NASCAR
Ross Chastain Outlasts Byron, Wins Coca-Cola 600 after Starting Last
CONCORD, N.C. – Who says you can’t win with a backup car? Ross Chastain denied NASCAR’s superteam on their home turf, taking the Coca-Cola 600 in closer fashion from William Byron. The Trackhouse Racing driver is the eighth different winner of the season, eyeing another shot at the Cup Series title.
The opening Stage was a tale of two races for Hendrick Motorsports. Kyle Larson initially took the lead after starting second, only to make wall contact and set the No. 5 back. This handed command over to teammate William Byron, who took the first Stage win after a late spin for fellow Hendrick driver Alex Bowman.
Byron, the hometown driver and winner of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, would go on to pick up Stages 2 and 3. Through the opening 300 laps, Byron paced 223 circuits. His march to max points was briefly challenged late in Stage 3, but the 24 battled back by Denny Hamlin’s No. 11. Stage 3 also added insult to injury for Kyle Larson’s day. Driver 5 ended his Memorial Day Double effort far short of the 1,100 mile goal.
Byron lost the top spot to start the final stage, lining up third behind Hamlin and Carson Hocevar. In spite of being on the offense for the first time all night, the 24 retook command seemingly with ease.
Byron appeared to be unbeatable all night long, and was on track to lead almost 300 laps in one of the most dominant Coke 600s ever. Over the closing laps, however, Ross Chastain slowly and methodically grew larger in Byron’s rearview mirror. With five laps left, Chastain pulled off a slide job in turns one and two, forcing the 24 to lift. Despite only eight laps led versus Byron’s 283, Chastain is victorious in the marathon night. Chastain also leaves another stamp on NASCAR history. Driver 1 is the first man ever to win this Crown Jewel event after starting last. From a practice crash to a backup car, Chastain ends a very roller coaster weekend with arguably his biggest NASCAR win yet.
“I’m gonna soak this in,” Chastain said. “When I left the shop last night, I went over and sat in this car for the first time. It was about 10:00 when I left, they worked until 2:30 and were back at 5:30 this morning. Most of them driver 30 or 45 minutes home, little shower I think, I don’t even know if they slept, back there at 5:30 to get this thing ready. And that’s the dedication it takes from Trackhouse. There were people there who had their Saturdays off and came in. For this Jockey Chevy, and the McCrea family, to carry them — he was riding with me, Mr. McCrea. His family is here with Allie and mom and sister, brother. That’s what this weekend is all about is to think about and remember the ones that sacrificed so much for us.”
“Al Niece, my truck team owner, Marine veteran, so happy to drive for him. Thought we were going to get one on Friday night.”
“The McCrea family told me to be a sponge. That was something that their dad told them a lot. I got to tell you, I didn’t feel much like a sponge tonight. I was rattling around out there.”
“To drive on that final run in the World 600 and pass two cars that had been way better all night. Phil Surgen wanted me to pit two laps earlier. I went two laps longer 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 World 600!”
Behind Chastain and Byron at the checkers was polesitter Chase Briscoe, who put together another strong top-five with Joe Gibbs Racing. AJ Allmendinger and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-five, both earning their best result so far in 2025. Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece, and Noah Gragson were the rest of the top-10. Hear from a few of these drivers below.
Chastain is now Playoff-bound after his first Crown Jewel triumph. Byron meanwhile is left asking what could have been after lights-out domination, not unlike Darlington a few weeks ago. Both drivers will try and find victory lane again next week at Nashville Superspeedway. The Tennessee concrete is coincidentally one of Chastain’s best tracks on the circuit. The 1 owns a win and a top-five in three starts here. The Cracker Barrel 400 goes green Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
