Concord, NC – Ross Chastain stood above his chevrolet n ° 1 in his white fire costume and held a watermelon above his head while the crowd of the Charlotte Motor Speedway roared anticipation.
Then, with a feeling of ferocity, Chastain slammed it on the track, causing it into pieces.
Chastain began to break the watermelon as a way to honor the heritage of his family as an eighth generation watermelon agent. Tradition began after its first Nascar Cup Series race and continued after each victory.
But this victory was very special, his first at an event of jewel of the crown.
“This thing is fresh from Florida,” said Chastain laughing. “He came from our family farm. Guy, for the Florida watermelon industry, it’s your watermelons that you get right now, so you’d better go buy a Dang watermelon to celebrate. I want to see broken watermelons flood the social. I want to see it. The Florida des Pontèques are in season.”
Chastain succeeded twice the winner of Daytona 500 William Byron With six laps to play and won the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday evening, capping a remarkable return and becoming the first pilot to win the event after starting in the back of the field.
Nascar said he was the first driver to win from an official starting position in Last since Bobby Allison at Richmond Fairgrounds in 1969.
Byron won the first three stages and led 283 laps, but returned to Chastain, who started 40th place and led only eight laps in his first victory for the Nascar Cup Series of the Year.
It was a huge boost for the Trackhouse races, and a bitter disappointment for Byron, from Charlotte who had signed a four -year contract extension on Friday with Hendrick Motorsports. Byron finished in the first three in the last three Coca-Cola 600 without winning.
Chastain said his crew was standing overnight to build another car after a training accident on Saturday.
“To drive on this last race in the 600 and spend two cars that had been better than me all night, Wow,” said Chastain. “Holy Cow! We have just won the 600.”
Chastain said the plan was to repair the original car after the wreckage, but Nascar intervened. It could have been a good thing.
“We thought we would have to repair the primary and Nascar said, no, there is something folded (therefore) to build another,” said Chastain. “This is how we did that.”
Chastain’s crew chief Phil Pérgen said that he “degonfree” when a tire fell and Chastain crashed during training because their original car was so much a crown, finishing the fastest among the land on average of 10, 15 and 20 laps.
But he said that more than 30 employees came to the racing shop nearby to work on the car, with almost a dozen stay until 2:30 am to prepare it to run. The car they used must have been an emergency car at the Nashville race but did not have an engine and needed several other additions.
“This group of guys I have is relentless and everyone was going to do their best,” said Surgen. “The guys were at concerts and ball games and dropped what they were doing to help.”
Owner of the Trackhouse races Justin Marks Called it an effort as a “master’s class” of the team.
Byron left the track disappointed with his inability to keep his head.
“He caught up with me and I was trying to defend and I would tighten myself a little,” said Byron. “He was running on me and was able to go to the bottom of the track of two. He is disappointing to lead so many tricks.”
Byron has become the first pilot to sweep the first three stages of Nascar’s longest race, but ended up in a battle with Denny Hamlin The last 100 laps. They exchanged the advance a few times before the two pilots opposed 52 laps for a last fuel stop.
But Hamlin did not have enough in his car and should get up again, falling from discord. He finished 16th.
Chastain, running in a rescue car, ran byron for his sixth serial victory and his first victory of the crown. Pole Sitter Chase Briscoe finished third.
Kyle LarsonThe day ended the way it started at Indianapolis 500 – with a wreck.
Larson arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway via the helicopter more than an hour before the start of the race after having crashed at Indianapolis 500 during his second failed attempt to finish “double”.
In North Carolina, he started in the front row and ran to an early advance before hitting the wall around 38.
A few laps later, his car broke away, sending him turning through the front of everything directly and highlighted the first flag for warning the race. But Larson was able to regain control and prevent other damage to his Chevrolet n ° 5 before heading to the stands for adjustments that forced her on the back of the ground.
But Larson was taken in a wreck implicating Ryan BlaneyBriscoe and Daniel Suarezsending it behind the wall. He finished 37th.
Johnson makes the early release
Jimmie JohnsonThe offer for a fifth record victory of Coca-Cola 600 ended at the start of the second stage when he hit the wall around 4, causing serious damage to his Toyota n ° 84 and by bringing him out of the race. The champion of the series series series finished last.
“I made a recruit error,” said Johnson, who made his 700th series of the career series. “The traffic situations are different with this car and I reacted in a way that I should not have.”
Half-time tribute
Taking into account the tradition, the drivers pulled their cars from the stands of the stands to a complete stop for a moment of silence as part of the tribute of the Memorial Day weekend at “Honor and Remember” these members of the service who lost their lives.
