NASCAR takeaways: Daniel Suarez scores emotional, rain-shortened Charlotte win

Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-JournalMon, May 25, 2026 at 4:45 AM UTC

0

Daniel Suarez pointed to the number on his hat and looked to the sky.

The driver of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet was named the winner of the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 after the longest Cup Series race of the season was called due to rain with 27 laps remaining. As soon as Suarez was told, he grabbed his cap featuring Kyle Busch’s No. 8 and paid homage to the late NASCAR legend.

“It’s been a very tough week,” Suarez said. “Kyle, he was special. We’re doing this for Kyle — for Kyle, for (Busch’s wife) Samantha, for (son) Brexton, for (daughter) Lennix, for all his family.”

Suarez competed part-time in the Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2015 and 2016. Later, he grew into Busch’s Cup Series teammate with Joe Gibbs Racing.

“If it wasn’t for Kyle, I wasn’t going to be an Xfinity champion,” said Suarez, who led 17 laps Sunday. “I wasn’t going to have my shot in the Cup Series. And to be able to win this race for him is unbelievable.”

The absence of Busch, who died suddenly on May 21 at age 41, hung over the few days at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The track painted his No. 8 on the infield grass.

Before the Cup Series race, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell spoke to the crowd with Busch’s family members beside him and the race teams behind him.

“Kyle Busch is NASCAR,” O’Donnell said. “He was one of a kind, and there will never be another.”

The track observed a moment of silence before three bagpipers played “Amazing Grace.”

Those were just a few tributes in a weekend full of them, from the Indianapolis 500 to Charlotte and beyond.

Here are three takeaways from a race where the on-track action felt secondary.

1. Daniel Suarez nets first crown jewel win

Daniel Suarez and crew pose with a "Rowdy Nation" banner in memory of Kyle Busch after winning the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2026.

With his victory, Suarez snapped an 82-race winless streak. His most recent triumph had occurred at Atlanta in February 2024, when he was still working for Trackhouse Racing.

This was his third career win and his first in one of NASCAR’s crown jewels events.

Suarez grabbed the lead during a final-stage caution for lightning, as his team conducted a two-tire pit stop that spit him back onto the track in first. He maintained the top spot when the green flag returned, albeit for a brief period before weather caused more problems.

Advertisement

“Just unbelievable,” the 34-year-old said. “The team did an amazing job. It wasn’t easy. We had a lot of issues throughout the race, but they put us in contention and we executed well.”

Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin followed Suarez in second and third. Fourth-place finisher Tyler Reddick led a race-best 119 laps.

Overall, there were 32 lead changes and 12 yellow flags.

2. NASCAR half of double attempt goes slightly better for Katherine Legge

Katherine Legge competed in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 Sunday.

Katherine Legge’s Indianapolis-NASCAR double dreams ended early.

On Lap 18 of the Indy 500, Ryan Hunter-Reay spun coming out of Turn 2. Legge swerved hard to avoid a T-bone crash and slammed into the inside wall. She placed 33rd and flew to Charlotte ahead of schedule.

In the NASCAR half of the double, she lost the right front tire on her No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports machine on Lap 209. But otherwise, she was still running when precipitation forced an premature conclusion, finishing 12 laps down in 31st.

The 45-year-old British driver became the sixth racer — and first woman — to try the feat.

3. Austin Hill finishes 27th in Kyle Busch car

Austin Hill drove Kyle Busch's car, which was renumbered from 8 to 33, in the Coca-Cola 600.

Austin Hill had a weighty task at Charlotte.

Following Busch’s death, Richard Childress Racing tabbed Hill, a 32-year-old O’Reilly Series regular, to pilot the superstar’s car. The organization changed the number from Busch’s normal 8 to 33 and said that will remain the case going forward.

Hill ran in the middle of the pack for the vast majority of the 600 miles. He settled into 27th.

4. Nashville race is next on 2026 NASCAR schedule

For the final weekend of May, NASCAR will head to Nashville Superspeedway.

The Cup Series will run the Cracker Barrel 400, which includes 300 laps around the 1.33-mile oval. Ryan Blaney is the defending champion.

The green flag will arrive a few minutes after 7 p.m. on May 31. The event will also mark the second of five straight races to stream live on Amazon Prime Video.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR results: Daniel Suarez is Charlotte race winner

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”