Daniel Suarez wins emotional Coca-Cola 600 as Kyle Busch honored - ESPN

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 benefitted 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] Samantha, for [his children] Brexton and Lennix and for all of his family.»

A nonfactor 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 ET.

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

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,» said Bell, 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],» he said. «We were really good all day. We just didn't get to see it through.»

The race came only three days