CONCORD, N.C. — It was the longest wait for the longest race, and it ended on a very long day. And it marked the end of a long winless streak.
Ryan Blaney sprinted away from William Byron in the closing laps of Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and ended a 59-race winless streak.
Byron finished second and was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. Blaney pushed through several late-race restarts and held on to finally write finish to a frustrating losing string.
The win marked the first time long-time team owner Roger Penske has won both the Indy 500 and Coke 600 in the same year. “You start to get to feel like you can’t win any more when you don’t win for a while,” an emotional Blaney told Fox Sports after the race.