NASCAR Cup Series drivers ready for the sport’s longest event
More than two hours before sunset on Sunday, NASCAR Cup Series drivers are scheduled to begin their long day’s journey into night with the commencement of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6 p.m. ET on Prime Video, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Won by nine different drivers in the last nine years, NASCAR’s marathon Crown Jewel race is so long (400 laps, 600 miles) that it requires an extra stage, and as such, it’s the most lucrative race on the schedule in terms of points available to the drivers.
A staple of Memorial Day weekend—along with the Indianapolis 500—the Coca-Cola 600 also gives drivers in NASCAR’s top division the chance to honor fallen soldiers through the “600 Miles of Remembrance” program with placement of their names on the windshields of their respective race cars.
William Byron has never won NASCAR’s longest race, though he came close last year. Dealing with changing track conditions as darkness fell, Byron won the first three 100-lap stages and led 283 of the 400 laps, only to be passed by Ross Chastain six laps from the finish near the end of a closing 87-lap green-flag run.
This year, Byron is hoping to improve by one position at the finish.
“Charlotte’s a huge race,” said Byron, who is honoring Captain William Jacobsen of Fayetteville, N.C., this weekend. “I think anyone would say that because of the extra stage. Just the time of the season—it kind of kicks off the summer stretch with a number of things, the broadcast side and kind of the way the schedule rolls.
“It’s big, and I think last year was good to us. We had a good run there. We were really competitive, and I think it’s one we have circled where we can take the stuff we’ve been learning and hopefully apply all that and be competitive—and we need to.”
Chastain hasn’t won a Cup Series race since his triumph in last year’s Crown Jewel event. Perhaps that’s one reason the driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet remembers the victory so fondly.
“It’s a race we’ll never forget,” said Chastain, who will carry the name of Sgt. First Class Johnathan B. McCain of Chandler, Arizona, on his windshield this weekend. “I have the trophy right in my shop at home in my barn, right where we hang out.
“We’ve had many Busch Lights just sitting around talking about it in the offseason… Having that trophy there is a great motivating thing that we want to get back there and be capable of winning again.”
Much was made of Rory McIlroy completion of golf’s Grand Slam in the 2025 Masters. McIlroy became only the sixth golfer in history to win all four majors.
The NASCAR version of the Grand Slam—featuring Crown Jewel races DAYTONA 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500—has been achieved only four times, by Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, who was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday, joining the other three Grand Slam winners.
Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson are the only active drivers with wins in three different Crown Jewel races. Hamlin lacks the Brickyard 400. The other three drivers need the DAYTONA 500 to complete the slam.
Busch, however, won’t compete this weekend after being hospitalized with what his family termed “a severe illness.”
“He is currently undergoing treatment and will not compete in any of his scheduled activities this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway,” the Kyle Busch Family said in a statement released Thursday.
Austin Hill will substitute for Busch in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in Sunday’s race.
Tyler Reddick, who is carrying the name of Sgt. Robert Wayne Crow Jr. of Kansas City, Missouri, on his windshield, has a chance to achieve a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 1997.
That was the last time a driver—in this case Jeff Gordon—won the DAYTONA 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same year.
Reddick has won five of the first 12 races this season, with an average finish of 5.67, the sixth-best such mark through the first 12 races in NASCAR’s Modern Era (1972 to date).
Like Byron, Reddick has never won NASCAR’s longest race.
Kyle Larson, who is honoring Staff Sgt. Ryan Christopher Malm on Sunday, looks to end a 36-race winless streak. Larson won the 600 in his 2021 championship season.
Two NASCAR Cup drivers spice up field for O’Reilly Series race
Full-time Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott and William Byron won the last two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The good news for series regulars is that neither Elliott nor Byron will compete in Saturday’s Charbroil 300 (5 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
But there’s bad news, too. Trackhouse Racing Cup drivers Ross Chastain and Connor Zilisch will be driving for JR Motorsports in Saturday’s race.
Chastain is the defending winner of the Coca-Cola 600 Cup Series race. Zilisch finished second to Byron in last year’s O’Reilly Series event at Charlotte.
Driving the No. 1 Chevrolet for JRM, Zilisch has won twice in five O’Reilly starts this season, at Bristol and Watkins Glen.
“I’m really looking forward to the Charlotte race with JR Motorsports,” Zilisch said. “We’ve won a couple of races this season, and I think we have a great opportunity to run well this weekend in our Registix Chevrolet.
“Starting late in the afternoon will be a challenge, but I’m confident that (crew chief) Rodney (Childers) and I will keep up with the balance of the car with the changing track conditions.”
Not only will Zilisch have to battle Chastain, but he’ll also face JRM teammate Justin Allgaier, the last series regular to win at Charlotte (2023).
Allgaier holds the series lead by 175 points over Sheldon Creed, the largest advantage a driver has enjoyed at any point during a season since NASCAR instituted one-point-per-position scoring in 2011.
Collectively, JR Motorsports drivers look to extend the organization’s streak of placing at least one car in the top 10 to 72 races. RFK Racing holds the record for consecutive top-10s with 79 (2008-2010).
Just because Elliott and Byron aren’t racing, Hendrick Motorsports isn’t without a shot to win. Corey Day, who has scored two victories in his rookie season—the latest at Dover last Saturday—will drive the No. 17 Hendrick entry.
Day, who is racing on Charlotte’s 1-5-mile oval for the first time, is the first Hendrick driver since Kyle Busch in 2007 with multiple O’Reilly Series wins in the same season.
Kyle Busch out of NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck race with severe illness
Hospitalized with what his family described as a “severe illness,” Kyle Busch will miss not only Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race but also Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Busch won last Friday’s Truck Series race at Dover Motor Speedway in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet and was slated to drive the same truck at Charlotte before the illness forced his withdrawal.
Corey Day will take Busch’s place in the No. 7 Chevrolet in Friday night’s race.
Even without Busch in the field, there’s a diverse array of talent in Friday’s race, from series leader Kaden Honeycutt, who picked up his first career victory May 8 at Watkins Glen, to triple-duty drivers Connor Zilisch and Ross Chastain, who will be competing for Spire Motorsports and Niece Motorsports, respectively.
In addition, road course superstar Shane van Gisbergen will run the third Truck Series race of his career and his first on a 1.5-mile intermediate oval.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to run the No. 71 truck for Spire Motorsports,” van Gisbergen said. “It’s going to be epic. I really enjoy racing the Truck Series. I had a decent crack at it a couple of weekends ago in Watkins Glen, but I’m looking forward to another go on an oval.”
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series regulars Brandon Jones and William Sawalich will race as TRICON Garage teammates with Honeycutt, who is driving the No. 11 Toyota that carried Corey Heim to victory last year.
Honeycutt finished third behind Heim and Chastain at Charlotte last season, with Layne Riggs, who trails Honeycutt by 38 points in the series standings, running fourth.
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Coca-Cola 600
The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Sunday, May 24
The Time: 6 p.m. ET
The Purse: $13,855,363
TV: Prime Video, 5 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 600 miles (400 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 100),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 200), Stage 3 (Ends on Lap 300),
Final Stage (Ends on Lap 400)
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Next Race: Charbroil 300
The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Saturday, May 23
The Time: 5 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,653,590
TV: CW, 4 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Next Race: NC Education Lottery 200
The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Friday, May 22
The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $789,700
TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134)
