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2022 Coca-Cola 600

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2022 Coca-Cola 600
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Race 14 of 36 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series
Date May 29, 2022 (2022-05-29)
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 413 laps, 619.5 mi (996.988 km)
Scheduled Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965.6 km)
Average speed 118.703 miles per hour (191.034 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 29.399
Most laps led
Driver Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team
Laps 153
Winner
No. 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Jamie McMurray
Radio in the United States
Radio PRN
Booth Announcers Doug Rice and Mark Garrow
Turn Announcers Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4)

The 2022 Coca-Cola 600, the 63rd running of the event, was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 29, 2022, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 413 laps – extended from 400 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt speedway, it was the 14th race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as the third of the four crown jewel races.

Report

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Background

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Charlotte Motor Speedway, the track where the race was held.

The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, located in Concord, North Carolina. The speedway complex includes a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) 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

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
  • (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford
7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford
14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
15 Ryan Preece (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford
16 Noah Gragson (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota
24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford
38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford
41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet
43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet
45 Kurt Busch 23XI Racing Toyota
47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
50 Kaz Grala (i) The Money Team Racing Chevrolet
51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford
77 Josh Bilicki (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Ford
99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

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Kyle Larson was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.589 seconds and a speed of 182.500 mph (293.705 km/h).[8]

Practice results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.589 182.500
2 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.637 182.205
3 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 29.703 181.800
Official practice results

Qualifying

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Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.399 and a speed of 183.680 mph (295.604 km/h).[9]

Qualifying results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2
1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.577 29.399
2 45 Kurt Busch 23XI Racing Toyota 29.459 29.402
3 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.462 29.403
4 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.452 29.427
5 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.466 29.520
6 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 29.535 29.621
7 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 29.655 29.623
8 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.584 29.638
9 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.652 29.643
10 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 29.861 29.820
11 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 29.617
12 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 29.701
13 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.721
14 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.725
15 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.760
16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.822
17 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 29.865
18 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.868
19 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 29.914
20 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 29.929
21 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.929
22 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 29.946
23 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 29.994
24 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 30.020
25 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 30.020
26 15 Ryan Preece (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 30.141
27 16 Noah Gragson (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 30.188
28 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 30.223
29 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 30.232
30 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.317
31 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Ford 30.469
32 77 Josh Bilicki (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 30.729
33 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 30.958
34 50 Kaz Grala (i) The Money Team Racing Chevrolet 31.884
35 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 58.599
36 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 0.000
37 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 0.000
Official qualifying results

Race

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Stage 1

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Outside pole sitter Kurt Busch took the lead from pole sitter Denny Hamlin and lead the first lap. Hamlin would take the lead on lap 3 as Busch and Hamlin raced side by side with each other for the first 3 and a half laps. On lap 10, Kyle Busch took the lead from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. On lap 18, the first caution of the race occurred for a three car crash in turn four involving Ryan Preece, Noah Gragson, and Chris Buescher. Kyle Busch won the race off of pit road and lead the field to the restart on lap 23. On lap 33, the second caution flew when Josh Bilicki crashed in turn 3. The race restarted on lap 39. Bubba Wallace lead lap 40 as he and Busch battled for the lead before Kyle took it back the next lap. On lap 46, Daniel Suárez began to battle Kyle Busch for the lead. On that same lap while they were battling, Busch's car got loose in the middle of turns 1 and 2 and ended up spinning out bringing out the third caution of the race. The race restarted on lap 51. On lap 61, the fourth caution flew when Corey LaJoie crashed in turn 2. Chase Elliott won the race off of pit road and lead the field to the restart on lap 68. Elliott would end up winning stage one as the caution flew for the stage end.[10]

Stage 2

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Elliott won the race off of pit road and lead the field to the restart to begin stage 2 on lap 108. On lap 111, Ross Chastain took the lead from Elliott. On lap 126, the 6th caution flew when Bubba Wallace spun off of turn 4. During pit stops, a little fire occurred in Kyle Larson's pit. Chase Elliott won the race off of pit road and lead the field to the restart on lap 132. On lap 146, the 7th caution occurred when Austin Cindric blew a left rear tire and crashed in turn 3. Elliott won the race off of pit road again to keep his lead. The race would restart on lap 152. On lap 165, Ryan Blaney's car slid and hit the wall in turns 1 and 2 but kept on going with no caution thrown. However, the 8th caution would be thrown on the next lap when Kyle Larson spun off of turn 4. The race restarted on lap 171. On that restart, Ross Chastain would take the lead from Chase Elliott. On lap 186, Chase Elliott was battling Daniel Suárez for second when Chase attempted to pass Suárez in turn 1, he tried to slide up infront of him but ended up sliding into the wall. About 20 seconds after that happened, Elliott blew a right rear tire and spun off of turn 4 bringing out the 9th caution of the race. The race restarted on lap 192. One lap later, the tenth caution came out when a large crash ("The Big One") occurred in turn 1. It started when Ryan Blaney hit the apron of the track and slid up into Kevin Harvick and then spun around, collecting Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Noah Gragson, Martin Truex Jr., Harrison Burton, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Michael McDowell, Todd Gilliland, and Kurt Busch. The race would restart on lap 197 with 4 laps to go in stage 2. On that restart, Daniel Suárez would take the lead from his Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain. Suárez would end up winning stage 2. After stage 2 ended, the field turned onto pit road and stopped for a moment of silence for the ones who were lost while serving in the military for Memorial Day.[10]

Stage 3

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Suárez won the race off of pit road but Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, and Kyle Busch did not stop and Logano lead the field back to the green to start stage 3 on lap 209. On lap 214, Daniel Suárez took the lead from Logano, on lap 220, the 12th caution flew when Kevin Harvick got loose when he tried to pass Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and hit the wall in turn 2. During the caution, Harvick went behind Stenhouse when Stenhouse appeared to brake check Harvick. Suárez went down and pitted and gave the lead to his teammate Ross Chastain. The race restarted on lap 225. On lap 252, Suarez charged his way from the back all the way to the lead. On lap 254, the 13th caution flew when Noah Gragson spun off of turn 4. Chastain won the race off of pit road and lead the field to the restart on lap 259. Chase Briscoe challenged Chastain for the lead and lead lap 260 and got out infront of him before Chastain pulled a crossover move on Briscoe and took the lead back. Chastain would end up winning stage 3.[10]

Final stage

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Tyler Reddick won the race off of pit road and lead the field to the green to start the final stage on lap 308. On lap 323, Ross Chastain took the lead from Reddick. On lap 340, the 15th caution would fly when Tyler Reddick's left rear tire blew and laid debris on the race track. Chastain won the race off of pit road and kept his lead. The race would restart on lap 346. But on that same lap, the wildest crash of the night would occur. Coming off of turn 4, Suárez attempted to get in front of Briscoe, but Briscoe bumped Suárez turning Suárez around. While Suárez was spinning, he was broadsided by Todd Gilliland and then got hit again by Buescher, who was already spinning after he got rear ended by Harrison Burton. Buescher's impact into Suárez ended up breaking the right front axle on Buescher's car completely apart with the tether still attached. Buescher did a 360 spin in the grass before the right front wheel of his car dug into the grass, causing the car to flip over four times before coming to a rest upside down on the apron turn 1 of the Roval course. The race was red-flagged for ten minutes while rescue workers uprighted Buescher's car so he could climb out.[11] The race would get back under way on lap 353 with 48 laps to go. With 47 to go, Kyle Larson took the lead from Ross Chastain. Chase Briscoe would pass Chastain for second. Larson soon began to pull away with an almost 2 second lead. But with 31 to go, Chase Briscoe began to close the gap on Larson. With 22 to go, Briscoe was in the rear view mirror of Larson. Briscoe attempted to pass Larson with 13 to go but couldn't make it stick. Briscoe tried again with 5 to go and actually beat Larson to the line to lead that lap and tried to put a slide job on Larson but failed and Larson got by Briscoe. With 2 to go, Briscoe attempted to pass Larson on the inside again in turn 1 but he drove in the corner hard and in doing so, his car ended up getting sideways and spun around on him which also brought out the 17th caution of the race. The caution would set up overtime. Larson would win the race off of pit road narrowly edging out Chastain. On the restart, Larson got ahead. Austin Dillon, who restarted 6th, got a big run and passed both Chastain and Joey Logano who were racing each other for second and Dillon attempted to pass Larson in turn 3. In turn 4, Chastain got himself a run and went to the outside of Larson and Dillon while Hamlin went to the inside of the three and made it four wide off of turn 4. But coming off of turn four, Larson and Chastain made a little contact which sent Larson down and turning Austin Dillion around and into the wall in a wreck that also collected Chastain, Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Cole Custer, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The 18th and final caution flew before the white flag was shown. Denny Hamlin was the race leader for the first time since lap 9 of the race. Chastain decided not to pit for his damaged front of his car and restarted next to Hamlin. On the 2nd overtime restart, Chastain's car did not get up to speed and ended up cutting down a tire and falling way back. Kyle Busch attempted to pass his teammate Hamlin for the lead and lead when they took the white flag but Busch could not do it and Denny Hamlin would win his first ever Coca-Cola 600 race. This would be Hamlin's 2nd win of 2022. Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Chase Briscoe, and Christopher Bell rounded out the top 5 while Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman rounded out the top 10.[12]

The 2022 Coca-Cola 600 was the longest running race in NASCAR history by distance as the race went for 619.5 miles. The race is also the fourth longest Coca-Cola 600 by time as it was 5 hours, 13 minutes, and 8 seconds long behind 2005, 1961, and 1960.[10]

Stage Results

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Stage One Laps: 100

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10
2 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9
3 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 8
4 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 7
5 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 6
6 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 5
7 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 4
8 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 3
9 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2
10 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1
Official stage one results

Stage Two Laps: 100

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 10
2 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 9
3 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 8
4 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 7
5 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 6
6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 5
7 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 4
8 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 3
9 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2
10 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1
Official stage two results

Stage Three Laps: 100

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 10
2 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 9
3 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 8
4 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 7
5 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 6
6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 5
7 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 4
8 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 3
9 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 2
10 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1
Official stage three results

Final Stage Results

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Stage Four Laps: 100

Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 413 42
2 4 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 413 35
3 18 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 413 38
4 15 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 413 49
5 3 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 413 41
6 8 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 413 50
7 29 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 413 40
8 10 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 413 29
9 36 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 413 36
10 9 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 413 29
11 17 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 413 26
12 14 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 413 30
13 28 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 413 24
14 25 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 413 31
15 22 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 413 48
16 30 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 413 21
17 24 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 412 20
18 33 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 412 19
19 31 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Ford 407 18
20 23 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 405 27
21 21 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 405 20
22 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 405 17
23 34 50 Kaz Grala (i) The Money Team Racing Chevrolet 400 0
24 27 16 Noah Gragson (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 386 0
25 12 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 346 28
26 19 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 346 14
27 20 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 343 10
28 7 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 200 15
29 11 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 195 13
30 35 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 193 7
31 2 45 Kurt Busch 23XI Racing Toyota 191 6
32 5 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 191 5
33 13 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 14
34 6 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 145 3
35 37 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 60 2
36 32 77 Josh Bilicki (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 31 0
37 26 15 Ryan Preece (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 0
Official race results

Race statistics

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  • Lead changes: 31 among 13 different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 18 for 90
  • Red flags: 2 for 12 minutes
  • Time of race: 5 hours, 13 minutes and 8 seconds
  • Average speed: 118.703 miles per hour (191.034 km/h)

Media

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Television

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Fox Sports televised the race in the United States for the 22nd consecutive year. Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while 2012 Fall Charlotte winner Clint Bowyer and two-time winner Jamie McMurray were the color commentators. Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Vince Welch reported from pit lane during the race. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Fox
Booth announcers Pit reporters In-race analyst
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer
Color-commentator: Jamie McMurray
Jamie Little
Regan Smith
Vince Welch
Larry McReynolds

Radio

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Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by the Performance Racing Network (PRN), and was 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 and Alan Cavanna were the pit reporters during the broadcast.

PRN Radio
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Doug Rice
Announcer: Mark Garrow
Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright
Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson
Brad Gillie
Brett McMillan
Alan Cavanna

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ "2022 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  2. ^ "Charlotte Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 23, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  5. ^ "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  6. ^ "Coca-Cola 600 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. May 29, 2022. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  7. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 29, 2022. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  8. ^ Utter, Jim (May 28, 2022). "Larson fastest in Coke 600 NASCAR Cup practice, then wrecks". Motorsport.com. Charlotte, North Carolina: Motorsport Network.
  9. ^ Utter, Jim (May 28, 2022). "Denny Hamlin takes Coke 600 pole as Toyota sweeps first two rows". Motorsport.com. Charlotte, North Carolina: Motorsport Network.
  10. ^ a b c d "Sunday's Coke 600 was the longest NASCAR race in history — depending on how you measure".
  11. ^ "Buescher thankful after escaping Charlotte flip".
  12. ^ "NASCAR 2022: Denny Hamlin takes victory at the Coca-Cola 600 running the longest Cup Series race by distance".


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