CONCORD, N.C. — 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.
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.
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.
