It was a disappointing end for NASCAR and the Coca-Cola 600 this past weekend. Mother nature knows no bounds and was able to put a damper on two races this weekend. Between the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, the “best day in racing” left a ton to be desired. The Indy 500 was able to complete in its entirety. Meanwhile, the 600 for NASCAR met an early finish. They ran 249 of the 400 laps and ultimately, Christopher Bell in the #20 car secured the crowned jewel victory.
Fortunately, there is still plenty to talk about. Let’s see which three drivers impressed the most, and which ones left a lot on the table. Here is this week’s edition of “Three Up, Three Down” after the Coca-Cola 600!
Three Up
#1 Ross Chastain
Embed from Getty ImagesBack in the top 10 for the #1 car and Ross Chastain this week. He collected P8 for the Coca-Cola 600 and showed serious speed throughout the race. This makes for his fifth top-10 on the season, and back-to-back finishes in the top 10. He’s 10th in points as we get past the halfway point of the NASCAR season with just one top-five finish. He’ll want to improve on that mark going forward, but a good stretch for the watermelon farmer.
#4 Josh Berry
Embed from Getty ImagesJust when you forget about Josh Berry, he puts on a show. A top-ten finish for the #4 car, all the while collecting P8 and P9 in the first two stages of the crowned jewel race at Charlotte. It was a great day for Josh Berry as he claims his second top-ten in a row. Berry currently sits at P19 in points, but he’s not performing badly for a rookie. While the future at Stewart-Haas is murky at best, Berry is surely putting on a show that will make teams interested in his services should they be needed in 2025.
#20 Christopher Bell
Embed from Getty ImagesI’m not sure if there’s a driver in NASCAR who needed a win more than Christopher Bell and the #20 team. Sure, it could be perceived as a bit Mickey Mouse. But he dominated the latter portion of this race and was sometimes clear-cut the best car in the field. They had their stuff together for this race. And it paid off for Bell’s first crowned-jewel win, and second win of the season. He also continues the streak of whoever I fade being a force on race day. Bell sits P11 in the points standings, and with his second win joins Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and William Byron in the club for multiple wins.
Three Down
#8 Kyle Busch
Embed from Getty ImagesIt was an underwhelming Memorial Day weekend for Rowdy and the #8 team. While team owner Richard Childress hung out with a former President, Busch finished P15 and didn’t collect any stage points through the night. It was kind of a ho-hum, mediocre performance that this team has become too familiar with. They failed to live up to the fire that burned after the altercation with Ricky Stenhouse Jr and the #47 team at North Wilkesboro. They’ll go to Gateway next weekend where they won in 2023, and where Busch finished P2 in 2022.
#14 Chase Briscoe
Embed from Getty ImagesP25 doesn’t enthuse anybody in the NASCAR world. Unlike his teammate Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe wasn’t inspiring to anybody in this crowned jewel event. After posting a top five in Darlington two weeks ago, and already having what looks like it could be a career year, this wasn’t the race he wanted to have at all. With Stewart-Haas in their apparent dying days, Briscoe will be putting on an audition from here until the end of the season for teams looking for new drivers this off-season. He’ll need to bounce back soon and will have plenty of opportunities down the stretch as the last driver in the playoffs as it stands today. But Charlotte wasn’t what anybody wanted for him.
#17 Chris Buescher
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’s never a good time when the guy I faded ends up on the up, and the ones I picked are on the down. Buescher joins Busch in this regard. He had already faced an uphill battle after smacking the wall in practice and requiring a backup car. And he did have some solid race speed. Unfortunately, with the race being cut short, he couldn’t collect stage points or get a chance to see how the entire race would play out. He finished P23 and enters the second half of the season P15 in points. A couple of tough weeks for Buescher, but this #17 car didn’t come to full form until the end of last season either.
Honorable Mention
#5 Kyle Larson/Justin Allgaier
Embed from Getty ImagesThis was both a heart-warming and a heartbreaking weekend for this #5 team. On one hand. Justin Allgaier served this team admirably. The JR Motorsports and 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion rolled with the punches and brought the #5 car to P13 by the time the red flag came out for rain. Had things worked out, he gave Kyle Larson a chance to hop in under the yellow flag and fight for the win when he arrived in Charlotte a little before 10 PM EST.
What I thought could be one of the best days of my life quickly turned into one of the most disappointing ones I’ve ever experienced. I hate it for Rick Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, HAG, Hendrick Motorsports, everyone a part of the 5 team, everyone on the 17 indycar for speeding, my…
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) May 27, 2024
On the other hand, Larson had devastating luck all weekend long. The tweet above tells the entire story. But if you weren’t reading all that, I’ll break it down for you. Weather hits Indianapolis ahead of the Indy 500 and it delays the event beyond the point where Larson could make the start of the Coca-Cola 600. Team owner Rick Hendrick opted to have Larson start and finish the Indy 500, which he did admirably. He led laps, but unfortunately, a speeding penalty would relegate him to a P18 finish. Not only that, but by the time he arrives via helicopter and rushes through pit road. The race would effectively be over due to the weather. Ending his dreams of running both races in one day. Matters were beyond his control in the worst way.
We all wanted to see Larson take on the double duty from beginning to end. But unfortunately, mother nature knows no bounds. Let’s hope this wasn’t the last time we see the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion take a swing at the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. He’s got the talent to win both, and a lot of fans were pulling for him. Fingers crossed it’s not long until he sees that opportunity again.
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