Daniel Suarez won a rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night, May 24, 2026.
The scheduled 400-lap event was called early at lap 373 due to inclement weather.
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The victory is Suarez's first NASCAR Cup Series win since his triumph at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February 2024.
He held off late-race restarts from Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin.
Denny Hamlin finished second, followed by Christopher Bell in third, Tyler Reddick in fourth, and Kyle Larson rounding out the top five.
Weather Disruptions and Key Moments
The race faced multiple weather delays. A caution for lightning occurred with 47 laps remaining while Bell led Hamlin.
A newly implemented trackside meteorologist allowed officials to clear the lightning warning quickly without enforcing a standard 30-minute hold.
Suarez gained the lead on pit road following the lightning caution. He selected the inside lane for the restart and successfully defended his position.
A brief 10-minute red flag delay followed after 366 laps due to a nearby storm system.
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Officials briefly refired engines before final rainfall forced the caution at lap 372 and the red flag at lap 373.
Earlier stage victories were claimed by Kyle Larson in Stage 1, Denny Hamlin in Stage 2, and Christopher Bell in Stage 3.
Incidents included a caution for Josh Berry on lap 34, a multi-car accident involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ross Chastain on lap 319, and a backstretch wreck involving Ryan Preece, Josh Berry, Chris Buescher, and Chase Briscoe on lap 330.
Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, and Connor Zilisch also experienced separate on-track incidents.
Timmy Hill safely exited his No. 66 Ford after it caught fire between Stage 3 and Stage 4 due to rubber buildup in the rocker panel.
During the opening portions, Tyler Reddick led the field while broadcasters held a silent lap on lap 8 as fans displayed the number 8 to honor the late Kyle Busch.
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The track weather monitoring system provided real-time data to teams during the rapid weather transitions late in the race.
