SVG delivers stunning drive in rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600

Van Gisbergen was competitive all race long, banking points at the end of the first three stages and leading 11 laps.

He finished 10th in Stage 1, ninth in Stage 2, and seventh in Stage 3 before finishing the 400-lap race in 11th.

The race was won by Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suarez, whose decision to take two tyres instead of four paid dividends when he leapt to the lead.

Suarez held off back-to-back attacks from Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell to take the win.

It’s the first win for Suarez at Spire, who was let go by Trackhouse late last year.

Suarez paid tribute to the late Kyle Busch, who was an early supporter of the Mexican driver.

“This one really means a lot. This one really means a lot,” said Suarez.

“I’ve been saying for years this is my favourite race of the year. I get to have my family here every year.

“It’s been a very tough week. Kyle, he was special man. This one is for Kyle — for Kyle for Samantha, for Brexton, for Lennix, for all his family.”

After practice and qualifying was rained out, the grid was set according to he NASCAR rule book on qualifying metric.

Thanks to his Watkins Glen win, van Gisbergen line the #97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro in third.

On Lap 35, the caution came out when Josh Berry got loose in Turn 1 and spun the #21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang on his own.

The first major incident happened on Lap 53 when Ryan Blaney spun his #12 Team Penske Mustang.

Blaney looked like he might escape serious damage until Connor Zilisch lost control of his #88 Trackhouse Racing Camaro trying to avoid the sliding car ahead of him.

Just shy of the Stage 1 finish, the caution flew with 10 laps to go when Chase Elliott spun out of 16th place and hit the inside wall exiting Turn 2.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson won Stage 1 ahead of Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Erik Jones.

Stage 2 ran caution-free, during which time the Toyotas rose to the fore. Hamlin beat Gibbs to the green-chequered with Briscoe third, Reddick fourth, and Larson fifth.

Stage 3 only ran for a few green flag laps before Katherine Legge’s #78 Live Fast Motorsports Camaro lost its right front wheel, bringing out the yellow.

Bell won Stage 3 ahead of Hamlin, Gibbs, Briscoe, and Larson.

Stage 4 began with Christopher Bell at the head of the field alongside Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs.

Gibbs surged forward with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick in tow, demoting Bell to third.

The decisive moment of the race came on Lap 318 when Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain crashed.

Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse tagged the back of Chastain, tipping the #1 Chevrolet Camaro into a spin and hard into the inside wall.

Having pitted on Lap 309, Gibbs and van Gisbergen elected to stay out.

The rest of the front-runners pitted. Kyle Larson led the pit lane at the head of the queue ahead of Bell, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones, Joey Logano, Zane Smith, and Tyler Reddick. Those ahead of Reddick only took two tyres.

Racing resumed on Lap 327 with Gibbs taking the bottom and van Gisbergen the top.

Van Gisbergen got a good getaway while Gibbs spun his wheels trying to get going. Bell, meanwhile, cleared Larson and Bell to challenge van Gisbergen’s lead.

Out of Turn 4 on Lap 328, Bell took the race lead.

A lap later, the race was neutralised when Chase Briscoe got into the back of Chris Buescher and tipped the #17 RFK Racing Ford Mustang into a spin.

Buescher rotated and took out his #60 teammate Ryan Preece, whose car veered to the bottom of the track and collected the instigator Briscoe.

Josh Berry was another innocent victim in the melee as he collected Preece.

Racing resumed on Lap 338 with van Gisbergen in first and Bell second. Van Gisbergen steadily lost positions to fifth until the caution came out on Lap 353 for lightning.

That triggered pit stops for the front-runners. Some elected to take two tyres and others four.

The big mover was Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suarez who took the lead with a two-tyre change. Bell was second

Bell was second, Hamlin third, Larson fourth, Reddick fourth, Smith fifth Gibbs sixth, Logano seventh, Byron eighth, and van Gisbergen ninth.

Racing resumed with 41 laps to go, though that lasted just two laps when the caution came out for rain.

The red flag was flown with Suarez at the point ahead of Bell, Hamlin, Larson, and Reddick. The top 10 was completed by van Gisbergen.

After a brief intermission, the race restarted with 31 laps to go. Suarez cleared Bell for the lead through Turn 1 and 2.

It was another short-lived run as rain returned on Lap 373.

Suarez’s decision to take two tyres paid dividends handsomely when NASCAR called the race 27 laps short of the finish.

The NASCAR Cup Series continues at Nashville Superspeedway on June 1 (AEST).

Results: NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway

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