On an evening when he began lifeless final and needed to drive a backup automobile, Ross Chastain drove the race of his life on Sunday to win the 66th operating of the Coca-Cola 600.
After operating down race chief William Byron within the closing laps, Chastain took his alternative with six laps to go, passing Byron in turns 1 and a pair of and holding off the Daytona 500 winner to attain the sixth win of his profession.
Chastain solely led eight laps to Byron’s 283, however Chastain was higher when it counted.
Chastain drove a backwards, Alan Kulwicki-esque “Polish victory lap” earlier than saluting the followers and doing his customary watermelon smash on the start-finish line.
Chastain’s victory comes the day after he crashed and observe and was unable to make a qualifying lap whereas his staff ready his back-up automobile.
“After I left the store final evening (and) sat on this automobile for the primary time, it was about 10 o’clock,” Chastain instructed Prime Video. “They labored until about 2:30 (a.m.). They have been again at 5:30 this morning. I do not even know in the event that they slept getting this factor prepared.”
Driving with Chastain was the identify of US Military Specialist Kevin McCrea, who handed away in June of 2020 as a result of issues associated to accidents suffered whereas McCrea was an Military paratrooper within the Nineteen Eighties.
“The McCrea household, to hold them… he (Specialist McCrea) was driving with me,” Chastain mentioned, pulling out an image of McCrea from his automobile. “His household is right here. That is what this weekend is all about: to consider and bear in mind those who sacrificed a lot for us.”
“The McCrea household instructed me to be a sponge,” Chastain continued. “That was one thing their dad instructed them rather a lot.”
Byron, Chase Briscoe, AJ Allmendinger and Brad Keselowski rounded out the highest 5, with Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece and Noah Gragson finishing the highest 10.
Different notable finishers embrace Shane van Gisbergen in 14th, Kyle Busch in fifteenth, Connor Zilisch in twenty third, Tyler Reddick in twenty sixth and Ryan Blaney in thirty eighth.
Denny Hamlin didn’t tackle sufficient gasoline on his closing scheduled pit cease and completed sixteenth after having to make a further cease within the closing laps. In the meantime, Kyle Larson completed thirty seventh after a crash ended each races of his Indy 500-Coke 600 “Double” early.
The 14th race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Sequence season will happen at Nashville Superspeedway on June 1. The Cracker Barrel 400 will go inexperienced shortly after 7 p.m. ET, with protection on Prime Video, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
