CocaCola

CONCORD, N.C. — When Daniel Suarez was struggling to make his name in auto racing, he would often get phone calls from Kyle Busch offering words of encouragement and urging him to keep working.

That made his crown jewel Cup Series victory Sunday night all the more special.

Suarez benefited from a crucial pit call, then caught a break from Mother Nature to win the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600, capping an emotional day in which the racing world remembered the late Busch.

Suarez became the first Mexican-born driver to win the Coke 600. It was his third Cup Series win and first since 2024.

The victory was especially emotional for Suarez, who previously raced for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

“Kyle, he was special,” Saurez said as he teared up. “I was doing this for Kyle, for [his wife] Samatha, for [his children] Brexton and Lennix and for all of his family.”

A non-factor for most of the race, Suarez gambled and took two tires during a late pit stop, then held off Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin on restarts before the race was called when the sky opened up and rain drenched the track shortly before midnight Eastern time.

NASCAR quickly made the decision to call the race with 27 laps remaining.

Bell finished second; Hamlin was third.

The two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates had a chance to catch Suarez on the two restarts, but couldn’t clear his No. 7 Chevrolet.

“It’s a bummer,” Bell said, who won the rain-shortened 2024 Coca-Cola 600. “It wasn’t meant to be today. That’s 2026 for us.”

Hamlin said he was “just a little unlucky.”

“The 20 car (Bell) and us were just really battling because we knew whoever could clear him (would win the race),” Hamlin said. “We were really good all day. We just didn’t get to see it through.”

The race came just three days after Busch’s death sent shockwaves throughout the motorsports world and beyond. The 41-year-old Busch died after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming complications, according to a statement released by his family.

The two-time Cup Series champion and winner of a record 234 races across NASCAR’s three national series had become unresponsive while practicing in a Chevrolet simulator Wednesday, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no details were released by the family.

Busch’s family attended the race and NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell told them they are part of the NASCAR community and “we got you.”

NASCAR and CMS honored Busch with his No. 8 and signature on the frontstretch grass and a highway billboard near the main entrance of the track. The U.S. Army Golden Knights carried a Busch flag prior to the race and each of the 39 cars in field carried a small, black No. 8 decal.

Kyle Larson won the first stage race. Hamlin won the second stage and Bell the third.

Crashing out

Defending champion Ross Chastain crashed out when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. clipped his car in Turn 2 with 81 laps remaining in the race.

Connor Zilisch and Austin Cindric only made it 52 laps before getting caught up in a crash. Cindric got turned around and Zilisch came crashing in to the side of his No. 2 Ford, ending both drivers’ day.

Chase Elliott, a two-time winner this year, hit the outside wall and ping-ponged into the inside wall on Lap 90. That car was beyond repair and he finished 37th.

“I was trying to make something happen and I stepped over the line,” Elliott said.

Replacing Busch

Austin Hill, a regular driver in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for Richard Childress Racing, took Busch’s spot in the race and finished 26th. He drove the No. 33 car after RCR temporarily retired the No. 8 until Busch’s 11-year-old son Brexton is ready to drive.

Austin Dillon, went behind the wall with damage to the front of his car with 56 laps to go, ending any hope of an emotional win for RCR. He finished 32nd.

Reed writes for the Associated Press.

Indiana’s lack of glamour is a point of pride, rooted in Midwestern practicality and endless flat fields of corn.

Lately, though, the Hoosier state has been elevated by towering sports figures. And on Sunday, two will be the fresh faces of the Indianapolis 500, which attracts more spectators than any other single-day sporting event in the world.

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark will be the grand marshal. National championship-winning Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti will drive the honorary pace car.

But even those high achievers might be awestruck by one of the race car drivers. Or at least what that driver will attempt.

Not only will Katherine Legge be the only woman among the 33 drivers in the Indy 500, which begins at 9:45 a.m. PT on Sunday. The 45-year-old motorsports trailblazer from England will then fly to Charlotte to race in the NASCAR Cup’s Coca-Cola 600, which begins at 3:29 p.m. PT.

That’s 1,100 miles of left turns around two oval tracks.

On the same day.

As impressive as undertaking what is known simply as “The Double” are Legge’s travel plans from Indianapolis to Charlotte. Five hours and 44 minutes separate the starts of the two races. The Indy 500 takes longer than three hours to complete. The commute will take close to two hours.

Legge plans to hustle. She will hop into a helicopter moments after the Indy 500 and head to a nearby private jet that will zip her 366 miles to Concord Airport near Charlotte in an hour. Another helicopter will drop her onto the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield. A golf cart will take a beeline to her Chevrolet Camaro in time for the green flag.

At least that’s the plan.

“Being focused for a three-to-four-hour IndyCar race then a five-hour NASCAR race, it’s the same as driving from New York to Daytona Beach pretty much at, gosh, an average of 200 miles an hour,” Legge said. “You cannot lose focus for a second of any of that. I don’t think anybody can comprehend that.”

Legge is the first woman and only the sixth driver overall to attempt The Double. Although her career has included IMSA sports cars and Formula E in addition to IndyCar and NASCAR, she has never attempted anything this challenging.

John Andretti, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson and (rest in peace) Kurt Busch are the others who have tried.

Larson is the most recent, finishing 18th in the Indy 500 and 37th in the Coca-Cola 600 a year ago. He also tried in 2024 but didn’t get to his car in time in Charlotte because of a rain delay in Indianapolis.

The documentary “Kyle Larson vs. The Double” premiered Wednesday on Prime Video. It follows the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion through preparation, logistics and grueling reality of getting through the day.

Legge is beginning to relate.

“I was thinking about what I’m going to do with a hybrid strategy at the same time as telling people about how I’m going to do the double,” she said. “It’s this weird disconnect, right? Where you’re like, ‘That’s so cool.’ And conceptually, you know exactly what’s involved, but it doesn’t sink in.”

Busch, who tragically died at 41 on Thursday from an undetermined illness, turned in a valiant effort in 2014, finishing sixth in the Indy 500 despite having limited experience in IndyCar. Engine problems torpedoed his chances in the Coca-Cola 600, however, and he completed only 271 of 400 laps on the 1.5-mile track.

“It was a challenge I put forth for myself,” Busch said. “I enjoyed it. I soaked it in.”

Only once in five attempts did Gordon complete both races, finishing eighth in Indianapolis and 16th in Charlotte in 2002. A year earlier, Stewart turned in the most impressive double, finishing sixth at Indy and third at Charlotte.

Andretti was pioneer of The Double in 1994, finishing a respectable 10th before flying to Charlotte with a nurse and registered dietitian to ensure he stayed hydrated. Andretti was penalized for missing the drivers’ meeting, however, and sent from the No. 9 starting position to the rear of the field. He crashed and withdrew on the 91st lap.

Content with one race Sunday will be defending Indy 500 winner Álex Palou, who will start on the pole after a four-lap qualifying average of 232.248 mph. Six different drivers have won the race in consecutive years.

Legge, who will be racing in her fifth Indy 500, will start in the No. 26 position. Actor and Indianapolis native Brendan Fraser will be the honorary starter and wave the green flag. It will be the beginning of an exhausting day.

“Honestly, I’m doing it because it’s a really cool thing to do, and it’s kind of like this old-school epic badge of honor that you get for doing both races in one day,” Legge told Fox Sports. “I’m not doing it to leave a legacy.

“You can do anything that you put your mind to if you want it enough. It would be remiss of me to not take that responsibility seriously, but at the same time, that’s not why I set out to do it. I set out to do it because I love to race.”