It’s the longest race of the season on a somber weekend for the nation honouring Memorial Day and those who served.
And it’s the first of five races for Prime Video. Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Steve Letarte will be calling the races.
Speaking on multi format racer Kyle Larson who will be attempting to do “The Double” this weekend and run the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, Earnhardt said that calling Kyle Larson good is like calling the grass green. Only four other drivers have attempted to do “The Double” but only one driver has completed all 1,100 laps – three time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for a 25 minute practice session before make single car qualifying. The drivers get just one set of tires for practice.
Among the 40 drivers in the field is four time Coke 600 winner and seven time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson who will be making Cup Series start number 700!
This weekend will also be Cup Series start number 100 for Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs.
Daniel Suarez will be making Cup Series start number 300 this weekend.
The drivers are practicing in the heat of the day on Saturday but will be racing in the cool of the evening and into the night on Sunday.
Carson Hocevar tops the leaderboard in the fastest single lap with AJ Allmendinger leading Group 1 in multi lap times.
Kyle Busch is on pit road after just half a lap with steering and radio issues. Earlier in the day, he and car owner Richard Childress signed a contract extension through next year.
Earlier this week, William Byron signed a four year contract extension with Hendrick Motor Sports.
Ross Chastain brings out the red flag when he got loose and backed the car into the outside wall with a flat tire. Chastain said that he had no warning that the tire was going down. He noted that it lost the air all at once.
Fifth overall, Tyler Reddick tops the leaderboard in Group 2 practice.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Connor Zilisch who posted a time of 30.304 seconds around the mile and a half track.
The fifth driver out, Jimmie Johnson is the first driver to break the 30 second mark with a time of 29.926 seconds.
Carson Hocevar’s car jumped out from under him and spun out, sliding down the track sideways but he kept the car off the wall.
After spending the practice session on pit road with steering issues, Kyle Busch makes his qualifying run and posts a time of 30.043 seconds.
Tyler Reddick gets into the wall but keeps moving.
After crashing during practice, Ross Chastain will not make a qualifying run and will star the race from the back of the field.
With a time of 29.532 seconds, Chase Briscoe put his number 19 car on the pole with Kyle Larson starting alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Coca-Cola 600:
Chase Briscoe
Kyle Larson
William Byron
Chris Buescher
AJ Allmendinger
John Hunter Nemechek
Ty Gibbs
Noah Gragson
Alex Bowman
Christopher Bell
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Tyler Reddick
Justin Haley
Austin Cindric
Michael McDowell
Joey Logano
Jimmie Johnson
Josh Berry
Ty Dillon
Denny Hamlin
Ryan Blaney
Chase Elliott
Zane Smith
Kyle Busch
Daniel Suarez
Austin Dillon
Erik Jones
Ryan Preece
Cole Custer
Shane van Gisbergen
Riley Herbst
Bubba Wallace
Connor Zilisch
Todd Gilliland
Brad Keselowski
Cody Ware
Derek Kraus
Josh Bilicki
Carson Hocevar
Ross Chastain
After a delay for rain, Kyle Larson started the 2025 Indianapolis 500 in 19th position. He has worked his way up to 16th place when he downshifted the car and spun out into the wall on lap 92 and wrecked out of the race. He is the fifth driver to start both the Indy 500 and the Coke 600 but Tony Stewart remains the only driver to have completed all 1,100 laps. Larson finishes the race in 28th place.
A 600 miles race means 400 laps around the mile and a half track at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The longest race of the season also mean another stage added to the race…and another chance to score some extra points for the drivers. Tonight each stage will be 100 laps.
Each driver will carry the name of a fallen military member on their windshield to honour their memories.
Kyle Busch and Erik Jones will start the race from the back of the field after crews made unapproved adjustments to the cars. Ross Chastain will start the race from the field in a backup car. The crew for Ross Chastain worked through the night to make sure the car was ready for the race.
The Grand Marshalls for the race including the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave a rousing command to start the engines.
At just 18 years old, Connor Zilisch is the youngest driver to start in the Coca-Cola 600.
Celebrating 40 years, there have been 18 Hall of Famers and 19 Cup Champions to win a Coca-Cola 600 race.
Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Kyle Larson alongside. Briscoe jumps out in front for the lead with Kyle Larson in second.
Going into turn three, Kyle Larson passes Chase Briscoe for the lead.
William Byron makes it a three way battle for the lead with Larson and Briscoe to take the lead.
Lap three, the top five are William Byron, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, and John Hunter Nemechek.
Lap five, John Hunter Nemechek passes Chris Buescher for fourth.
Bubba Wallace scrapes the wall but reports “it’s all good” and the track stays green.
Lap seven, John Hunter Nemechek and Chris Buescher continue to battle for fourth.
Lap nine, Kyle Larson battles with William Byron for the lead to take the lead.
Lap 12, William Byron challenges Kyle Larson for the lead; Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
Lap 19, Larson has a third of a second lead on teammate William Bryon; Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
Lap 24, Chris Buescher passes Chase Briscoe for fourth.
Lap 26, leader Kyle Larson has begun to encounter slower traffic and lap cars.
Lap 27, Kyle Larson has a half second lead on William Byron; Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
3Lap 30, Kyle Larson is beginning to increase his lead and is now nearly a second out in front of William Byron.
The drivers can run around 70 laps on a load of fuel but are expected to make no more than halfway through the stage before coming down pit road for fresh tires and fuel.
Kyle Larson slaps the wall but the track stays green.
Lap 39, Kyle Larson continues to read the race by over half a second on William Byron; Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
Lap 42, Austin Dillon is the first driver to come down pit road for green flag pit stops and start the cycle.
Lap 43, Kyle Larson brings out the first caution flag of the race when he gets loose and spins out and does some agricultural racing. The “grass” has been replaced with turf. Larson reports that the car is “a little off”.
Drivers come down pit road for service.
Brad Keselowski has been charged with vehicle interference and will restart the race from the back of the field.
Kyle Larson has an extended pit stop as the crew checks for damage.
Chase Briscoe and Derek Kraus were charged with an uncontrolled tire on pit road and will restart from the back of the field.
The restart is delayed for possible fluid on the track.
The 66 car of Josh Bilicki lost a tire and will be held for two laps on pit road.
William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart with Tyler Reddick alongside on lap 52. Byron gets out in front for the lead. Drivers are getting three wide through the field.
Lap 53, the top five are William Byron, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, John Hunter Nemechek, and Christopher Bell.
Lap 56, William Byron leads the race with Chris Buescher in second. Drivers are moving in the field, swapping positions through the field.
Lap 60, there are three cars not on the lead lap but all 40 starters are still on the track.
Lap 62, William Byron has a half second lead on Chris Buescher; Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
The drivers start the race in daylight, but will finish under the lights. The handling of the cars can change drastically from day to night.
Lap 66, William Byron has a one second lead on Tyler Reddick.
Brad Keselowski’s vehicle interference penalty was for hitting a member of Alex Bowman’s crew.
Lap 77, Tyler Reddick begins to challenge William Byron for the lead.
Lap 81, Willliam Byron leads the race with Tyler Reddick in second; Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
Lap 87, Kyle Busch reports a very tight condition; saying there is a balance issue.
William Byron has a one second lead on Tyler Reddick; Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
Ty Gibbs reports a very tight condition.
Jimmie Johnson is the last car on the lead lap in 36th.
Nine different organizations are represented by the top 15 drivers.
Lap 96, John Hunter Nemechek passes Chris Buescher for fourth.
Alex Bowman makes a run through the turf with a flat tire to bring out the caution flag.
William Byron wins stage one under caution.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
William Byron
Tyler Reddick
Christopher Bell
John Hunter Nemechek
AJ Allmendinger
Chris Buescher
Denny Hamlin
Noah Gragson
Chase Elliott
Michael McDowell
Cody Ware is the “lucky dog”.
William Byron has led 67 of the stage one 100 laps.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Michael McDowell winning the race off of pit road; William Byron comes out second. McDowell was charged with a penalty; William Byron leads the race.
Ty Dillon was charged with vehicle interference, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson were charged with coming down pit road before it was open. All three drivers will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
William Byron brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 108 with Tyler Reddick alongside. Byron and Reddick go side by side in a battle for the lead.
William Byron takes the lead with Tyler Reddick in second; Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
The caution flag comes out for a crash on lap 112 involving Jimmie Johnson, Cole Custer, and Connor Zilisch. Johnson gets into the wall and collects the other drivers.
Kyle Larson is back on pit road for continued repairs.
William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 117 with Tyler Reddick and William Byron in a battle for the lead. William Byron takes the lead.
Lap 119, the top five are William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, AJ Allmendinger, and Carson Hocevar.
In a three wide battle, Ricky Stenhouse Jr makes contact with Shane van Gisbergen but van Gisbergen saves the car!
Lap 122, William Byron and Tyler Reddick continue their battle for the lead.
Lap 124, Carson Hocevar passes AJ Allmendinger for fourth.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr slaps the wall but the track stays green.
Jimmie Johnson is out of the race.
Lap 128 William Byron has less than a quarter of a second lead on Tyler Reddick.
Currently in second, Tyler Reddick has never finished outside the top 10 in the Coke 600.
Lap 139, William Byron has a near one second lead on Tyler Reddick; Denny Hamlin, Carson Hocevar, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
Lap 144, William Byron has a lead of nearly a second and a half on Tyler Reddick.
Lap 147, Denny Hamlin passes Tyler Reddick for second and it nearly two seconds behind leader William Byron.
Lap 149, John Hunter Nemechek is the first driver to come down pit road for green flag pit stops.
Lap 151, William Byron has a two second lead on Denny Hamlin as the cycle of green flag pit stops continue.
Lap 153, William Byron comes down pit road for his stop and gives the lead over to Denny Hamlin.
Lap 155, Denny Hamlin comes down pit road and gives the lead to Carson Hocevar.
Lap 157 comes down pit road and gives the lead to Christopher Bell.
Riley Herbst spins out coming on to pit road but the track stays green as he gets the car straightened up. Riley Herbst was charged with speeding on pit road and will have to serve a pass through penalty.
Lap 160, Christopher Bell makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Kyle Larson.
Green flag pit stops have cycled through and William Byron resumes the lead with John Hunter Nemechek in second; Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Tyler Reddick passes John Hunter Nemechek for second.
Lap 170, William Byron has led 124 of them.
Lap 171, William Byron has a huge nine second lead on Tyler Reddick; John Hunter Nemechek, Denny Hamlin, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five with 26 cars on the lead lap.
Kyle Busch is still not happy with the balance of the car; saying that it is still too tight.
Lap 180, Brad Keselowski is the last car on the lead lap in 26th.
Denny Hamlin passes Tyler Reddick for second.
Lap 188, William Byron continues to lead the race with Denny Hamlin in second; Tyler Reddick, John Hunter Nemechek, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Lap 194, William Byron continues to dominate the race with Denny Hamlin in second over eight seconds back; Tyler Reddick, John Hunter Nemechek, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
William Byron wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
William Byron
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Carson Hocevar
John Hunter Nemechek
AJ Allmendinger
Erik Jones
Ross Chastain
Noah Gragson
Chase Elliott
Kyle Busch gets loose and goes for a spin making a run through the turf.
All of the drivers come down pit road and come to a stop as NASCAR and Charlotte Motor Speedway for a short ceremony of Honour and Remembrance!
The sun has gone down and the cars are under the lights as they come down pit road for service. William Byron wins the race off of pit road with Denny Hamlin in second.
Kyle Larson is the “lucky dog”.
Austin Cindric was charged with pitting while pit road was closed and will restart the race from the back of the field.
William Byron brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 208 with Denny Hamlin alongside. Drivers get three wide on the restart. Byron gets out in front for the lead.
The top five are William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, and AJ Allmendinger.
Ty Gibbs hits the wall and makes contact with Chris Buescher; but the track stays green.
Lap 213, William Byron h
As pulled out to a half second lead on Denny Hamlin.
Lap 220, Denny Hamlin is closing the gap on lead William Byron and is now just a tenth of a second in front.
Kyle Busch is the last car on the lead lap in 26th.
Lap 225, Carson Hocevar passes Tyler Reddick for third.
Lap 229, the top five are William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, and AJ Allmendinger.
Christopher Bell reports a very tight condition in his car.
Lap 235, William Byron has just a third of a second lead on Denny Hamlin with third place driver Carson Hocevar over two second back.
The caution flag comes out on lap 238 when Zane Smith goes spinning after contact with Shane van Gisbergen. Smith it the inside wall.
Drivers are in their window to make it to the end of the stage and come down pit road. William Byron edges out Denny Hamlin to win the race off of pit road.
Connor Zilisch was charged with driving through too many pit boxes and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Willaim Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 244 with Denny Hamlin alongside. Byron get out in front but Hamlin moves up to battle for the lead. William Byron takes the lead with drivers three wide in a battle for position.
The caution flag comes out for a big crash on lap 246. Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Justin Haley, and Ryan Blaney were all involved. Kyle Larson takes his car to the garage.
Josh Berry is the “lucky dog”.
Ryan Blaney is out of the race for his fifth DNF of the race.
Drivers come down pit road in a “quickie yellow”.
William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 252 with Denny Hamlin alongside. Byron and Hamlin go side by side; Byron pulls out in front.
The top five are William Byron, Carson Hocevar, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and AJ Allmendinger.
Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez are out of the race.
Lap 256, William Byron has a quarter of a second lead on Denny Hamlin; Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, ad AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Lap 258, Carson Hocevar continues to challenge and battle with Denny Hamlin for second.
Lap 262, William Byron and Denny Hamlin battle for the lead with Hamlin taking the spot and begins to pull away.
Lap 265, the top five are Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, and AJ Allmendinger.
Carson Hocevar battles with William Byron for second.
Bubba Wallace in 23rd is the last car on the lead lap.
Lap 268, Denny Hamlin has a lead of nearly a second on William Byron.
Lap 277, Denny Hamlin leads the race by half a second with William Byron closing the gap; Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, and AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top five.
William Byron reports a tight condition in his car.
Lao 289, William Byron has caught leader Denny Hamlin and begins to battle for the lead.
Lap 291, William Byron retakes the lead. Carson Hocevar battles with Denny Hamlin for second.
Lap 295, Denny Hamlin comes up to battle with William Byron for the lead. Carson Hocevar tried to make it a three way battle.
William Byron holds on to win stage three for the stage sweep.
The top 10 at the end of stage three:
William Byron
Denny Hamlin
Carson Hocevar
Tyler Reddick
Ross Chastain
AJ Allmendinger
Christopher Bell
Chase Elliott
Chase Briscoe
Ryan Preece
William Byron has led 225 laps and swept all of the stages this weekend in the Xfinity and Cup Series races.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road. While William Byron’s crew made sure the fuel cell was full; Hamlin and Carson Hocevar left their pit stalls as soon as the tires were on.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of stage four on lap 307 with Carson Hocevar alongside. Denny Hamlin gets out in front. Carson Hocevar is smoking and brings out the caution flag on lap 308. He says the engine blew up. Chris Buescher makes contact with Hocevar as he falls through the field.
Joey Logano is the “lucky dog”.
There were several penalties during pit stops including Ty Gibbs pitting too soon.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart with William Byron alongside on lap 314. Hamlin gets out in front after a push from Tyler Reddick.
William Byron moves up on the inside to battle with Hamlin before taking the lead.
The top five are William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, AJ Allmendinger, and Ross Chastain.
Lap 319, William Byron has a half second lead on Tyler Reddick; Denny Hamlin, AJ Allmendinger, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Ross Chastain passes AJ Allmendinger for fourth.
Chase Briscoe and AJ Allmendinger battle for fifth.
Lap 322, Denny Hamlin gets back around Tyler Reddick for second.
There are only 23 cars on the lead lap with seven cars out of the race.
Lap 325, Denny Hamlin has caught leader William Byron and begins to challenge for the lead.
Lap 327, Denny Hamlin comes up on the inside to battle with William Byron for the lead.
Denny Hamlin is the new leader.
Lap 330, Denny Hamlin has pulled out the a half second lead on William Byron.
Lap 334, the battle continues with William Byron passing Denny Hamlin for the lead.
Lap 336, the top five are William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Briscoe.
With 64 laps remaining in the race, the drivers are at the edge of the pit window to make it to the end of the race…with no overtimes.
Denny Hamlin reports that he is too loose to maintain the lead.
Lap 342, Austin Dillon begins the cycle of green flag pit stops.
John Hunter Nemechek gets into the wall but recovers and the track stays green.
Lap 346, there are only 21 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 347, the top five are William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, and Tyler Reddick.
More drivers come down pit road for service.
Lap 348, leader William Byron comes down pit road with Denny Hamlin behind him. Ross Chastain is the new leader.
Lap 351, Ross Chastain makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Brad Keselowski.
Tyler Reddick was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Brad Keselowski makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Chase Elliott on lap 355.
With 44 laps to go, Chase Elliott and Shane van Gisbergen make their pit stops; Ty Gibbs is the new leader. Gibbs is the only driver to need a pit stop.
There are 18 cars on the lead lap.
With 38 laps to go, William Byron passes Ty Gibbs for the lead.
With 36 laps to go, William Byron has pulled out to a second and a half on Denny Hamlin; Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five with Gibbs still needing to make a pit stop.
Thirty to go, William Byron has a lead of over a second and a half on Denny Hamlin; Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Deny Hamlin’s crew chief reports that the second fuel can and did not engage and he only has about 15 more laps before he will have to make a pit stop…or hope for a caution.
Just 25 laps remain, William Byron has a one second lead on Ross Chastain; Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Tyler Reddick gets into the wall in front of the leaders; but the track stays green.
Josh Bilicki is out of the race with a fuel pressure issue.
Twenty to go, William Byron leads the race but second place driver Ross Chastain is running faster laps and is closing the gap on Byron.
Ty Gibbs was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Fifteen to go, Ross Chastain has caught leader William Byron and begins to challenge for the lead.
Just 12 laps remain in the race, Denny Hamlin comes down pit road out of fuel. William Byron has a lead of nearly half a second on Ross Chastain.
Ten to go, William Byron hols on to the lead with 17 cars on the lead lap.
Just seven laps remain, William Byron is in the lead with Joey Logano trying to stay on the lead lap.
Six to go, Ross Chastain passes William Byron for the lead as Denny Hamlin passes after making a pit stop for fuel.
Four to go, Ross Chastain has a near half second lead on William Byron.
Three to go, William Byron has closed the gap on leader Ross Chastain to a third of a second.
Ross Chastain takes the white flag with William Byron on his bumper.
The Melon Man wins the race! From worst to first in a backup car!
After an impressive burnout, the watermelon drops!
Chastain had a photo of the man whose name was on his windshield; saying the family was at the race. Chastain noted that the watermelon came fresh from his farm.
William Byron led 283 of the 400 laps in the race.
The unofficial results of the Coca-Cola 600:
Ross Chastain
William Byron
Chase Briscoe
AJ Allmendinger
Brad Keselowski
Chase Elliott
Michael McDowell
Christopher Bell
Ryan Preece
Noah Gragson
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Josh Berry
Erik Jones
Shane van Gisbergen
Kyle Busch
Denny Hamlin
Joey Logano
Todd Gilliland
Ty Dillon
Austin Dillon
Cole Custer
Chris Buescher
Connor Zilisch
Ty Gibbs
Cody Ware
Tyler Reddick
John Hunter Nemechek
Riley Herbst
Alex Bowman
Justin Haley
Austin Cindric
Derek Kraus
Josh Bilicki
Carson Hocevar
Bubba Wallace
Ryan Blaney
Daniel Suarez
Kyle Larson
Zane Smith
Jimmie Johnson