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A18 SPORTS
Tuesday 30 May 2017
Dillon wins Coca-Cola 600 in for first NASCAR Cup victory
PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer gest day with the surprise
victory, following Sebas-
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) —
Austin Dillon passed an tian Vettel’s win in Formula
One’s Monaco Grand Prix
out-of-gas Jimmie Johnson
two laps from the end in and Takura Sato’s victory in
the Indy 500.
the Coca-Cola 600 for his
first NASCAR Cup victory, Truex took the lead for the
final time with 67 laps left,
returning the iconic No. 3
car to Victory Lane early sweeping past Busch to
move out front. Truex pit-
Monday.
Dillon, the grandson of Hall ted a final time with 33
laps left, confident he’d be
of Fame car owner Rich-
ard Childress, was among able to hold on after ev-
eryone cycled through a
several drivers who chose
not to pit down the stretch. last stop.
Matt Kenseth was fourth,
Johnson ran out of fuel on
Lap 399, and Dillon was and Denny Hamlin fifth.
Kurt Busch finished sixth, fol-
able to cruise to victory
over Kyle Busch and Mar- lowed by rookie Erik Jones,
Kevin Harvick, Ryan New-
tin Truex Jr., who led the
most laps at Charlotte Mo- man and Dale Earnhardt
Jr., who finished 10th in his
tor Speedway for the third
straight season. final Coca-Cola 600 as a
fulltime driver.
“It hadn’t sunk in. I can’t
believe it,” Dillon said. Harvick, who started on
the pole, overcame wheel
“We’re in the chase baby. Austin Dillon (3) passes Jimmie Johnson (48) en route to winning the NASCAR Cup series auto race
It’s awesome.” at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Monday, May 29, 2017. problems to finish in the top
10 for a seventh straight
Dillon did his signature bel- Associated Press
ly slide celebration in the of nearly 1 hour, 40 min- checkered flag. the Coca-Cola 600, NAS- time in the Coca-Cola 600.
Johnson limped home to
damp grass at Charlotte, utes and several estab- Dillon is the 10th driver to CAR’s longest race.
outlasting a rain delay lished drivers to take his first pick up his first Cup win in Dillon closed racing’s big- finish in 17th.q
