VHT creating new challenge for drivers in Coca-Cola 600

Martin Truex Jr. was leading the race and had held the point for 53 of 143 laps. 

Jimmie Johnson, who started 14th, had climbed to second prior to the caution. Johnson leads the tour with eight wins and Charlotte Motor Speedway, but would love to add a ninth victory to his resume.

“Definitely wild and crazy out there, but our Lowe’s Chevy is running good,” Johnson said. “We’ve marched our way forward. Great pit stops. Things are going well.”

Johnson has discovered more grip with the VHT applied to the top groove in an effort to promote side-by-side racing. Although the groove has widened out, he doesn’t appeared sold on the process. 

“There is more grip up there especially as the tire loses a little bit of speed,” Johnson added. “You can go back up there and hang out a little bit longer. It’s definitely working. I’m not sure we’re really passing much more, but it’s nice to have more lanes. I’ve been  able to go from 14th forward so it’s not too bad at all.  

Hopefully, this system moves by quickly and we can get back to racing and put on a good show for the fans.”

Kurt Busch started 12th but was running in the top 10 in the opening laps. Busch’s challenge in the first half of the race? Staying out of the VHT.

“As soon as I touch the VHT, I’m on ice,” Busch said. “I can’t find a rhythm with it. So I’m old school on the bottom. We made an adjustment to loosen the car up and it was fast from Lap 5 to Lap 15 we drove up to seventh, but we stalled out there. We can’t get any more spots because we’re loose in and really tight on exit. 

“When your car is disconnected entry and exit, it makes for a long night. But we’re trying. We’ll keep throwing things at it. I’m just happy with the effort that everyone is trying to give. We just have to be better at these mile-and-a-halves.”

Rookie Erik Jones qualified fifth and was having a solid day before a spring hit the front end of the No. 77 Camry following the wreck involving Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski. Following repairs, Jones restarted 31st on Lap 28 but recovered to 12th prior to the red flag.

“It’s ok,” Jones said of his car. “We’ve got to get one little piece of tape that rolled up on it. It’s still a little bit draggy on there. I’m sure it’s not 100-percent the way it should be, which is unfortunate because it was really good. But we’ll keep working on it. We’ll keep trying to get it better.

“Unfortunately, we lost track position more than anything. We were up there in third place. I think we can still run there. We just need to get back there, it’s just going to take time.”