NASCAR’s return to racing continues Memorial Day weekend with the running of the prestigious Coca-Cola 600. Roush Fenway has 20 wins all-time at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including four in the Coke 600. Chris Buescher – who will pilot the Fifth Third Ford – is coming off a sixth-place run in this race a year ago while Ryan Newman –piloting the Roman Ford – has nine-career poles at the 1.5-mile track, the most of any active driver in NASCAR.
Charlotte Motor Speedway (1.5-Mile)
Coca-Cola 600
Sunday, May 24, 2020 | 6 p.m. ET
FOX, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
- Ryan Newman, No. 6 Roman Ford Mustang
- Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fifth Third Ford Mustang
NASCAR Returns to Action
- NASCAR continues its historic return to racing Sunday with the prestigious Coca-Cola 600, the third of four NASCAR Cup Series events over a 10-day span. The NCS will return to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Wednesday for a 310.6-mile event, which is set for 8 p.m. ET.
- Despite heavy rain in the Darlington area on Wednesday, NASCAR was able to get an official race in under the lights for the Cup Series’ sixth points race of 2020.
- Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed.
Wednesday Recap, Sunday Preview
- With rain in the area through much of the night Wednesday, a bold strategy call put Newman in the lead just past halfway Wednesday night, before he overcame an unlucky pit road incident to record a 14th-place finish in a rain-shortened 208-lap race.
- The same strategy call put Buescher just behind teammate Newman for a restart just past halfway in Wednesday’s event at Darlington, with the race ultimately running 208 laps before rain cut it short. Buescher later missed pit road on a pit stop and got one of his laps back, before recording a 23rd-place finish.
- After two straight events with no qualifying, the field for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 will be set by qualifying, which is slated for 2 p.m. ET (FS1).
Roush Fenway in the 600
In 102 NCS starts in the famed Coca-Cola 600, Roush Fenway Racing has visited victory lane four times and recorded 23 top-five and 38 top-10 finishes. Jeff Burton leads the way with two Coke 600 victories for Jack Roush, while Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth have one each.
Golden Sombrero
Roush Fenway won a record four-consecutive Coca-Cola 600’s from 1999-2002 with drivers Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin. During that span, Roush Fenway led 427 laps, including 201 of 400 laps in the 1999 event.
2006 Dominance in the Coca-Cola 600
Roush Fenway had its best overall outing in the Coca-Cola 600 in 2006, when its five entries averaged a 5.4 finish. Roush Fenway Fords finished third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth, while leading 52 laps in the event. In 2002, Roush Fenway posted a one-two finish in the event with Martin and Kenseth battling feverishly for the win and combining to lead 67 laps in the race (with Martin taking the win).
Tale of the Tape
Roush Fenway has started 210 NCS races at Charlotte, recording eight total wins with 46 top-five and 79 top-10 finishes. RFR Fords have an average finish of 16.3 with 2627 laps led all-time.
600 Miles of Remembrance
To align with the nation’s spirit of Memorial Day, the NASCAR industry will come together to honor and remember the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedom. Each driver/team entry into the Coca-Cola 600 will display a fallen service member name on the windshield header decal of the racecar.
Buescher will carry the name of SPC Anthony Kinslow, a native of Phoenix who was based in Fort Carson, Colorado, in the U.S. Army. Kinslow was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He was killed June 13, 2005, when his military vehicle came under a grenade attack while he was conducting combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq.
Newman will carry the name of Nathan Bruckenthal, a native of Stony Brook, N.Y., who enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard on Jan. 5, 1999. He was later assigned to Tactical Law Enforcement Detachment South, LEDET 403, at Coast Guard Air Station Miami, Florida, and deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
On April 24, 2004, while serving as part of Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia aboard USS Firebolt, Petty Officer 3rd Class Bruckenthal, a damage controlman, and two U. S. Navy sailors were killed in the line of duty while conducting maritime intercept operations in the North Arabian Gulf. Bruckenthal and six other coalition sailors attempted to board a small boat near the Iraqi Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal. As they boarded the boat, it exploded. Bruckenthal later died from the wounds he sustained in the explosion. Bruckenthal was the first Coast Guard member killed in action since the Vietnam War.
Roush Fenway Charlotte Wins
1992-2 Martin Cup
1995-2 Martin Cup
1998-2 Martin Cup
1999-1 Burton Cup
2000-1 Kenseth Cup
2001-1 Burton Cup
2002-1 Martin Cup
2011-2 Kenseth Cup
1993-2 Martin NXS
1995-2 Martin NXS
1996-1 Martin NXS
1996-2 Martin NXS
1998-1 Martin NXS
1999-1 Martin NXS
2000-1 Burton NXS
2001-2 Biffle NXS
2002-2 Burton NXS
2006-1 Edwards NXS
2011-1 Kenseth NXS
2011-2 Edwards NXS
2011-2 Edwards NXS
2015-1 Buescher NXS
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