2017 Coke Zero 400

First practice Kyle Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 45.584 seconds and a speed of . Final practice Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 46.553 seconds and a speed of . ==Qualifying==

scored the pole position. Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 47.127 and a speed of . Qualifying results ==Race==

First stage Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the field to the green flag at 7:58 p.m., but teammate Chase Elliott passed him in Turn 3 and led the first lap. After leading the first four, Elliott dropped to the bottom and allowed Brad Keselowski to pass him on the high-side going into Turn 1 to take the lead on the fifth lap. Ryan Sieg and Cole Whitt suffered engine failures on lap 10, bringing out the first caution of the race. The race restarted on lap 13. Denny Hamlin made an unscheduled stop a lap later for a loose wheel, which was a result of having only one lug nut. Fortuitous for him, caution #2 flew two laps later when D. J. Kennington spun out moments after blowing his engine in Turn 4. Earnhardt cut down a tire and hit the wall in Turn 1 on lap 51, a result of contact with Paul Menard. Caution flew for the fourth time when Jeffrey Earnhardt blew an engine on lap 59. Austin Dillon, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. took the heaviest damage in the melee. The failure was a result of Busch making contact the lap prior with McDowell heading into Turn 1. Logano's comments after he was released from the care center verified supported this, saying he saw McDowell get "into the side of (Busch). I didn't see any smoke off (Busch's car), just a near miss. Then four or five laps later I think, the left-rear popped on and around (Busch) started going and we were there." Racing resumed on lap 76 and Kenseth drove on to win the second stage. Caution #6 flew moments later for the end of the stage. Harvick elected not to pit and usurped the lead under the caution. This brought out the eighth caution. Earnhardt said afterwards that he wished he "had had a good finish tonight if not a win. We were working up in there and having a good time and being aggressive and wearing out the sides of that race car. It just wasn't to be." Clint Bowyer took the lead when Johnson pitted. After his car landed back on the ground, it was t-boned by Blaney and made contact with Kenseth. This triggered a multi-car wreck that brought out the 13th caution, as well as an eight-minute and 41-second red flag. Dillon lacked draft help on the ensuing restart with three to go, while Ragan got an excellent push to take the race lead. But a 2-car spin on the backstretch involving Jones and Hamlin sent the race into overtime and brought out the 14th caution. Stenhouse pounced on the opening, took the lead going into Turn 3 and drove on to score the victory. == Post-race ==

Stenhouse said in victory lane that his win validated "what we did at Talladega. We have been working hard at Roush Fenway and this pushes us further along. This Ford Performance team has been amazing. Ford has been dominant.” Bowyer, who finished runner-up, said being bridesmaid "sucks. I want to win. We're in this business to win. That's what Tony (Stewart) and Gene (Haas) pay me to do." He also added that Stenhouse had "the fastest car right then. He did a good job getting it to the front, and she set sail. He does a good job of blocking. He's learned a lot. He's become a good [restrictor-]plate racer. I remember when he came in, he was a little bit chaotic, but he's not now. He's got it figured out, and he's won two of them." McDowell, who finished a career-best fourth, on top of his six top-20 finishes in eight races, said it's awesome "to do this week after week. We've been putting together solid runs. At the same time, coming to the line second, I thought I had a shot at (Stenhouse) but just they had such a big run behind I couldn't hold them off.” Ragan, who finished sixth after leading on the final restart, said he "made one bad move," and a few other "bad moves tonight," but that he was in a damned if he did and damned if he didn't scenario. "So if it was Thursday and you said ‘We'll give a sixth-place finish,’ I probably would have taken that coming down to Daytona because my record hasn't been that great the last several years here," he added. "I've been caught up in wrecks and haven't been able to finish one of these things clean, but to be that close is bittersweet. It hurts, but I got a lot of racing left and I'm a tough guy. I can handle it.” == Race results ==

Stage results Stage 1 Laps: 40 Stage 2 Laps: 40 Final stage results Stage 3 Laps: 83 Race statistics • Lead changes: 33 among 16 different drivers • Cautions/Laps: 14 for 51 laps • Red flags: 1 for 8 minutes and 41 seconds • Time of race: 3 hours, 17 minutes and 12 seconds • Average speed: ==Media==

Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side; Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth, and Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane. Radio MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on SiriusXM's NASCAR Radio channel. ==Standings after the race==

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Manufacturers' Championship standings • Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. • . – Driver has clinched a position in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. ==References==