The 10 Days of Thunder from Charlotte Motor Speedway will close with a bang, as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ longest race of the season, the Coca-Cola 600, goes green on Sunday evening.
The race will be divided into four 100-lap stages instead of the usual three, meaning this race will carry the most points out of any race throughout the entire NASCAR season.
41 cars are entered for 600-mile, 400-lap event around the 1.5-mile asphalt quad-oval, meaning one car will not make the big show. Elliott Sadler, Timmy Hill, Derrick Cope, Corey LaJoie and Carl Long do not have charters and will have to race their way in and can not rely on a provisional spot. This marks Long’s second points-paying race in a row he is entered in after a six-year absence from the MENCS garage.
Kyle Busch will look to go back-to-back after his triumph in the All-Star Race and grab his first career points victory in the Cup Series at Charlotte in the M&M’s Red, White & Blue Toyota Camry, and Chris Buescher will have Kleenex and Cars 3 on the car for a special paint scheme on the No. 37 Chevrolet.
Taking place on Memorial Day Weekend, a few paint schemes always pay homage to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Ty Dillon’s No. 13 will have a special GEICO Military paint scheme and Regan Smith’s No. 43 (subbing for Aric Almirola) will have the United States Air Force on the hood. Core LaJoie’s No. 83 will have Hope for the Warriors on board, as well.
The green flag for the 12th race of the season, the Coca-Cola 600, is scheduled for 6:16 p.m. ET. TV coverage will be on FOX and radio coverage will be on the Motor Racing Network. Martin Truex Jr. is the defending winner of the event, as he led a whopping 392 of 400 laps last season.
| Entry | Car Number | Driver | Sponsor | Manu | Organization |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | GearWrench | Chevrolet | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Miller Lite | Ford | Team Penske |
| 3 | 3 | Austin Dillon | TBD | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Mobil 1 | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 5 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Liftmaster | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford EcoBoost | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 7 | 7 | Elliott Sadler (i) | Accell Construction, Inc./Hope For The Warriors | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 8 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Code 3 Associates | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Office | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 10 | 13 | Ty Dillon | GEICO Military | Chevrolet | Germain Racing |
| 11 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Haas-Automation | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 12 | 15 | Joey Gase (i) | TBD | Chevrolet | Premium Motorsports |
| 13 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Fastenal | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 14 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M's Red, White & Blue | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 15 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | Subway | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 16 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Circle K | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 17 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center | Ford | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 18 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil | Ford | Team Penske |
| 19 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | Bubba Burger | Toyota | BK Racing |
| 20 | 24 | Chase Elliott | NAPA | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 21 | 27 | Paul Menard | TBD | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing |
| 22 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Grainger | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing |
| 23 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Cosmo Motors | Ford | GO FAS Racing |
| 24 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Towne Bank | Chevrolet | Circle Sport/TMG |
| 25 | 34 | Landon Cassill | CSX Play It Safe | Ford | Front Row Motorsports |
| 26 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Kleenex - Cars3 | Chevrolet | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Jacob Companies | Ford | Front Row Motorsports |
| 28 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Haas-Automation/Monster Energy | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 29 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Target | Chevrolet | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 30 | 43 | Aric Almirola | United States Air Force | Ford | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 31 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Harris Teeter Express Lane | Chevrolet | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 32 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 33 | 51 | Timmy Hill (i) | TBD | Chevrolet | Rick Ware Racing |
| 34 | 55 | Reed Sorenson | TBD | Chevrolet | Premium Motorsports |
| 35 | 66 | Carl Long (i) | TBD | Chevrolet | Motorsports Business Management |
| 36 | 72 | Cole Whitt | RTIC Coolers | Chevrolet | TriStar Motorsports |
| 37 | 77 | Erik Jones | 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength | Toyota | Furniture Row Racing |
| 38 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats | Toyota | Furniture Row Racing |
| 39 | 83 | Corey Lajoie | Hope for the Warriors | Toyota | BK Racing |
| 40 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Nationwide Patriotic | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 41 | 95 | Michael McDowell | WRL General Contractors | Chevrolet | Leavine Family Racing |
About the author
Davey is in his fifth season with Frontstretch and currently serves as a multimedia editor and reporter. He authors the "NASCAR Mailbox" column, spearheads the site's video content and hosts the Frontstretch Podcast weekly. He's covered the K&N Pro Series and ARCA extensively for NASCAR.com and currently serves as an associate producer for SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and production assistant for NBC Sports Washington. Follow him on Twitter @DaveyCenter.
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