Ross Chastain shocks the field with Coca-Cola 600 victory despite brutal pre-race measure by NASCAR
Ross Chastain delivered a brilliant performance and claimed the 2025 Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Chastain's victory has come against all odds, as the Trackhouse Racing driver started from the back of the pack and, despite that, came out on top.
Chastain came all the way from the back of the field to pass William Byron with five laps to go. As the Trackhouse man passed the Hendrick Motorsports driver for the lead, he kept his place and crossed the finish line, all in the backup car.
The #1 driver raced in the Trackhouse Racing backup car after he crashed his main car during Saturday's qualifying. As a result, Chastain failed to qualify and started the race from the back of the field, alongside Kyle Busch and Erik Jones given NASCAR's rules.
It was Chastain's first victory of the season, as well as for Trackhouse Racing. Thanks to his sixth NASCAR Cup Series win, he qualified for the 2025 NASCAR playoffs and made his team qualify for the owners'.
Chase Briscoe, AJ Allmendinger, and Brad Keselowski finished the race in the Top 5, while Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece, and Noah Gragson wrapped up the Top 10.
While Chastain ended up in the victory lane, Kyle Larson, who tried both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, ended his day with double DNFs. Reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano came home in 17th place.
Ross Chastain let his feelings be known after an emphatic victory
Following the conclusion of the 2025 Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ross Chastain shared his thoughts. Speaking to the media after winning the longest Cup Series race of the season, here's what the #1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver said:
"Holy cow, we just won the World 600 ... It's so cool to do it on Memorial Day. Think about what this weekend means ... the ones who didn't get to come home, they paid the ultimate sacrifice, we're racing for them."
"Watermelon pre-race, Busch Light after the race," he tells @prnbrett. "They built a whole new car. It was just a chassis and they were piecing it together because the other one was destroyed," Ross Chastain further added as he went on to celebrate with watermelon, his usual
This Sunday's race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway was the 13th of this Cup Series season. The next race will take place at the Nashville Superspeedway for the Cracker Barrel 400 next Sunday.