exempt from that rule, but it is not a certainty. And he won’t get any driver points for Sunday’s race.
Larson was attempting to become the fifth driver ever to compete in both the Coca-Cola 600 and the Indianapolis 500 on the same day. Kurt Busch was the last to participate in both races in 2014. Tony Stewart did it twice in 1999 and 2001. Robby Gordon did it five times (1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004).
John Andretti was the first to complete the feat in 1994. The double was made possible when lighting was installed at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1992, allowing the race to take place after sunset.
