2023 Coca-Cola 600

The 2023 Coca-Cola 600 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 29, 2023, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina and the 64th running of the event. Contested over 400 laps on the asphalt speedway, it was the 14th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as the third of the four crown jewel races. The race was postponed from Sunday, May 28 to Monday, May 29, due to rain.

Report

Background

The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, located in Concord, North Carolina. The speedway complex includes a quad-oval track that was utilized for the race, as well as a dragstrip and a dirt track. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams based in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith serving as track president.

Similar to the Daytona 500, which was a four-stage race (with the first stage being the qualifying heat race), the Coca-Cola 600 is a four-stage race, with this the only race where all four stages are in the main race itself. All four stages are scheduled to consist of 100 laps. The race is official after the second stage.

Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
* (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.

Practice

Practice was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Qualifying

Qualifying was cancelled due to inclement weather. William Byron was awarded the pole for the race as a result of NASCAR's pandemic formula with a score of 2.550.

Starting lineup

Race

Ryan Blaney won the race driving a Ford for Team Penske. It was Blaney's first Cup Series race win since the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race, and his first points-paying win since the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400. Chase Elliott was suspended from the following race after he intentionally right-hooked Denny Hamlin's car in the dog-leg of the frontstretch, causing a crash. On Wednesday May 31, NASCAR levied an L3 penalty to the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team of Chase Briscoe for counterfeiting a single-source part. The penalty is the largest single team penalty to occur in the Next Gen era, with Briscoe's team being docked 120 driver and owner points and 25 playoff points. In addition, Briscoe's crew chief, Johnny Klausmeier, was given a six race suspension and the team was fined $250,000.

Race results

Stage results

Stage One
''Laps:'' 100

Stage Two
''Laps:'' 100

Stage Three
''Laps:'' 100

Final Stage results

Stage Four
''Laps:'' 100

Race statistics

* Lead changes: 31 among 13 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 16 for 83 laps
* Red flags: 1 for 30 minutes and 48 seconds
* Time of race: 4 hours, 58 minutes, and 50 seconds
* Average speed:

Media

Television

Fox Sports televised the race in the United States for the 23rd consecutive year. Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while 2012 Fall Charlotte winner Clint Bowyer, three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing Tony Stewart, and actor Danny McBride in Stage 2 were the color commentators. Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Josh Sims reported from pit lane during the race. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Radio

Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by the Performance Racing Network (PRN), and was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race in the booth when the field raced through the quad-oval. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field was racing through turns 1 and 2 and halfway down the backstretch. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through the other half of the backstretch and through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Wendy Venturini, and Alan Cavanna were the pit reporters during the broadcast.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

;Manufacturers' Championship standings

*Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
*. – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

References

{{NASCAR on Fox

Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway