# 2023 Coca-Cola 600

The 2023 Coca-Cola 600 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 29, 2023, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina and the 64th running of the event. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt speedway, it was the 14th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as the third of the four crown jewel races. The race was postponed from Sunday, May 28 to Monday, May 29, due to rain.

## Report
### Background

The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, located in Concord, North Carolina. The speedway complex includes a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) quad-oval track that was utilized for the race, as well as a dragstrip and a dirt track. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams based in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith serving as track president.
Similar to the Daytona 500, which was a four-stage race (with the first stage being the qualifying heat race), the Coca-Cola 600 is a four-stage race, with this the only race where all four stages are in the main race itself. All four stages are scheduled to consist of 100 laps. The race is official after the second stage.

#### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
* (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 38 | Zane Smith (i) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Noah Gragson (R) | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Todd Gilliland | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 78 | B. J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 84 | Jimmie Johnson | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet |
| 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## Practice

Practice was cancelled due to inclement weather.

## Qualifying

Qualifying was cancelled due to inclement weather. William Byron was awarded the pole for the race as a result of NASCAR's pandemic formula with a score of 2.550.

### Starting lineup

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 3 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 5 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 7 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 9 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 10 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 11 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 12 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 13 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 14 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 15 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 16 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 18 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 21 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
| 22 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 23 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 24 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 25 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 26 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet |
| 27 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 28 | 42 | Noah Gragson (R) | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet |
| 29 | 38 | Zane Smith (i) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 30 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 31 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 32 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 33 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 34 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 35 | 51 | Todd Gilliland | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 36 | 15 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 37 | 84 | Jimmie Johnson | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet |
| Official starting lineup |||||

## Race

Ryan Blaney won the race driving a Ford for Team Penske. It was Blaney's first Cup Series race win since the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race, and his first points-paying win since the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400. Chase Elliott was suspended from the following race after he intentionally right-hooked Denny Hamlin's car in the dog-leg of the frontstretch, causing a crash. On Wednesday May 31, NASCAR levied an L3 penalty to the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team of Chase Briscoe for counterfeiting a single-source part. The penalty is the largest single team penalty to occur in the Next Gen era, with Briscoe's team being docked 120 driver and owner points and 25 playoff points. In addition, Briscoe's crew chief, Johnny Klausmeier, was given a six race suspension and the team was fined $250,000.

### Race results
#### Stage results

Stage One Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||
Stage Two Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||
Stage Three Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage three results ||||||

### Final Stage results

Stage Four Laps: 100
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 64 |
| 2 | 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 55 |
| 3 | 18 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 48 |
| 4 | 7 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 400 | 34 |
| 5 | 15 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 400 | 48 |
| 6 | 5 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 39 |
| 7 | 10 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 33 |
| 8 | 11 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 400 | 39 |
| 9 | 33 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 28 |
| 10 | 29 | 38 | Zane Smith (i) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 400 | 0 |
| 11 | 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 38 |
| 12 | 31 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 26 |
| 13 | 22 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 24 |
| 14 | 27 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 23 |
| 15 | 16 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 22 |
| 16 | 36 | 15 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 400 | 0 |
| 17 | 25 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 20 |
| 18 | 13 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 400 | 19 |
| 19 | 3 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 400 | 29 |
| 20 | 20 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | -103 |
| 21 | 17 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 23 |
| 22 | 14 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 17 |
| 23 | 24 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 14 |
| 24 | 9 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 27 |
| 25 | 23 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 12 |
| 26 | 19 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 398 | 21 |
| 27 | 32 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 397 | 10 |
| 28 | 30 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 396 | 9 |
| 29 | 34 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet | 392 | 8 |
| 30 | 12 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 377 | 14 |
| 31 | 21 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 369 | 6 |
| 32 | 26 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 341 | 5 |
| 33 | 35 | 51 | Todd Gilliland | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 265 | 4 |
| 34 | 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 185 | 3 |
| 35 | 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 185 | 7 |
| 36 | 28 | 42 | Noah Gragson (R) | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 117 | 1 |
| 37 | 37 | 84 | Jimmie Johnson | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 115 | 1 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 31 among 13 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 16 for 83 laps
* Red flags: 1 for 30 minutes and 48 seconds
* Time of race: 4 hours, 58 minutes, and 50 seconds
* Average speed: 120.465 miles per hour (193.870 km/h)

## Media
### Television

Fox Sports televised the race in the United States for the 23rd consecutive year. Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while 2012 Fall Charlotte winner Clint Bowyer, three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing Tony Stewart, and actor Danny McBride in Stage 2 were the color commentators. Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Josh Sims reported from pit lane during the race. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
Fox :
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Tony Stewart Color-commentator: Danny McBride (Stage 2) | Jamie Little Regan Smith Josh Sims | Larry McReynolds |

### Radio

Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by the Performance Racing Network (PRN), and was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race in the booth when the field raced through the quad-oval. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field was racing through turns 1 and 2 and halfway down the backstretch. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through the other half of the backstretch and through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Wendy Venturini, and Alan Cavanna were the pit reporters during the broadcast.
PRN Radio :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow | Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson | Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Wendy Venturini Alan Cavanna |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Ross Chastain | 446 |
| 5 | 2 | Ryan Blaney | 445 (–1) |
| 2 | 3 | William Byron | 442 (–4) |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 438 (–8) |
| 1 | 5 | Martin Truex Jr. | 433 (–13) |
| 4 | 6 | Christopher Bell | 429 (–17) |
| 1 | 7 | Tyler Reddick | 409 (–37) |
| 4 | 8 | Denny Hamlin | 400 (–46) |
| | 9 | Brad Keselowski | 394 (–52) |
| 1 | 10 | Kyle Busch | 392 (–54) |
| 1 | 11 | Kyle Larson | 377 (–69) |
| 1 | 12 | Chris Buescher | 368 (–78) |
| 1 | 13 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 358 (–88) |
| 2 | 14 | Joey Logano | 357 (–89) |
| | 15 | Bubba Wallace | 327 (–119) |
| 1 | 16 | Alex Bowman | 296 (–150) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 527 |
| 2 | Toyota | 488 (–39) |
| 3 | Ford | 478 (–49) |