Daniel Suárez honoured his close friend Kyle Busch by winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night, just days after the two-time NASCAR champion's death at the age of 41. Suárez held off Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin after a two-tyre pit stop and a hard rain shower to secure his third career Cup Series victory, ending an 82-race winless streak.
“This one really means a lot,” said Suárez, who was embraced on pit road by teammate Michael McDowell and four-time 600 winner Jimmie Johnson. “It’s been a very tough week. You know, Kyle, he was special, man. We wanted to win this one for Kyle, Samantha, Brexton and Lennix and his family.”
Suárez, who drove part-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the truck series in 2015 and 2016, credited Busch with launching his career. “If it wasn’t for Kyle, I wasn’t going to be an Xfinity champion. I wasn’t going to have my shot in the Cup Series. To be able to win this race for him is unbelievable.”
Busch’s family confirmed that he died after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming complications. Before the race, a ceremony with Busch’s family saw Tyler Reddick lead the 39-car field in a “missing man” formation, leaving an open spot where the polesitter would have lined up.
British racer Katherine Legge, who had a early crash in the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day, finished 31st in Charlotte, becoming the first foreign-born female driver to attempt “The Double” of racing both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
