Ryan Blaney Wins the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day
After a long weekend full of rain delays and racing, Ryan Blaney left Charlotte Motor Speedway with a Coca-Cola 600 win.
Blaney and the No. 12 team managed to put together a solid day at the track, leading 163 of the 400 laps raced.
With the win, Ryan Blaney and the Team Penske No. 12 team ended a 59-race winless streak. It was the team’s first win since winning in overtime in Daytona on August 28th, 2021.
The driver of the No. 12 also secured the second of the two victories for car owner Roger Penske, who also had one of his IndyCar drivers, Josef Newgarden, win the Indy 500 on Sunday.
It’s safe to say Mr. Penske had a pretty good weekend, especially after winning both races to complete the double-duty. However, some other drivers and teams didn’t have such a great time…
“Tantrums” Detrimental
Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin were running 6th and 7th shortly before the halfway mark in Monday’s Coca-Cola 600.
As the two drivers ran together, Hamlin forced Elliott toward the wall, causing the right side of Elliott’s car to hit the wall. The driver of the No. 9 then made hard contact with the right rear of Hamlin’s car, causing Hamlin to hit the wall on lap 186.
“I got right-rear hooked in the middle of the straightaway,” stated Hamlin after the incident. “It was a tantrum. He shouldn’t be racing next week. Right-rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable. He shouldn’t be racing.”
The driver of the No. 11 went on to post data from the incident on his Twitter account and talk more about it on his podcast, “Actions Detrimental”, on Tuesday.
Shortly after Hamlin’s podcast episode was uploaded for all to hear, NASCAR announced that Chase Elliott was being suspended for one race and that Spire Motorsports driver, Corey LaJoie, would be filling in for Elliott at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, June 4th.
With LaJoie driving for Hendrick Motorsports for the weekend, Spire Motorsports announced that Craftsman Truck Series driver, Carson Hocevar, would be driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro on Sunday.
More Penalties?
NASCAR announced that Scott Brzozowski and Adam Lewis, crew members on Michael McDowell’s team, had been suspended for two races after McDowell’s car lost a tire during Monday’s race.
To go along with McDowell, Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 team were also penalized after the race; however, Briscoe’s penalty was much more serious.
NASCAR fined crew chief John Klausmeier $250,000 and suspended him for six races. Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing were also docked 120 points and 25 playoff points each for a counterfeit part on the car.
The team stated that they will accept the L3 penalty and will not appeal.
After a rather eventful Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR Cup Series drivers now have their sights ahead, looking towards next week’s Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter at World Wide Technology Raceway. The race will be held on FS1 at 3:30pm EST on Sunday, June 4th.
