NASCAR: Winners and losers from the 2018 Coca-Cola 600

Kyle Busch won his fourth race of the NASCAR Cup Series season with a victory in the Coca-Cola 600. Who were the winners and losers from this race?

On Sunday night, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series capped off racing’s greatest day with the longest race on the Cup Series schedule, the Coca-Cola 600. After an exciting Formula 1 race in Monaco and a compelling finish to the Indianapolis 500, could NASCAR keep the strong day going?

Ehh…Kyle Busch led 377 of 400 laps. It’s the third straight year that a Toyota driver had led at least half of this race, though last season some strategy helped Austin Dillon to a surprise victory in his Chevrolet. After an All-Star race filled with intrigue, this year’s Coca-Cola 600 was a little bit of a let down.

On the flip side, dominant performances have to be applauded. Maybe fans didn’t love watching it, but it’s clear that Joe Gibbs Racing figured something out and had the #18 Toyota running at its peak. It reminds me of the NBA, where people complain about seeing LeBron James in his eighth straight NBA Finals. Sure, the Eastern Conference playoffs have lacked some excitement over that stretch, but you have to admire the pure ability of LeBron.

(Anyway, enough basketball comparisons. Let’s get to the winners and the losers.)

Winners from Charlotte

Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch won his first race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and has now won at every track on the Cup Series schedule. He did it in dominant fashion on Sunday, with the victory very rarely appearing to be in doubt. His points lead over Joey Logano continues to grow. It is at 67 now.

Jamie McMurray

Jamie McMurray has been in need of a strong run. He earned his second top 10 finish of the season and kept open an outside shot at sneaking into the playoffs.

(Okay, that’s probably a lie since he’s still back in 20th in the championship standings, but a strong run can help build some momentum as he tries to get to victory lane.)

Jimmie Johnson

It is hard to believe that Jimmie Johnson’s fifth place finish was just his second top five finish of the year, but that’s where we are right now with a combination of bad luck and poor performances from Hendrick Motorsports. All three drivers who finished the race for Rick Hendrick finished in the top 11, so this could be something to build on for Johnson and the rest of the team.

Losers from Charlotte

Kevin Harvick

Coming into Sunday, Kevin Harvick had run 622 races in the Cup Series. He’d finished last…never? Yes, never. That streak is now over, as is his two-race winning streak, as Harvick wrecked early and finished 40th.

Ryan Blaney

An engine issue did Ryan Blaney in, and he continues to struggle with just one top 10 finish in the last six races and three finishes of 35th or worse. He was sixth in points after Bristol, but he’s now fallen to 11th. It’s too early to worry about his playoff spot, but it would be nice to see the second-generation driver get things moving in the right direction.

William Byron

William Byron has crashed in three of the last four races, though he has been showing some speed in the moments when his car is actually running.

Austin Dillon

Last year’s race winner and this year’s Daytona 500 champion continues to slip in the points after finishing 34th on Sunday. That win in this year’s season opener is the only thing keeping Austin Dillon in the playoff picture, but a lack of improvement between now and the beginning of the playoffs could spell doom for him in the first round.

Joey Logano

Joey Logano came into Sunday within spitting distance of the point lead, but a dominant Kyle Busch performance and 22nd place run for Logano has opened a wide gap between the two.

Next: 5 NASCAR drivers who should attempt the Memorial Day Double

Next Sunday, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series visits Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 400. That race will air on June 3 at 2:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1. There have been six different winners in the last six Pocono races. Will that trend continue, or can one of last year’s winners, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney, get to victory lane? Tune in and find out.

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