Daniel Suarez earns shock win in rain-shortened Coca Cola 600

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May 25, 2026 - 04:45

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Daniel Suarez earns shock win in rain-shortened Coca Cola 600

For the first time in 82 races, Daniel Suarez is back in Victory Lane, winning one of the biggest races on the schedule.

After crew chief Ryan Sparks gambled with a two-tire call, Suarez did an incredible job holding off a fleet of Toyota drivers through multiple restarts before rain finally ended the race, 27 laps short of the full 600-mile distance.

This is Suarez's third career win, and his first in over two years.

A moment Daniel Suárez will never forget ❤️ pic.twitter.com/YPpCSYULBd— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) May 25, 2026

Christopher Bell finished second, Denny Hamlin third, Tyler Reddick fourth, and Kyle Larson fifth.

Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, William Byron, and Zane Smith filled out the remainder of the top ten.

Stage 1

After an emotional pre-race with the entire Busch family present, the race got underway.

Reddick held the top spot, and there was a breakaway with him and Gibbs at the front.

On Lap 35, Berry went for a spin, triggering the first yellow. Not long after that, there was a gnarly crash with Austin Cindric spinning down the track, and collecting Connor Zilisch. Neither driver was able to continue.

The caution is out after @ConnorZilisch collides with a sliding @AustinCindric. pic.twitter.com/hhJAgzW7zG— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 24, 2026

During that yellow, defending Coke 600 winner Ross Chastain stayed out and inherited the race. Despite only roughly 15 laps on the tires, the pace was just too much and he quickly faded through the field.

Bubba Wallace also made contact with Byron on the restart, hitting the wall and damaging his car. He had to pit under green and the No. 23 wasn't really competitive for the rest of the day.

Z. Smith, who opted for two-tires during the Cindric/Zilisch caution, took the lead and held it for a while.

The next caution was for Chase Elliott, who crashed heavily on the backstretch. This set-up a mad dash to the end of the stage.

Larson won Stage 1 over Briscoe, Reddick, Hamlin, Jones, Blaney, Gibbs, Preece, Stenhouse, and Shane van Gisbergen.

A spin for @chaseelliott, who makes contact with the inside wall. pic.twitter.com/gfkyoxsRa0— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 24, 2026

Stage 2 and Stage 3

The next two stages were incredibly clean, and the Toyotas dominated. Briscoe led the way for a bit before Hamlin took over. Then we saw our first round of green-flag pit stops with no drama.

Suarez had to make an unscheduled pit stop for the second time in the first two stages as he complained about a vibration. We also learned that Bowman was struggling with a transaxle issue, and did not have first or second gear.

At the very end of the stage, several cars started to slow with flat tires, but Hamlin was not one of them.

Hamlin won Stage 2 over Gibbs, Briscoe, Reddick, Larson, Bell, Blaney, Buescher, Van Gisbergen, and Stenhouse.

There were just 17 cars on the lead lap as the race moved into Stage 3. The next caution was for Double-hopeful Katherine Legge. After crashing to avoid a more serious wreck 18 laps into the Indianapolis 500, she lost a right-front wheel and triggered a full-course yellow, but remained in the race.

On the restart, Reddick made a bold three-wide pass for the lead as the championship leader eyed another crown jewel.

Hamlin eventually took it back as we transitioned back into another round of green-flag pit stops. Bell ran six laps longer than the other leaders, setting him up to be charging at the end of the stage.

A thrilling five-way battle for the lead formed in the closing laps of the stage, and they were all Toyota drivers. After a brilliant back-and-forth battle, Bell emerged with the lead while Reddick -- who was leading, dropped like a stone after using up his tires.

Bell won Stage 3 over Gibbs, Briscoe, Larson, Reddick, Van Gisbergen, Keselowski, Blaney, and Stenhouse.

Stage 4

There was a bit of a delay in opening the pits, after Timmy Hill's No. 66 car erupted in flames and smoke, ending his night.

Gibbs got the lead on the ensuing restart, but defending winner Coke 600 winner Chastain got turned from behind by Ricky Stenhouse Jr, slamming the inside wall.

Contact on the backstretch sends @RossChastain spinning. pic.twitter.com/LizTUunkEB— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 25, 2026

This led to a big split in strategy, as Gibbs and Van Gisbergen chose to stay out. Larson led another group that took two tires, while Reddick led those who put on four fresh ones.

Van Gisbergen actually took the lead on the restart, and another major crash broke out behind them. Briscoe hooked Buescher into Preece, destroying all three cars. Berry also got a piece of it.

Multiple cars are collected in this incident on Lap 329. pic.twitter.com/bzzslGiNfc— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 25, 2026

After a lengthy cleanup, the race resumed, and Bell cleared Van Gisbergen. SVG faded, but slowly.

Up front, Hamlin tried to chase down Bell with Reddick right behind them.

A. Dillon slammed the wall and went to the garage, but the incident did not require a caution.

After a single lightning strike six miles away, NASCAR displayed the caution, but did not halt the race. The field pitted, and Suarez took the lead with a two-tire call.

The race resumed with 41 laps to go, and Suarez held the lead surprisingly well. He pulled a mighty block on Bell, and the caution then flew for light raindrops in the area.

After a lot of stop-and-go, the race got back underway, but the Toyota drivers were fighting so hard against themselves, and it allowed Suarez to get away.

Suddenly, the rain returned and the race was red-flagged. It had intensified, and NASCAR decided that they should call the race.