Results (with starting position) for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
1. (1) Jimmy Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet SS
5. (26) Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet SS
18. (25) Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS
In the Longest Race of the Season, Larson Endures for a Top-20 Finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 26, 2014) – Kyle Larson and Team Target spent the race weekend celebrating 25 years of partnership between Chip Ganassi Racing and longtime primary sponsor Target with a special silver car to mark the occasion. The crew went to work on the car starting Thursday during the first practice to begin the tricky task of setting up the car for a race that would begin during the day and finish during the night. The team made gradual gains in speeds during practice, and although tire issues and a tough starting position of 25th kept Larson from pushing towards the front with the race leaders, he was able to gain seven spots from where he started to finish the race in 18th place.
At the start of the race, Larson steadily drove a fast car through traffic to a race-high of 16th position, posting top-10 lap times along the way. However, Larson got a lap down early in the 400 lap race and was forced to play catchup the remainder of the night. Larson also experienced some slight tire issues around the mid-point of the race, and the resulting stops to make changes dropped him as low as 27th position. Team Target kept working hard, though, and made minor adjustments to help Larson find speed at the end of the race, where he picked up five positions in the last 40 laps to finish in 18th position.
NOTES OF INTEREST:
• Larson was tied for fourth best driver in positions gained in the last 10 percent of the race, gaining five positions in the last 40 laps
• Larson remains 13th in driver points, and is 17 points behind the 10th place driver
• During the 400 lap race, the caution flag only came out 8 times for a total of 44 laps
• There were a total of 34 lead changes among nine drivers during the race
• On Saturday, Larson won his second NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race of the season
TCGRFS QUOTEBOARD
Kyle Larson – No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS: “It’s always tough to contend when you get a lap down early in the race. We had some issues with our right side tires, however I thought overall Team Target performed really well tonight. The guys set up a really fast Target Chevy, but things didn’t go the way we needed them to tonight to get the finish the team deserved. I wish we could have had a better finish on the day we were celebrating 25 years with Target and Chip Ganassi Racing, but we’ll keep working hard to get the Target Chevy into victory lane this season.”
Larson, on winning Saturday’s NNS History 300: “The race was about perfect for us. It was nice looking in the rear-view mirror and seeing them get smaller and smaller each lap. It’s not very often that you see the 22 (Keselowski) and the 54 (Busch) get smaller in your mirror. It just shows how great our ENEOS Chevy was, and what a great job the pit crew did on every stop we had. I’m really happy to get another win for Team Target, and was glad I was able to share the win with some of the Cartwheel team who are here this weekend.”
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to Dover International Speedway for the FedEx 400, Sunday, June 1, 2014. FOX coverage will begin at 1 p.m. ET, Sirius/XM Channel 90 and MRN affiliated radio stations will also have live coverage.