Ross Chastain Charges Past Late Rival to Win Coca-Cola 600

Ross Chastain scored a memorable NASCAR Cup Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway by overtaking William Byron with just six laps left in the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25, 2025. Chastain started the weekend with trouble, damaging his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet in Saturday’s practice session and moving to a backup car.

Despite the setback, he powered through the field on race day and clinched the sixth win of his Cup Series career, celebrating his first-ever victory at Charlotte.

William Byron was strong all night, leading the most laps and sweeping the first three stages of the 400-lap event. Byron controlled the race for 283 laps and banked a solid haul of points but could not hold off Chastain in the final miles.

The battle between Chastain and Byron became the focus in the final stage, with Chastain making his move late to steal the top spot and end Byron’s shot at a dominating win.

Chase Briscoe finished third, followed by AJ Allmendinger and Brad Keselowski to make up the rest of the top five. The rest of the top 10 featured Chase Elliott in sixth, Michael McDowell in seventh, Christopher Bell in eighth, Ryan Preece in ninth, and Noah Gragson closing out the top spots in tenth.

For Chastain, who registered four top-10 finishes in the previous six races, this win marked a return to form and important momentum in the regular season.

The 2025 Coca-Cola 600 marked the 13th race out of the 26 in the regular season calendar. The event is recognized as one of NASCAR’s longest and toughest races, with 400 laps split across four stages that test both drivers and teams.

Each stage rewards points, and running up front at Charlotte is key for playoff hopes. Byron’s dominance in the early stages gives him a strong points cushion, but Chastain’s late-race pass was the highlight that decided the outcome.

Kyle Larson attempted the historic “double” by driving both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day but was sidelined in each by crashes. Larson’s try at both the Indy 500 and Charlotte classics drew lots of attention throughout the weekend, but ultimately neither ended the way he hoped.

Fans and teams now turn their focus to the next event, the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, scheduled for the following Sunday evening. With the regular season already half over, every race becomes crucial for drivers hoping to clinch a playoff berth.

Chastain’s emotional win at Charlotte creates even more excitement heading into the heart of the NASCAR schedule.