Loop Data Box Score : Charlotte Motor Speedway

• Thursday, May 22nd, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

All Eyes on Larson: IndyCar - NASCAR Double Looms Large Ahead of Coca-Cola 600

On a tripleheader NASCAR weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the big news is clearly “The Double.”

For the second straight year, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson will attempt to run both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

If the day goes according to plan, Larson will complete 500 miles in the 109th running of the Indy 500, scheduled to start at 12:45 p.m., and commute to Charlotte to start in NASCAR’s longest race (6 p.m. ET Sunday on Amazon Prime, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Larson hopes to join an elite group of drivers who have competed in both races on the same day—the late John Andretti, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.

Stewart is the only driver to have completed all 1,100 miles while attempting the Double, a feat he accomplished in 2001 when he finished sixth in the Indy 500 and third in the Coke 600.

Typically, Larson is taking a low-key approach to his potential race results, and he doesn’t appear concerned with the attention that might accrue to successful runs in both races.

“I don’t really think about it a whole lot,” Larson said on Wednesday during a video conference call with reporters. “I love to race, and I try to do the best job that I can. Usually, if you’re doing a good job and you’re prepared and all that, the accolades and the stuff that goes with it will just naturally come.

“The same goes for this weekend. If I can just do a good job, get good finishes and show that we were capable of running up front with these (IndyCar) guys, I think that would do a lot. I think there’s more positives to be made from the results this weekend than negatives.”

Larson won the Coca-Cola 600 from the pole during his NASCAR Cup Series championship season in 2021. He’s one of eight different drivers to triumph in the last eight races.

Three of the last five Coke 600 winners have gone on to win the series championship in the same year they won the race—Chase Elliott (2020), Larson (2021) and Ryan Blaney (2023).

Blaney’s victory in the only NASCAR race that features four stages (100 laps each) rather than three was his first of the 2023 season. This year he comes to Charlotte seeking his first win of 2025. Both his Team Penske teammates—Joey Logano and Austin Cindric—already have won races this year.

“It was cool to win this race a couple years ago,” Blaney said. “I grew up going to this race a lot, watching Dad (Dave Blaney) run it, spending the time with family. Memorial Day weekend’s always really special, being able to see a lot of troops and meet their families around the race track.

“Meeting the families (whose) son or daughter is running with us on our windshield is always a really special moment. But, yeah, it was neat to accomplish a huge feat two years ago. And last year, I thought we had a decent run going, and unfortunately, we didn’t finish it.”

On a day when weather played havoc with both the Indy 500 and Coke 600, Christopher Bell won the 2024 Charlotte race, which was shortened from 400 to 249 laps because of rain.

A downpour at Indianapolis Motor Speedway delayed the start of the 500 and caused Larson to miss the Charlotte race. This year, he has committed to start the 600, even if it means leaving Indianapolis before the completion of the event.

Larson’s three victories, eight top fives, nine top 10s and 817 laps led in 2025 all are career high-water marks for the first 12 races of a season.

Note:Sunday’s race will be the first on the Amazon Prime streaming service under this year’s new broadcast deal.

• Saturday, May 24th, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Briscoe Beats Larson by Inches to Claim Coca-Cola 600 Pole at Charlotte

Chase Briscoe proved that practice does make perfect—or close enough to perfect, in his estimation.

Benefiting from experience gained during a Goodyear tire test on March 18-19 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Briscoe put his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Briscoe toured the challenging 1.5-mile intermediate track in 29.532 seconds (182.852 mph) during Saturday’s time trials to edge Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson (182.729 mph) for the top starting spot by 0.02 seconds.

Larson, of course, hopes to complete the Indianapolis 500 before taking the green flag from the front row at Charlotte.

The Busch Light Pole Award is Briscoe’s first at Charlotte, his second of the season and fourth of his career. It’s also his second pole of the season for a Crown Jewel race, following his top qualifying effort for the season-opening Daytona 500.

It was also a dramatic improvement in Briscoe’s average starting position of 15.8 this season, before Saturday’s pole-winning run is factored in.

“It was not the most perfect lap, by any means, but it was good enough,” said Briscoe, who joined the JGR roster this season. “Yeah, I’m super excited to finally get the results on Saturday that I think we deserve.

“This is also a great opportunity to lead the field to green for 600 miles… So I look forward to (Sunday), and see if we can keep it there.”

William Byron, who represented Chevrolet in the tire test, qualified third at 182.642 mph, followed by Chris Buescher (182.063 mph in the fastest Ford) and AJ Allmendinger (181.916 mph). John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Alex Bowman and defending race winner Christopher Bell claimed the respective sixth through 10th positions on the starting grid.

Seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, making his second start of the season and the 700th of his career, qualified 17th at 180.445 mph.

“Fun day of learning,” Johnson said. “Practice, I just kind of took my time getting up to speed, getting reaccustomed to the car and the track. I felt pretty comfortable at the end of practice and getting a feel for things, and then had a few minutes to think about it, and send it in qualifying.

“Qualifying went well. I kept getting stronger and stronger each corner I made. Sadly, I was just a little under-committed for Turns 1 and 2, but had the balance right, or the commitment right for Turns 3 and 4 and had a respectable lap. I do think we have potential in the car and can get up there with John Hunter (Nemechek), but I’m very happy to start kind of mid-pack there and have a good pit road pick as well.”

Ross Chastain blew a tire during practice and backed into the Turn 4 wall. He did not make a qualifying run and will start the Coca-Cola 600 from the rear in a backup car. Chastain was fastest in 10-consecutive-lap average before the accident.

Carson Hocevar, who posted the fastest single lap in final Cup practice on Saturday, spun off Turn 4 during his qualifying run and will start 39th in the 40-car field.

Kyle Busch, who did not turn a lap in practice because of power steering issues, was 24th fastest in time trials. Busch and Richard Childress Racing announced on Saturday that the two-time Cup champion would continue with the team in 2026.

• Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Coca-Cola 600
• Busch Pole Award Pole Winner: Chase Briscoe
• Age: 30
• Team : No 19 - Bass Pro Shops Toyota
• Owner: Joe Gibbs
• Crew Chief: James Small
• Chase Briscoe won the Pole Award for the Coca-Cola 600 with a lap of 29532 seconds, 182852 mph
• This is his fourth pole in 157 NASCAR Cup Series races
• This is his second pole and fourth top-10 start in 2025
• This is his first pole in five races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Kyle Larson (second) posted his seventh top-10 start of 2025 and his fourth in 15 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
• William Byron (third) posted his eighth top-10 start at Charlotte Motor Speedway It is his ninth in 13 races this season
• Shane Van Gisbergen (30th) was the fastest qualifying rookie

• Sunday, May 25th, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

From 40th to First: Chastain Charges to Coca-Cola 600 Victory in Backup Car

Welcome to the party, Ross Chastain—and to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, for that matter.

Starting from the rear of the field in a backup car his team needed all night to prepare, Chastain ran down the dominant car of William Byron to win Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Byron led 283 of 400 laps and swept the first three stages of NASCAR’s longest race. Chastain led the final six after diving below Byron’s Chevrolet entering Turn 1 on Lap 395 and sliding up in Turn 2 to clear Byron off the corner.

Chastain crossed the finish line 0.673 seconds ahead of the Hendrick Motorsports driver to win for the first time this season, the first time at Charlotte and the sixth time in his career.

It was a far cry from Saturday’s practice, when Chastain blew a tire on his No. 1 Chevrolet and crashed into the outside wall between Turns 3 and 4, ultimately forcing his Trackhouse Racing team to build a backup car.

Unable to make a qualifying run, Chastain took the green flag in 40th and spent the rest of the race methodically working his way toward the front.

Chastain had nothing but admiration for his Trackhouse organization.

“When I left the shop last night, I went over and sat in this car for the first time,” Chastain said. “It was about 10 o’clock when I left. They worked until 2:30. They were back at 5:30 this morning. Most of them drive 30, 45 minutes home. A little shower, I think.

…

“I don’t even know if they slept. Back there at 5:30. They get this thing ready, and that’s the dedication it takes from Trackhouse. There were people there that had their Saturdays off yesterday, and they came in.

“To drive on that final run in the (Coke) 600 and pass two cars that had been way better all night … (Crew chief) Phil Surgen wanted me to pit two laps earlier (in the final stage). I went two laps longer (to Lap 350) just out of a little bit of confusion. Man, that paid off at the end. These Goodyear Eagles held on longer because they were a little bit fresher.

“Holy cow, we just won the 600!”

Winner of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte, Byron was understandably disappointed at his failure to complete the sweep.

“He was catching me, and I was trying to just defend,” Byron said of the decisive final run. “I was getting a little bit tight. Then the scenario there with the cars we were around (Hamlin after his unscheduled stop and Joey Logano), it was tough.

“So, yeah, he got a run on me and was able to get to the bottom and clear me off of (Turn) 2. Disappointing just to lead that many laps and such a great effort by our whole team. Yeah, I guess just could have anticipated that last run a little better. I ran in dirty air for a long time and heated my tires up. Then we lost a chunk of time, and the 45 (Tyler Reddick) about crashed in front of us. Yeah, sucks.

“We’ll just keep going and keep trying to put races together like that.”

Chastain, however, wasn’t a factor for the lead as Byron and Denny Hamlin battled for the top spot in a thrilling third stage that saw them swap the lead nine times.

After the halfway break, when the cars stopped on pit road to honor America’s fallen heroes with a moment of silence, Byron was not as dominant as he had been in the first two stages. Hamlin hounded him mercilessly until Zane Smith spun off Turn 2 to cause the fifth caution on Lap 237.

A five-car wreck in Turn 4 nine laps later eliminated the Ford of Ryan Blaney and the Chevrolets of Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez. Hamlin ran down Byron after the subsequent restart and passed him for the lead on Lap 262.

Stronger on the long run, however, Byron reclaimed the top spot on Lap 291 and held off Hamlin and Carson Hocevar to complete a sweep of the first three stages. Hocevar was a contender for at least a top-five finish until an engine failure ended his race after 307 laps.

Hamlin continued to challenge in the final 100 laps, until a mistake on pit road foiled his winning chances. During the final green-flag pit stop on Lap 348 Hamlin’s crew failed to get the second can of fuel in the car, and Hamlin bowed out of contention with an unplanned pit stop on Lap 388.

“I’m not a pit guy, but I tried to do everything I could for the National Debt Relief Toyota team,” Hamlin said. “We had a great car, and it was fun battling up front. It was a heck of a battle there.

“I would have liked to see it through, but unfortunately, just didn’t get enough gas in it and had to come back in.”

Pole winner Chase Briscoe overcame a tire violation on his first pit stop to finish third. AJ Allmendinger ran fourth and Brad Keselowski came home fifth, posting his first top-10 result of the season.

Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece and Noah Gragson completed the top 10.

It’s a good thing Larson has a self-professed short memory, because Sunday was a day to forget for the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. After spinning in Takuma Sato’s wake on Lap 92 of the Indianapolis 500 and falling out of the race, Larson flew to Charlotte to start on the front row for the Coke 600.

For a short while, Larson’s fortunes improved. He passed Byron for the lead on Lap 9 and stayed out front for 33 circuits. During that run, however, Larson slapped the outside wall. On Lap 42, he spun off Turn 4 and slid sideways through the turf in the tri-oval

“The toe might be barely off,” Larson radioed to crew chief Cliff Daniels. “I hit the wall pretty hard, and not square. Check it please.”

The toe (tire angle) was more than barely off, and repeated pit stops couldn’t make it right. Larson’s forgettable day ended in the five-car accident on Lap 246 when the spinning car of Daniel Suarez applied the coup de grace to the suspension of Larson’s Chevrolet.

“Just too many mistakes on my end tonight, and it got me behind,” Larson said after a trip to the infield care center. “I got loose in (while) leading early and smacked the wall and just kind of got us behind, but I thought our team got the car back in better shape there.

“I hate the way that the day went. I wish I could just reset and try again tomorrow.”

Jimmie Johnson’s 700th Cup Series start came to an end just as suddenly. In Turn 4 on Lap 112, Johnson’s No. 84 Toyota broke loose and collected the cars of Cole Custer and Connor Zilisch, the Xfinity Series phenom who was making his first Cup start on an oval track.

Johnson retired from the race in 40th. Zilisch persevered to come home 23rd.

• Drivers Entered: 40
• Laps Scheduled: 400
• Margin of Victory: 0.673 Seconds
• Time of Race: 4 Hours 25 Minutes 8 Seconds
• Average Speed: 135.781
• Cautions: 8 for 52 laps
• Lead Changes: 34
• Green Flag Passes: 4,962 (14.3 passes per green flag lap)

• Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Coca-Cola 600
• Race Winner: Ross Chastain
• Age: 32
• Team : No 1 - Jockey x Folds of Honor Chevrolet
• Owner: Justin Marks
• Crew Chief: Philip Surgen
• Ross Chastain won the Coca-Cola 600, his sixth victory in 236 Cup Series races
• This is his first victory and seventh top-10 finish in 2025
• This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in eight races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
• William Byron (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in nine races at Charlotte Motor Speedway It is his eighth top-10 finish in 2025
• Chase Briscoe (third) posted his second top-10 finish in five races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Shane Van Gisbergen (14th) was the highest finishing rookie
• William Byron leads the point standings by 29 points over Kyle Larson