Extra Caffeine: Kurt Busch Wins The Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s Longest Race

Here are the race results for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600:

Updated Sprint Cup point standings:

For the second straight week, Kyle Busch was in the spotlight following a racing incident at Charlotte that left other drivers questioning his understanding of racing etiquette.

First it was teammate Denny Hamlin in the All-Star Race, who wondered why Busch was so upset with him. Sunday night, it was Jeff Burton, who confronted Busch on pit road after some late-race contact.

Charlotte has historically been Kasey Kahne’s best track, with three of his 11 career wins coming at the home track for most NASCAR teams.

And Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 looked promising for Kahne, as he was strong in every practice and qualified fourth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was leading the Coca-Cola 600 with less than 40 laps to go, but it was all an illusion.

Crew chief Lance McGrew wanted Earnhardt Jr. to stay out until absolutely necessary in order to catch what he hoped would be a timely caution, possibly allowing the team to steal a top five.

“Rocket” Ryan Newman still has some fuel left in his qualifying tank.

After what he called the most courageous lap he’s ever run at Charlotte Motor Speedway – charging into the corner on the high line at around 200 mph – Newman won the 46th pole of his career, tying him for 10th on the all-time list with Hall of Famer Junior Johnson.

There’s no question Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had a few bad weeks.

A 32nd-place finish at Richmond. A night of struggles at Darlington. A “complete mess” at Dover, as Earnhardt Jr. said himself. And a disappointing finish in the Sprint All-Star Race.

Denny Hamlin isn’t backing down from Kyle Busch one bit.

In his strongest comments about his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate to date, Hamlin said he has no desire to participate in the drama Busch “brings (upon) himself.”

I’ll be honest: The Coca-Cola 600 is one of my favorite races of the year.

I know, it doesn’t make sense. The 600 can often be miles and miles and miles of endless single-file racing as the cars tick off the laps and day turns into night.