NASCAR crew chief Ryan Sparks has opened up on the decision he made late on Sunday night which won the Coca-Cola 600 for his driver Daniel Suarez.
Their No. 7 Spire Motorsports car jumped more than a dozen places to the very front of the field on Lap 353, when the field made a round of stops under caution, with inclement weather looming.
Had the race run its scheduled 400-lap distance, that move may still have helped Suarez into the top ten – but as it was, there were just five laps of green flag racing left (between two restarts), and he was able to hold off the field to earn his first Crown Jewel win.
The win was clearly an emotional one for Suarez and his team, the Mexican driver pointing to his Kyle Busch No. 8 tribute hat on exiting his car before pointing to the heavens.
Busch's last NASCAR win was as a Spire driver, having run part-time in the Truck Series for the team since they bought Kyle Busch Motorsports' Truck operation back in late 2023 – with the old KBM shop now used by Spire.
READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series winners and losers after the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte
Ryan Sparks: Weather played a huge role
Speaking on the decision that brought an emotional victory to Spire, Sparks said post-race: "Yeah, obviously the weather had a huge part in that. Really the night we had, such an up-and-down. We had a fast car, but things kept happening. We pitted on a green, we were losing laps, and fought hard finally to get back on the lead lap.
"I don’t know, something in the back of my mind told me to just go ahead and put two on. I kind of looked and seen what everybody had for tires on in front of me, and I figured there was going to be a good opportunity for us to be first or second. Just wanted to get that clean air and give ourselves an opportunity."
On bringing another trophy back to the old home of KBM, he added: "Man, when we bought that place, there was a lot of trophies in the case. It’s impressive what he did over his career.
"So to bring another one home, our trucks have been stacking some up, obviously a Hocevar win in Talladega. We’re starting to win a little bit. So that’s great. There’s still a lot of room.
"What a heavy week with what all went on, and to bring a trophy back to KBM is pretty special. I think a fitting way to kind of honor Kyle. I think he would appreciate that because that will always kind of be the original KBM building. I know him and Jeff had a strong relationship through their careers. Pretty special to bring one back to his shop."
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