NASCAR

Martin Truex Jr. dominates and wins Coca-Cola 600: #78-Martin Truex Jr. won the Coca-Cola 600 Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway for his 1st win of the season, 1st win at Charlotte and 4th career win. Truex Jr. won from the pole for the first time in 9 tries. Truex Jr. dominated the race leading a track record 392 of 400 laps and a NASCAR record 588 miles in a race.
#4-Harvick finished 2nd for the 3rd time in 2016 and for the 47th second place in his career (11th all time) followed by #48-Johnson, #11-Hamlin, #2-Keselowski, #41-Busch, #20-Kenseth, #24-Elliott, #22-Logano and #31-Newman.
There were 9 lead changes among 4 drivers and 4 cautions for 19 yellow flag laps.
The average speed was 160.644 mph (a new track record).

Record-Setting Night for Speedway Children's Charities' Gala: On Wednesday, the biggest stars in the NASCAR industry came together for the 36th annual Sonic Automotive Speedway Children's Charities' Gala presented by The NRA Teach Freedom Foundation. The fundraising event, which attracted 450 attendees, generated more than $800,000 through table sponsorships and live and silent auctions. Held at the Ritz-Carlton in uptown Charlotte, the black-tie dinner and auction was hosted by NBC's Krista Voda, with entertainment provided by GRAMMY award-winning musician Darius Rucker and special honors bestowed upon NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart. The night was designed to honor philanthropist Tony Stewart, who is competing in his final season as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. Stewart is an accomplished driver with a total of 12 championships to his credit, including three titles in the elite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. In addition to being one of the top drivers in the world, Stewart is also a successful businessman, owning race teams and race tracks. Stewart has still taken the time to help raise more than $1 million for Speedway Children's Charities over the years. Last year, the Charlotte Chapter of Speedway Children's Charities granted almost $750,000 to 77 deserving charities in the Charlotte region.(CMS)(5-27-2016)

NEXT RACE: This Sunday at Pocono; TV on FS1 at 10 a.m. PT

 

INDYCAR

Nevada City (Calif.) native Alexander Rossi needed a splash of gas to get to Victory Circle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He'll never be happier to have an unscheduled pit stop. The rookie won the historic 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil and his first Verizon IndyCar Series race with an improbable run to the finish on a rapidly vanishing fuel load, turning a final lap of 179.784 mph in the No. 98 NAPA Auto Parts/Curb Honda for Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian.

He won by 4.4975 seconds over Andretti Autosport teammate Carlos Munoz (whose last lap was 218.789 mph), taking the checkered flag on the 36th lap after his last pit stop. The usual fuel window for Honda engines is about 32 laps.

"I have no idea how we pulled that off. We ran out in Turn 4 (at the end) and we were clutching it and coasting down the back straight," Rossi said. "Ryan (Hunter-Reay, a fellow Andretti teammate) was unbelievable in helping me get to the finish. He was giving me a tow at the end and it's an amazing result for Andretti Autosport.

Josef Newgarden finished third, 2013 Indy 500 champion Tony Kanaan was fourth and Charlie Kimball was fifth in a race that treated the sold-out crowd to 54 lead changes, the second-most in "500" history behind the 2013 race, which had 68 lead changes.

Rossi, a 24-year-old Indianapolis resident who raced in Formula One last year before coming to the Verizon IndyCar Series, became the 10th rookie to win "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" and the first since Helio Castroneves in 2001. He's the first American rookie winner since Louis Meyer in 1928.

NEXT RACE: Twin races at Belle Isle Park in Detroit this weekend; Race #1 on ABC at 12:30pm PT on Saturday; Race #2 on ABC at 12:30pm PT on Sunday.

NHRA

  • Hits the track at Epping, NH this weekend; TV on Sunday on FS1 from 1-4 p.m. PT

 

AT SONOMA RACEWAY…