2015 Coca-Cola 600

2015 Coca-Cola 600
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Race 12 of 36 in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Date May 24, 2015 (2015-05-24)
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (960 km)
Weather Mostly sunny with a temperature of 81 °F (27 °C); wind out of the south/southeast at 7 mph (11 km/h)
Average speed 147.803 mph (237.866 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 27.799
Most laps led
Driver Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing
Laps 131
Winner
No. 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings 3.6/7 (Overnight)[11]
3.8/8 (Final)[12]
6.41 Million viewers[12]
Radio in the United States
Radio PRN
Booth Announcers Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Brendan Gaughan
Turn Announcers Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Brad Gillie (3 & 4)

The 2015 Coca-Cola 600, the 56th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on May 24, 2015 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.42 km) asphalt speedway, it was the 12th race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Carl Edwards won the race, his first of the season and first with Joe Gibbs Racing. Greg Biffle finished second. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished third. Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex, Jr. rounded out the top five.

Matt Kenseth won the pole for the race and led 26 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish. Martin Truex, Jr. led the most laps for the second consecutive race with a race high of 131 laps on his way to a fifth-place finish. The race had 22 lead changes among nine different drivers, as well as eight caution flag periods for 39 laps.

This was the 24th career victory for Carl Edwards, first at Charlotte Motor Speedway and fifth at the track for Joe Gibbs Racing. This win moved Edwards up to 16th in the points standings. Despite being the winning manufacturer, Toyota left Charlotte trailing Chevrolet by 71 points in the manufacturer standings.

The Coca-Cola 600 was carried by Fox Sports on the broadcast Fox network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Report

Background

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

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race, as well as the Bank of America 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.

The 2,000 acres (810 ha) complex also features a state-of-the-art quarter mile (0.40 km) drag racing strip, ZMAX Dragway. It is the only all-concrete, four-lane drag strip in the United States and hosts NHRA events. Alongside the drag strip is a state-of-the-art clay oval that hosts dirt racing including the World of Outlaws finals among other popular racing events.

Kevin Harvick entered Charlotte with a 46-point lead over Martin Truex Jr. following his runner-up finish. Jimmie Johnson entered 48 back following winning at Kansas Speedway. Joey Logano entered 62 back. Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered 77 back following a third-place finish at Kansas.

For the weekend's race, the names on the windshield of the cars — in lieu of the drivers last names — had those of United States Armed Forces members who've died in the line of duty.[13] “The NASCAR community rallying to honor the U.S. Armed Forces, past and present, has long been part of our sport’s heritage,” said Brent Dewar, NASCAR chief operating officer. “As part of NASCAR: An American Salute, 600 Miles of Remembrance represents a special moment in time as we pay tribute to service members who have sacrificed dearly for our freedom.”[13] The Toyota pace car for the race will follow suit as well.[13]

Entry list

The entry list for the Coca-Cola 600 was released on Monday, May 18 at 3:41 p.m. Eastern time. Forty-eight drivers were entered for the race. Kyle Busch, who has missed the first eleven races of the season following being injured in an Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway, made his first Sprint Cup Series start since the 2014 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Ryan Blaney made his first start since the 2015 GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. Jeff Gordon, whose first career win came in the 1994 Coca-Cola 600, made his 23rd and final Coca-Cola 600 start. Chase Elliott attempted and made his third career start in the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Jeff Green attempted to make the race in the No. 30 Chevrolet for The Motorsports Group which hadn't been entered in a race since the 2015 Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Mike Bliss returned to the seat of the No. 32 Go FAS Racing Ford that was las driven by Joey Gase in the 2015 SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway. Alex Kennedy drove the No. 33 Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet that had been driven by Ty Dillon the previous week at Kansas. Travis Kvapil attempted to make his first start of the season in the No. 39 Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet.

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Starts Best Finish
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 12 2nd
2 Brad Keselowski (PC3) Team Penske Ford 5 5th
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1 16th
4 Kevin Harvick (PC1) Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 14 1st
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 11 1st
6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 3 16th
7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 1 33rd
9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 2 13th
10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 3 29th
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 9 2nd
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 12 1st
14 Tony Stewart (PC4) Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 16 2nd
15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 9 7th
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 12 2nd
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 3 11th
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 11 3rd
19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 10 3rd
20 Matt Kenseth (PC6) Joe Gibbs Racing Ford 15 1st
21 Ryan Blaney (i) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 0
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 6 3rd
23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 6 2nd
24 Jeff Gordon (PC7) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22 1st
26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 0
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 8 8th
30 Jeff Green (i) The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 7 11th
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 14 2nd
32 Mike Bliss (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 4 15th
33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 0
34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 0
35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 2 27th
38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 8 20th
39 Travis Kvapil (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 7 22nd
40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 4 18th
41 Kurt Busch (PC5) Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 14 1st
42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1 18th
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 3 11th
46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 1 28th
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 7 5th
48 Jimmie Johnson (PC2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 13 1st
51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 1 37th
55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 8 2nd
62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 1 33rd
78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 10 7th
83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 0
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 16 4th
95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 6 30
98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 3 26th
Official entry list
Key Meaning
(R) Rookie
(i) Ineligible for points
(PC#) Past champions provisional

Practice

First practice

Carl Edwards was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.085 and a speed of 192.273 mph (309.433 km/h).[14]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.085 192.273
2 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.173 191.673
3 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.178 191.639
Official first practice results

Qualifying

Matt Kenseth, seen here at the 2015 Daytona 500, scored the pole for the race.

Matt Kenseth won the pole with a time of 27.799 seconds and a speed of 194.252 mph (312.618 km/h).[15] “I thought we had some speed in practice, just never really had the balance or the perfect lap,” he said. “Everyone at JGR has been working honestly around the clock to get all these cars done and get us better stuff. It's one lap. It's 600 miles Sunday, but it's a good place to start. A good way to start the weekend."[15] “Second is nice, but look at the difference and how much I needed to pick up,” said Joey Logano. “That was a very fast lap by the 20, congratulations to them. I don’t know how to go that fast. We’ve got a couple weeks to figure out how to beat the 20 car. He’s very, very fast obviously. That was an amazing lap they ran there at the end.”[15] “Just trying to have confidence,” Greg Biffle said after qualifying fourth. “We haven’t seen it in race trim yet, whether it’s us taking the tape off the front of it or what it might be – the change between our qualifying and race trim. We’re struggling a bit right now, so we’re just gonna work hard in practice and see what we can do.”[15] None of the five Hendrick Motorsports drivers made it to the final round of qualifying for the first time since Sonoma last June.[15] "I'm just disappointed in that second run out," said Gordon, who would start 18th. "The car never got down to the white line. It was real tight."[15] Mike Bliss, Jeb Burton, Brendan Gaughan, Jeff Green and Travis Kvapil all failed to make the race.[15]

Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3
1 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.913 27.869 27.799
2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 28.281 28.074 28.003
3 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.116 27.954 28.018
4 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.131 28.080 28.092
5 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.175 28.070 28.124
6 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.000 28.088 28.142
7 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.993 27.975 28.180
8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 27.962 27.861 28.232
9 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.157 28.117 28.233
10 78 Martin Truex, Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 28.178 28.063 28.373
11 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.240 28.104 28.446
12 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.045 27.932 29.124
13 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.257 28.165
14 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.131 28.167
15 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.205 28.171
16 21 Ryan Blaney (i) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.183 28.174
17 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.076 28.209
18 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.994 28.220
19 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.207 28.250
20 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.249 28.279
21 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.290 28.298
22 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.116 28.332
23 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.269 28.424
24 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.293 29.394
25 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 28.301
26 9 Sam Hornish, Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.305
27 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.332
28 25 Chase Elliott (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.365
29 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.394
30 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 28.429
31 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 28.439
32 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 28.444
33 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.470
34 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 28.528
35 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 28.538
36 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 28.564
37 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.590
38 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 28.651
39 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.724
40 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 29.060
41 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 29.078
42 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 29.184
43 33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 29.746
Failed to qualify
44 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 28.679
45 32 Mike Bliss (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 28.894
46 39 Travis Kvapil (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 28.984
47 30 Jeff Green (i) The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 29.337
48 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 29.807
Official qualifying results

Practice (post-qualifying)

Second practice

Kurt Busch was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.031 and a speed of 192.664 mph (310.063 km/h).[16]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.031 192.664
2 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.172 191.680
3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.300 190.813
Official second practice results

Final practice

Kurt Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.624 and a speed of 188.653 mph (303.608 km/h).[17]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.624 188.653
2 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.869 187.052
3 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.879 186.987
Official final practice results

Race

First half

Start

The Coca-Cola 600 was scheduled to start at 6:20 p.m. but started one minute late with Matt Kenseth leading the field to the green flag. Kenseth wouldn't lead the first lap however, as teammate Carl Edwards took the lead. Kenseth found his way to the head of the field on lap 4. The first caution flew on lap 26. This was a scheduled competition caution that came after Charlotte Motor Speedway general manager Marcus Smith had turns 1 and 2 washed down overnight. Brad Keselowski was tagged for removing equipment from his pit box and restarted from the tail-end of the field. Aric Almirola was tagged for his crew being over the wall too soon and also restarted from the tail-end of the field.[18]

The race restarted on lap 31 and Joey Logano shot out ahead of Kenseth to take the lead on lap 32. Denny Hamlin powered to the outside of Logano in turn 2 to take the lead on lap 44. Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 65. As a round of green flag pit stops began, he surrendered the lead on lap 79 to make his pit stop and gave it to teammate Kurt Busch, who also was on pit road. This gave the lead to Keselowski, who pitted on lap 81 and gave the lead back to Harvick. The second caution flew on lap 90 when Jimmie Johnson got loose in turn 3 and spun out off the asphalt banking in turn 4. He saved the car and brought it to pit road. Keselowski chose not to pit and assumed the lead.[18]

Second quarter

The race restarted on lap 95. Keselowski was no match for his teammate on fresher tires as Logano took the lead on lap 96. Kurt Busch, who took four tires during the previous caution, took the lead with ease on lap 98. The third caution flew on lap 136 when Justin Allgaier slammed the wall in turn 3.[19]

The race restarted on lap 142, with Kurt Busch still out in front. The race settled into a green flag run. A second series of green flag pit stops began on lap 185, 15 laps to halfway. Busch surrendered the lead to pit on lap 190 and handed the lead to Johnson. He pitted on lap 191 and handed the lead to Edwards. He pitted the next lap and the lead cycled to Martin Truex Jr.[20] Kasey Kahne was tagged for speeding on pit road and was forced to serve a drive-through penalty.[18]

Second half

Halfway

The fourth caution flew on lap 229 when Trevor Bayne collected the wall in turn 3, leaving debris on the racetrack. Ryan Newman was tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted from the tail-end of the field.[18]

The race restarted on lap 236. Kurt Busch took back the lead on lap 238. Truex took back the lead on lap 263. The fifth caution flew on lap 273 when Johnson hit the wall near the entrance to pit road.[21] “We had a really loose racecar," Johnson explained. "We came in with an aggressive mindset to bring an aggressive setup in the car, drive aggressively and take chances. We don’t have anything to lose. Unfortunately, we didn’t get long enough into the race for the aggressive setup to come into play. Another 30/40 laps, we would have had the car right where we wanted it. I just didn’t make it there."[22] "I could see it, I could see that opening and I could see the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) pit," Johnson said. "I was frightened that I was going to get through that hole. It wouldn’t have been pretty for me, but to have teams and stuff there ... that was something I was staring at sliding for a long way. I was very thankful the SAFER barrier was there. I wish we could find a way to extend a wall out and redirect the car away from that opening, or close that opening up."[22]

The race restarted on lap 279. The sixth caution of the race flew on lap 282 when Ryan Blaney hit the wall.[18]

Fourth quarter

Carl Edwards, seen here at the 2015 Daytona 500, scored his first win of the season.

The race restarted on lap 292. The seventh caution of the race flew on lap 327 when Michael Annett, exiting turn 2, got loose and spun out on the backstretch.[18]

The race restarted on lap 333. Hamlin took the lead from Truex, Jr. with 67 laps to go. The eighth caution of the race flew with 64 laps to go when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hit the wall in turn 4, leaving debris on the racetrack.[18]

The race restarted with 59 laps to go. Hamlin made an unscheduled stop with 38 laps to go for a loose wheel. Martin Truex Jr. reassumed the lead. He pitted with 22 laps to go and handed the lead to Harvick. He pitted the next lap and gave the lead to Edwards who drove his way to score the win.[23]

Post-race

Driver comments

"JGR is back and so is Toyota," said Edwards, who pitted on Lap 338 for fuel and was able to stretch it all the way to the finish as others ran out in the closing laps. "Darian Grubb is so good as a crew chief and when it comes down to fuel mileage, there isn’t anyone else I’d want calling the shots like he did tonight. This is such a huge win."[24] "I was hoping the guys in front of me would run too hard and run out of gas," said Earnhardt. "We had to try to go for a win. We didn’t have a car fast enough to beat the '41' (Kurt Busch) or the '78' (Truex). We had to do something different. I like to gamble."[24] Martin Truex Jr. finished fifth after leading a race high 131 laps.[25] "I didn't even think fuel mileage strategy was an option," said Truex, who also led the most laps in the previous race at Kansas Speedway. "I felt I only needed to pass the No. 11 (Hamlin). We had a very fast car all night. It really hurts knowing that you had the fastest car and didn't win. I don’t know what to do about fuel mileage races. I’ve never ever in my entire career come out on the right end of them."[26] "We didn't make many adjustments throughout the race, the car was fast from the get-go," noted Truex. "Whatever we needed to do, Cole (Pearn, crew chief) and his engineering staff made the right calls. This is a talented team that works extremely hard and I want nothing more than to drive their car to victory lane."[26]

In his first Cup Series points race since his injury, Kyle Busch finished eleventh. He was able to run the whole race, but in the event he couldn't finish, Joe Gibbs racing had Erik Jones ready to complete the race.

Post-race penalties

On the Wednesday following the race, NASCAR handed out penalties to three Sprint Cup teams.[27]

  • 12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing.[27]
  • 20.4.b: Body; All approved OEM-manufactured body components must be used as supplied except as required to stiffen, or to attach to other vehicle components. Tolerances from CAD surfaces and template tolerances are provided to allow for manufacturing, fabrication, and installation variability. Approved Parts: GM R: NSCS 0786. Part Name: Quarter Panel RS, Effective date Aug. 1, 2012.[27]
  • 20.4.2: Surface Conformance (a). Coordinate measuring machines, scanning equipment, and templates, among other tools, will be used to inspect body surfaces for conformance to the approved OEM and NASCAR CAD files.[27]

As a result of the violations, crew chief Matt McCall was placed on probation through the remainder of the 2015 calendar year.[27]

  • Warnings and P1 penalty options: b. Multiple warnings issued to the same member or team will result in one or more P1 penalties; c. If the same team receives two warnings during the same event or two warnings during two consecutive events, whether the events are championship or non-championship, then this may result in one or more ... P1 penalties at NASCAR's discretion.[27]

As a result of these infractions, both teams received the last two choices in the pit stall selections, respective to qualifying results, for the following weekend's event at Dover International Speedway.[27]

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 3 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 47
2 4 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 400 42
3 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 41
4 1 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 41
5 10 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 400 41
6 19 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 38
7 6 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 400 38
8 5 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 37
9 8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 400 36
10 14 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 400 35
11 17 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 33
12 33 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 32
13 2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 400 32
14 23 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 30
15 18 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 29
16 11 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 28
17 21 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 399 27
18 28 25 Chase Elliott (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 399 0
19 22 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 399 25
20 24 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 399 24
21 12 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 399 23
22 20 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 398 22
23 34 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 398 21
24 26 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 398 20
25 9 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 398 19
26 31 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 397 18
27 27 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 397 17
28 37 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 396 16
29 30 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 395 15
30 25 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 394 14
31 40 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 393 13
32 36 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 393 12
33 39 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 392 12
34 42 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 392 10
35 38 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 392 9
36 43 33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 389 8
37 29 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 382 7
38 41 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 377 0
39 32 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 375 0
40 13 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 370 4
41 7 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 353 3
42 16 21 Ryan Blaney (i) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 281 0
43 35 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 135 1
Official Coca-Cola 600 race results

Race statistics

Lap Leaders
Laps Leader
1-2 Carl Edwards
3-27 Matt Kenseth
28 David Gilliland
29 Matt Kenseth
30-43 Joey Logano
44-63 Denny Hamlin
64-78 Kevin Harvick
79 Kurt Busch
80 Brad Keselowski
81-90 Kevin Harvick
91 Martin Truex Jr.
92-93 Brad Keselowski
94-96 Joey Logano
97-189 Kurt Busch
190-191 Carl Edwards
192-236 Martin Truex Jr.
237-260 Kurt Busch
261-329 Martin Truex Jr.
330-362 Denny Hamlin
363-378 Martin Truex Jr.
379 Kevin Harvick
380-400 Carl Edwards
Total laps led
Leader Laps
Martin Truex Jr. 131
Kurt Busch 118
Denny Hamlin 53
Matt Kenseth 26
Matt Kenseth 26
Carl Edwards 25
Joey Logano 17
Brad Keselowski 3
David Gilliland 1

Race awards

Media

Television

Fox Sports covered their 15th race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mike Joy, former crew chief Larry McReynolds, and five-time Coca-Cola 600 winner Darrell Waltrip had the call in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Chris Neville, Vince Welch, and Matt Yocum handled pit road for the television side.

Fox
Booth announcersPit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color-commentator: Larry McReynolds
Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip
Jamie Little
Chris Neville
Vince Welch
Matt Yocum

Radio

PRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow, and Brendan Gaughan called the race in the booth when the field was racing down the front stretch. Rob Albright called the race from a scaffold outside turn 2 when the field was racing through turns 1 and 2. Brad Gillie called the race from atop the turn 4 suits when the field was racing through turns 3 and 4. Brett McMillan, Jim Noble, Steve Richards, and Doug Turnbull worked pit road for PRN.

PRN
Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters
Lead announcer: Doug Rice
Announcer: Mark Garrow
Announcer: Brendan Gaughan
Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright
Turns 3 & 4: Brad Gillie
Brett McMillan
Jim Noble
Steve Richards
Doug Turnbull

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Kevin Harvick 473
2 Martin Truex Jr. 432 (-41)
1 3 Joey Logano 407 (-66)
1 4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 401 (-72)
2 5 Jimmie Johnson 393 (-80)
6 Brad Keselowski 381 (-92)
7 Matt Kenseth 372 (-101)
8 Jamie McMurray 353 (-120)
9 Jeff Gordon 346 (-127)
10 Kasey Kahne 345 (-128)
2 11 Ryan Newman 343 (-130)
1 12 Aric Almirola 339 (-134)
1 13 Paul Menard 336 (-137)
14 Kurt Busch 327 (-146)
15 Denny Hamlin 321 (-152)
2 16 Carl Edwards 312 (-161)

Kevin Harvick left Charlotte with a 41-point lead over Martin Truex Jr.
Manufacturers' Championship standings
Pos Manufacturer Points
1 Chevrolet 541
2 Ford 498 (-43)
3 Toyota 470 (-71)
  • Note: Only the first sixteen positions are included for the driver standings.

References

  1. "2015 NASCAR Schedule" (PDF). NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. August 26, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  2. "Charlotte Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  3. "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  4. "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 21, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  5. "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 21, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  6. "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 23, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  7. "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 23, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  8. "Coca-Cola 600 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 24, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  9. "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. NASCAR Statistics. May 24, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  10. "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications. May 25, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  11. Paulsen (May 26, 2015). "Coca-Cola 600 Overnight Lowest Since Moving to FOX". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  12. 1 2 Paulsen (May 29, 2015). "Coca-Cola 600 Trails Indy 500 Rating, But Has Slightly Larger Audience". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 "NASCAR to Honor Fallen Service Members". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  14. McFadin, Daniel (May 21, 2015). "Carl Edwards leads first Sprint Cup practice for Coca-Cola 600". nascartalk.nbcsports.com. Concord, North Carolina: NBC Sports. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pistone, Pete (May 21, 2015). "Kenseth Captures Coca-Cola 600 Pole". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  16. McFadin, Daniel (May 23, 2015). "Kurt Busch fastest in second Coca-Cola 600 practice". nascartalk.nbcsports.com. Concord, North Carolina: NBC Sports. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  17. McFadin, Daniel (May 23, 2015). "Kurt Busch fastest in final Coca-Cola 600 practice, sweeps Saturday sessions". nascartalk.nbcsports.com. Concord, North Carolina: NBC Sports. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "2015 Coca-Cola 600". Sprint Cup Series. Season 67. Concord, North Carolina. May 24, 2015. Event occurs at 6:21 p.m. Fox Sports. Fox. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  19. Knight, Chris (May 24, 2015). "Justin Allgaier First Casualty In Coca-Cola 600". catchfence.com. Concord, North Carolina: Catchfence. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  20. McFadin, Daniel (May 24, 2015). "Martin Truex Jr. leads halfway through the Coca-Cola 600". nascartalk.nbcsports.com. Concord, North Carolina: NBC Sports. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  21. McFadin, Daniel (May 24, 2015). "Jimmie Johnson wrecks in Coca-Cola 600". nascartalk.nbcsports.com. Concord, North Carolina: NBC Sports. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  22. 1 2 Pistone, Pete (May 24, 2015). "Worst Charlotte Finish for Johnson". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  23. Vincent, Amanda (May 24, 2015). "Edwards earns first victory with JGR in 600-miler at Charlotte". Motorsport.com. Concord, North Carolina: Motorsport.com, Inc. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  24. 1 2 Pistone, Pete (May 24, 2015). "Edwards Wins Coca-Cola 600". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  25. Pockrass, Bob (May 25, 2015). "Truex getting closer to breaking winless streak". ESPN.com. Concord, North Carolina: ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  26. 1 2 Pistone, Pete (May 25, 2015). "Truex: 'It Hurts to Come Home Fifth'". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "NASCAR hands out 3 penalties after Coca-Cola 600". NASCAR.com. Official NASCAR Release. May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
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