CONCORD, N.C. (USA TODAY) -- Austin Dillon won his first career race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, making a fuel gamble pay off in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Dillon and four other cars skipped a green flag pit cycle with 30 laps left and as the others slowly ran out of fuel or were consumed by the field, Dillon was able to hold off the hard-charging Kyle Busch and the dominant car of Martin Truex Jr.
Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing led 233 laps, becoming just the second to pace the most laps in NASCAR’s longest race for three consecutive seasons. He led a record 392 in 2016 and 131 in 2015. He won only last year, losing in 2015 on fuel mileage also.
The victory put Richard Childress Racing’s iconic No. 3 Chevrolet back in victory lane for the first time since the late Dale Earnhardt won on Oct. 15, 2000, at Talladega Superspeedway. The Hall of Famer and seven-time champion died on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 and owner Richard Childress did not use the ‘3’ again until Dillon, his grandson, made his Cup debut in 2014.
CREW CHIEF PROBLEMS: Johnson crew chief Chad Knaus ranted on team radio mid-race about crew chief Chris Gayle, angry that Furniture Row Racing rookie Erik Jones was pitting wide in his box to impede Johnson. Jones is a teammate of Truex Jr., who Johnson spent much of the early stages of the race chasing. Jones was pitting one stall further down the track than Johnson, forcing the No. 48 Chevrolet to maneuver past him. Jones pitted further away from Johnson on a third-stage stop.
POINTS LOST: Kyle Larson had his worst finish of the season (33rd) striking the wall twice and being forced to the garage on Lap 293 after he got loose in Turn 3 and sustained a hard swipe that caused irreparable damage. Larson had not finished worse than 17th this season.
Larson was forced to start 39th out of 40 after not being able to clear inspection in time to make a qualifying attempt on Thursday, but immediately blasted through the field to become a contender. He began experiencing handling problems mid-race though and fell back into the field after a first brush with the wall.
“I got really loose into (Turn) 3 and hit the wall and got a lot of damage and the tire started to go down and then exploded in (Turn) 1,” Larson said. “I just hate it that I made a mistake there in Turn 3 and got in the wall. I was not even running hard up there. I just got loose and then I hit it and it ruined our day.”
Truex Jr. is the series' new points leader, going five points up on Larson.
EARLY DAMAGE: Brad Keselowski plowed Chase Elliott from behind on Lap 19 when Elliott’s No. 24 Chevrolet ran over a part from a damaged car and slowed drastically on the front stretch. Jeffrey Earnhardt’s No. 33 Chevrolet appeared to slough the part that Elliott ran over, sending flames shooting from Elliott’s left front wheel well. Keselowski was unable to slow because of an oil trail and the impact from Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford lifted Elliott’s rear wheels off the track.
“I knew it had hurt our nose at least, then I saw some flames and figured we were laying down oil too, I guess,” said Elliott, who finished 38th. “Brad (39th) couldn’t get stopped and ended up kind of finishing us off.”
STAGE ONE: Kyle Busch passed Truex Jr. with 10 laps left in the segment to claim the playoff point. Truex Jr. was second, followed by Kevin Harvick, Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, and Jamie McMurray. Busch earned 10 race points, with an allotment doled out in descending order behind him.
STAGE TWO: Truex Jr. dominated the second stage to collect a stage win and playoff point. He was followed by Johnson, Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, McMurray, Dillon, Erik Jones, Larson and Denny Hamlin. Truex Jr. extended his series lead with a sixth stage win this season.
The stage was delayed by a 1-hour, 39-minute lightning and rain delay.
STAGE THREE: Denny Hamlin claimed the third stage, with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch and Kenseth next behind him. Teammates Truex Jr. and Jones followed, ahead of Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick, JGR’s Daniel Suarez and Dale Earnhardt Jr.