The 14th NASCAR Cup race of the regular season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ended prematurely on Memorial Weekend after 249 of 400 laps due to a severe thunderstorm. At that point, Christopher Bell was in the lead and was declared the winner after a two-hour wait. This was the first time that 21-year-old Gibbs had won the 600-mile race, which ended after 373.5 miles. It was also his second win of the season and the eighth success of his career.
Stage 1: Byron wins ahead of polesetter Gibbs
For the first time in 2017, Ty Gibbs started a race as pole setter in the Gibbs Toyota. Gibbs led the field for a total of 74 laps. But William Byron, who started from second place, won the first stage after 100 laps in the Hendrick Chevrolet. It was his first stage win this season. Gibbs came second ahead of Alex Bowman.
Stage 2: Reddick wins duel against Keselowski
In the second stage, Bell took the lead for the first time on lap 121. Defending champion Ryan Blaney hit the wall after completing 143 laps and finished the race in second-to-last place, 39th. Bell finally won the second stage after 200 laps, ahead of Byron and Bubba Wallace in the 23XI Toyota.
Stage 3/Cancellation: Bell wins after a long wait
The third stage was ended after 49 laps due to weather conditions, but like the final result, it was also counted as a stage for the top 10 drivers. This gave Bell his fourth stage win and increased his playoff bonus points to a total of 14 points.
Since more than 50 percent of the race distance had been completed at this point and there was no improvement in the weather situation in sight, Bell was declared the winner at 5:29 a.m. CEST. Bell had also completed the most laps in the lead, with 90 laps.
Top 10 & Overall & Larson’s Double
Behind Bell, Brad Keselowski in the RFK-Ford finished second for the third time in the last six races. Byron finished third ahead of Tyler Reddick, who had to start with a drive-through penalty in the 23XI-Toyota. The Gibbs-Toyota of Denny Hamlin, which was again tuned for long runs, was classified fifth. Pole setter Gibbs, Chase Elliott, who was driving his 300th Cup race in the Hendrick-Chevrolet, Ross Chastain in the TrackHouse-Chevrolet, Alex Bowman in the Hendrick-Chevrolet and Josh Berry in the Stewart-Haas-Ford completed the top 10 result in Charlotte.
There were seven caution periods over 46 laps and 21 lead changes by ten drivers. Bowman with five and Hamlin with four top-10 results in a row are currently the most consistent point scorers in the Cup. Berry won the rookie classification for the fifth time in a row and for the seventh time overall. Corey LaJoie had to settle for 35th place in his 250th race.
At the start in Charlotte, Justin Allgaier was sitting in the Hendrick Chevrolet as a replacement driver for Kyle Larson because Larson wanted to drive the Indy 500 and then the Charlotte 600. Since the race in Indianapolis started four hours late, his double was in danger. Larson started the Indy 500 from fifth place and finished in 18th place. He could have done much better, but a drive-through penalty prevented a better result.
Before the Charlotte race was over, Larson arrived at the speedway via airlift. Larson would have had to take over the cockpit during a yellow phase in order to score points for the championship. The cancellation of the race thwarted his plan.
Bell improved to fourth overall with his second win. Wallace made a comeback in the top 16 and rookie Berry is in the top 20 for the first time. With Larson not receiving any points, Hamlin is now the leader with the most overall and playoff points. Byron and Bowman are the most consistent drivers with nine top 10 finishes. Larson continued to lead the most laps. Gibbs is the best starter and Elliott has the best average finish after 14 races with 9.6th place.
Gallery: All pictures from Charlotte Motor Speedway
Statistics for the 14th race of the season (Regular Season)
Laps & race duration:
249 of 400 (Stages: 100/100/49 of 100/0 of 100) laps (373.5 miles), 3:02:07 hours
Winner:
Christopher Bell (2nd win in 2024, 1st Charlotte win, 8th career win)
Best driver with the most points:
Christopher Bell, 67 (7/10/10/40) points
Stage wins (2024):
Stage 1: William Byron (1)
Top 10: #24, 54, 48, 20, 19, 23, 12, 6, 4, 34
Stage 2: Christopher Bell (3)
Top 10: #20, 24, 23, 11, 6, 48, 9, 4, 1, 45
Stage 3: Christopher Bell (4)
Top 10: #20, 6, 24, 45, 11, 54, 9, 1, 48, 4
Stage 3/Goal: Christopher Bell (2nd win 2024)
Top 10: #20, 6, 24, 45, 11, 54, 9, 1, 48, 4
NASCAR Cup standings
TOP 20 (after race 14/36)
Regular Season 2024
(with all bonus points & penalties)
—–
all winners (races 1-26):
1. (1) Denny Hamlin, 492 points (3 wins)
2. (2) William Byron, 453 points (3 wins)
3. (3) Kyle Larson, 486 points (2 wins)
4. (7) Christopher Bell, 377 points (2 wins)
5. (4) Chase Elliott, 471 points (1 win)
6. (5) Tyler Reddick, 430 points (1 win)
7. (6) Brad Keselowski, 388 points (1 win)
8. (8) Daniel Suarez, 276 points (1 win)
—–
Total points (without win):
9. (9) Martin Truex Jr., 487 points
10. (10) Ty Gibbs, 430 points
11. (12) Alex Bowman, 406 points
12. (13) Ross Chastain, 389 points
13. (11) Ryan Blaney, 376 points
14. (17) Bubba Wallace, 355 points
15. (15) Kyle Busch, 346 points
16. (14) Chris Buescher, 345 points
—–
On the bubble:
17. (16) Chase Briscoe, 334 points
18. (18) Joey Logano, 315 points
19. (21) Josh Berry, 239 points
20. (20) Austin Cindric, 232 points
The first 16 drivers are qualified for the PLAYOFFS
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