Hamlin started on the pole but struggled to stay in contention for the win for most of the race and was even collected in a 13-car accident near the end of Stage 2.
But as the caution-filled race wound to a close, the field went four-wide off Turn 4 on the first lap of the first overtime, and Hamlin scooted by with the lead as a seven-car wreck erupted behind him.
Hamlin led entering the second overtime stint after the earlier crash, but his Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Kyle Busch briefly grabbed the lead, only to get loose to allow Hamlin to reclaim the advantage on the final lap.
Hamlin held off Kyle Busch by 0.119 seconds to claim victory and his first-ever triumph at Charlotte.
The win is the 48th of Hamlin’s NASCAR Cup career and second this season.
Hamlin also now holds the record for winning the longest race in NASCAR history in distance – 413 laps or 619.5 miles.
“It’s so special. It’s the last big one that’s not on my résumé. It means so much,” Hamlin said. “Man, just can't thank this whole team enough. Never won the Coke 600 before. This means a lot.
“Man, we weren’t very good all day. Just got ourselves in the right place at the right time. What a battle there.”
With Kyle Busch having to settle for the runner-up spot, still his best result since winning on dirt in Bristol back in April, Kevin Harvick ended up third ahead of Chase Briscoe in fourth.
Christopher Bell held on to fifth place to match his result from Kansas, leading Tyler Reddick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr to the finish.
Michael McDowell secured a strong eighth place in front of reigning NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Larson, who had led for large parts of Stage 4 only to fade in overtime, with Alex Bowman rounding out the top 10 on a hectic night at Charlotte.
The race was red flagged on lap 346, when Daniel Suarez failed to clear Briscoe and the two made contact which sent Suarez spinning into traffic. Chris Buescher was hit by Suarez and then again by Todd Gilliland, and that hit sent Buescher’s car into the infield turf.
A broken piece of Buescher’s Ford got caught in the turf and sent his car barrel-rolling down the front stretch before ending up on its roof, triggering the red flag, with safety personnel getting the car turned on its side before Buescher was able to get out of the car under his own power.
NASCAR Cup Charlotte - Coca-Cola 600 race results
Cla | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Retirement |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 413 | 5:13'06.732 | |||
2 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 413 | 5:13'06.851 | 0.119 | 0.119 | |
3 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 413 | 5:13'07.397 | 0.665 | 0.546 | |
4 | Chase Briscoe | Ford | 413 | 5:13'07.517 | 0.785 | 0.120 | |
5 | Christopher Bell | Toyota | 413 | 5:13'07.949 | 1.217 | 0.432 | |
6 | Tyler Reddick | Chevrolet | 413 | 5:13'08.259 | 1.527 | 0.310 | |
7 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Chevrolet | 413 | 5:13'08.304 | 1.572 | 0.045 | |
8 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 413 | 5:13'08.333 | 1.601 | 0.029 | |
9 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 413 | 5:13'08.427 | 1.695 | 0.094 | |
10 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 413 | 5:13'08.459 | 1.727 | 0.032 | |
11 | Harrison Burton | Ford | 413 | 5:13'08.947 | 2.215 | 0.488 | |
12 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 413 | 5:13'09.034 | 2.302 | 0.087 | |
13 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 413 | 5:13'09.433 | 2.701 | 0.399 | |
14 | Erik Jones | Chevrolet | 413 | 5:13'09.997 | 3.265 | 0.564 | |
15 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 413 | 5:13'13.082 | 6.350 | 3.085 | |
16 | Todd Gilliland | Ford | 413 | 5:13'13.908 | 7.176 | 0.826 | |
17 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 412 | 5:13'13.774 | 1 Lap | 1 Lap | |
18 | Cody Ware | Ford | 412 | 5:13'16.550 | 1 Lap | 2.776 | |
19 | B.J. McLeod | Ford | 407 | 5:13'19.074 | 6 Laps | 5 Laps | |
20 | Joey Logano | Ford | 405 | 5:01'45.203 | 8 Laps | 2 Laps | Accident |
21 | Cole Custer | Ford | 405 | 5:01'45.247 | 8 Laps | 0.044 | Accident |
22 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 405 | 5:01'46.549 | 8 Laps | 1.302 | Accident |
23 | Kaz Grala | Chevrolet | 400 | 5:13'15.590 | 13 Laps | 5 Laps | |
24 | Noah Gragson | Chevrolet | 386 | 4:47'25.501 | 27 Laps | 14 Laps | Throttle |
25 | Daniel Suarez | Chevrolet | 346 | 4:18'36.569 | 67 Laps | 40 Laps | Accident |
26 | Chris Buescher | Ford | 346 | 4:18'36.992 | 67 Laps | 0.423 | Accident |
27 | Justin Haley | Chevrolet | 343 | 4:15'09.321 | 70 Laps | 3 Laps | Engine |
28 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota | 200 | 2:33'58.566 | 213 Laps | 143 Laps | DVP |
29 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 195 | 2:31'34.379 | 218 Laps | 5 Laps | Accident |
30 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 193 | 2:28'43.761 | 220 Laps | 2 Laps | Accident |
31 | Kurt Busch | Toyota | 191 | 2:22'42.849 | 222 Laps | 2 Laps | Accident |
32 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 191 | 2:22'42.941 | 222 Laps | 0.092 | Accident |
33 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 188 | 2:18'03.117 | 225 Laps | 3 Laps | DVP |
34 | Austin Cindric | Ford | 145 | 1:45'58.499 | 268 Laps | 43 Laps | Accident |
35 | Corey Lajoie | Chevrolet | 60 | 45'02.089 | 353 Laps | 85 Laps | Accident |
36 | Josh Bilicki | Chevrolet | 31 | 20'31.578 | 382 Laps | 29 Laps | Accident |
37 | Ryan Preece | Ford | 16 | 8'25.493 | 397 Laps | 15 Laps | DVP |
View full results |