Austin Dillon gambled and won.
Dillon won the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night when he stayed out instead of pitting and made it to the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch. Martin Truex Jr. was third after leading 233 of 400 laps.
It was Dillon's first NASCAR Cup victory and returned the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet — owned by grandfather Richard Childress and driven to fame by Dale Earnhardt — to victory lane.
"I was trying to be patient," Dillon said. "I thought I had saved enough (gas) early. When Jimmie (Johnson) ran out I went I went back into safe mode to save gas."
Dillon celebrated by diving head first into the infield grass.
Truex, the series points leader, dominated the race for the second-straight year, after leading 392 of 400 laps en route to winning in 2016. He had to settle for third place this time around.
"That's two of the last three years that we have lost on fuel mileage and that kind of stinks," Truex said. "I drove my butt off but it wasn't meant to be."
Johnson was looking for a record-tying fifth Coca-Cola 600 win, but he ran out gas while leading with two laps remaining and finished 17th.
Kyle Larson crashed on lap 293 and finished 33rd, dropping from second to fourth in the series standings.
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11:19 p.m.
Denny Hamlin won the third stage of the Coca-Cola 600 in a race that has been dominated so far by Martin Truex Jr.
Truex has led 195 of 300 laps.
Hamlin had a fast pit stop on Lap 296, getting out ahead of Truex and Jimmie Johnson to take the lead for the first time. He beat Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on the restart and held off Kyle Busch to win the stage.
Kyle Larson, who has been consistent all season, is looking at his worst finish of the season after hitting the outside wall when a tire went down. Larson had severe damage to the right side of his car and had to take the No. 42 Chevy behind the wall.
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10:19 p.m.
Defending champion Martin Truex Jr. has won the second stage of the Coca-Cola 600.
It is his sixth stage win of the season and he leads all NASCAR drivers in playoff points.
Truex, who led 392 of 400 laps last year, has been impressive again. Truex has led 108 of 200 laps as the race reached the midway point following a 1-hour, 40-minute rain delay.
"We are trying to repeat what we did last year," Truex said told Fox from his car during a break in the action. "The car isn't handling as good as it did last year, but the guys are making adjustments."
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10:04 p.m.
Ryan Blaney's chances of winning the Coca-Cola 600 have ended.
Blaney, the winner of the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte on Saturday, took his No. 21 Ford behind the wall after breaking a left rear axle on pit road. Blaney took on tires, but struggled getting his car moving as he tried to leave his pit stall.
Blaney dropped five laps behind before returning to the track.
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9:48 p.m.
They're back racing at Charlotte.
The Coca-Cola 600 has resumed following a 1-hour, 40-minute delay because of lightning and rain.
Martin Truex Jr. was leading with 257 laps remaining when the race was interrupted. The cars made 10 laps under caution and pitted before NASCAR dropped the green flag.
Truex is followed by Jimmie Johnson in second, Kyle Larson in third and Kyle Busch in fourth. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is running 13th. Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott and Jeffrey Earnhardt are out of the race following a crash 20 laps in.
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9:10 p.m.
Kyle Larson optimistically said he was looking forward to "passing a lot of cars" when he failed to pass pre-race inspection and was forced to start at the back of the field for the Coca-Cola 600.
Larson will start third when the race resumes after a lightning and rain delay, a 36-place improvement from where he started the race. There are 257 laps remaining in the 400-lap race.
Larson had one of the fastest cars at the All-Star race here at Charlotte Motor Speedway last week, winning the first two 20-lap segments while being virtually unchallenged. But a poor pit stop cost Larson a chance at the $1 million first place prize as Kyle Busch went on to win.
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8:25 p.m.
Drivers are not even halfway through the Coca-Cola 600 and there have already been more lead changes this year (10) than all of last year (nine), when Martin Truex Jr. led 392 of 400 laps in a dominating performance.
Truex is currently lead the race with 257 laps remaining but the race is in a rain delay.
NASCAR last week put down a traction compound called JP1 designed to create another groove and improve passing. But that compound generally works best when the track is warmer. With rain cooling things down, the traction compound may not be much of a help to drivers when they return to the track.
Ten jet dryers, 12 Air Titans and three vacuum trucks are on the track. There is no more rain in the forecast and track officials are optimistic the entire race will be completed.
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8:05 p.m.
The longest race of the NASCAR season just got a little longer.
The Coca-Cola 600 race in Concord, North Carolina, has been red-flagged because of lightning in the area and the cars have been taken off the track. It has also started to rain, which means it could take some time to dry the track.
There are 257 laps remaining in the 400-lap race.
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7:45 p.m.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he "leaned heavily" on teammate and seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson this week when setting up his No. 88 Chevy for the Coca-Cola 600 after struggling here last week in the All-Star race.
The sentimental favorite is having a decent day so far, moving up to 13th place after 130 laps. He started the race in 19th place. He is going for his first Cup Series points race win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Earnhardt says he wants to win the Coca-Cola 600 more than any other race before retiring at the end of the year.
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7:25 p.m.
Kyle Busch has won the first of four stages at the Coca-Cola 600.
Busch is going for his first Cup Series points race victory at Charlotte Speedway just eight days after winning the $1 million All-Star race. Busch led 35 of the first 100 laps.
Pole sitter Kevin Harvick led the most laps (42), but Busch passed him late in the first stage for the playoff points.
Danica Patrick led seven laps in the first stage, the first time she's led a lap since the race in Loudon, New Hampshire, on Sept. 25, 2016.
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6:40 p.m.
A crash 20 laps into the 400-lap Coca-Cola 600 has claimed the cars of Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski.
Something flew out from underneath Jeffrey Earnhardt and hit the front of Elliott's car, which quickly caught fire just as NASCAR was preparing going to a competition caution. Keselowski, who was racing behind Elliott, slammed into the back of Elliott's car.
Both cars have been taken behind the wall.
Keselowski was considered one of the favorites to win the race. He has already won twice on the Cup Series circuit this year.
"There was just oil everywhere," Keselowski said. "You just couldn't stop or turn or anything."
— Steve Reed reporting from Concord, North Carolina
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6:25 p.m.
The nightcap for racing's biggest day is underway.
Drivers got off cleanly at the start of the NASCAR's longest race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.
Pole sitter Kevin Harvick led the way with All-Star race winner Kyle Busch right behind. Four hundred laps from now we'll know who'll join Monaco Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel and Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato in the winner's circle.
Martin Truex Jr. is the defending champion at the 600, leading last year's race for a record 392 out of 400 laps.
— Pete Iacobelli reporting from Concord, North Carolina