From Last To First: Ross Chastain Wins Coca-Cola 600 At Charlotte Motor Speedway
by Hunter Thomas May 26, 2025 1 commentCONCORD, N.C. – William Byron looked as if he was going to win the 66th running of the Coca-Cola 600, but Ross Chastain methodically chased him down and passed by with six laps to go to win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
In the final laps of Sunday’s race, it was Byron and Denny Hamlin battling for the lead. The two drivers swapped the lead 14 times; however, Hamlin had to pit for fuel. In the midst of the battle for the lead, Chastain chased Byron down. With six laps to go, Chastain slid in front of Byron, who then bounced off the wall in the exit of Turn 2. The win marks Chastain’s first in the prestigious race. He now has six victories in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“To drive on that final run in the World 600 and pass two cars that had been way better all night,” Chastain said. “Phil Surgen (crew chief) 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!”
What makes Chastain’s win even more impressive is that he won after starting dead last due to having to go to a backup car after crashing in practice. The team didn’t even get to qualify because they had to work on another car.
“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 was people there that had their Saturdays off yesterday, and they came in”
Byron just missed out on sweeping the weekend after winning Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series BetMGM 300. On Sunday, he was nearly taken out late in the race when Tyler Reddick crashed right in front of him on the backstretch. Despite the disappointment, he did lead a race high over 283, swept the first two stages and he earned his third consecutive top-three finish in the long, grueling event.
“Well, I was just defending, but it was just — yeah, he was catching me, and I was trying to just defend,” Byron said. “I was getting a little bit tight. Then the scenario there with the cars we were around, it was tough. So, yeah, he got a run on me and was able to get to the bottom and clear me off of two.
“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 about crashed in front of us. Yeah, sucks.”
Polesitter Chase Briscoe finished third, and rounding out the top-five was AJ Allmendinger, and Brad Keselowski. Completing the top-10 was Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece and Noah Gragson.
As for Hamlin, he had to settle for a 16th place finish after running out of fuel.
“Fun battling up front,” Hamlin said. “It was a heck of a battle there and would have liked to see it through, but unfortunately just didn’t get enough gas in it and had to come back in.”
There were an incredible 34 lead changes among 11 drivers.
The race featured eight cautions for 52 laps as well.
Byron continues to lead the standings by 29 points over Kyle Larson.
The NASCAR Cup Series will visit Nashville Superspeedway Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday, June 1. The race will broadcast live on Amazon Prime at 7 p.m. ET.
Photo Credit: Mitchell White/TheFourthTurn.com
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