In a dramatic turn at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ross Chastain surged past William Byron with only five laps left, stealing the Coca-Cola 600 victory and stunning the NASCAR field on Sunday night. Despite leading the most laps at the Coca-Cola 600 and dominating the race’s stages, Byron ultimately finished behind Chastain after a late-race move that flipped the race on its head.
Chastain’s Comeback in a Backup Car
Ross Chastain’s path to victory was unexpected, beginning from last on the grid in a replacement Chevrolet after crashing in practice the previous day. Trackhouse Racing worked through the night, arriving before dawn to get Chastain’s car ready before the race. In the final moments, Chastain launched a bold move into Turn 1, threading between Byron and Denny Hamlin, and claimed the lead with just six laps to go—his first Cup Series win since September.
“That’s the dedication it takes from Trackhouse,”
—Ross Chastain, Driver
William Byron Dominates but Loses in the Final Laps
William Byron appeared unbeatable for much of the night. He won all three stages and stayed out front for 283 of the 400 laps, more than any other driver. Despite this commanding performance, he found himself unable to hold off Chastain in the tense late-lap showdown, finishing second by 0.673 seconds. Byron spoke candidly about the disappointment of controlling the race only to have the win slip away in the closing minutes.
“He was catching me, I was trying to just defend and was getting a little bit tight,”
—William Byron, Driver
“Disappointing. Just to lead that many laps and such a great effort by our whole team, and I could have anticipated that last run better. Just sucks. We’ll just keep going and keep trying to put races together like that.”
—William Byron, Driver
Dramatic Moments for Other Contenders
Chase Briscoe, starting from pole, claimed third place, closely followed by A.J. Allmendinger and Brad Keselowski. While Denny Hamlin ran strong, leading 53 laps and exchanging the front spot with Byron 15 times, a fuel miscalculation forced him to coast his No. 11 Kyle Larson’s attempt at a rare motorsports feat ended with setbacks. After finishing 27th in the Indy 500 earlier in the day, Larson started strong at Charlotte, leading 34 of the first 41 laps. However, a spin on lap 43 put him a lap down and he fell to 33rd. His team made essential repairs throughout the race, but Larson was collected in a major crash initiated after Daniel Suarez’s car slid across the track after contact with Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe. The incident ended Larson’s night in 37th place.
“I saw smoke, tried to get left through the infield and just didn’t get far enough left,”
—Kyle Larson, Driver
“Yeah, I got tagged and ended our night. Just a bummer of a day all around. Some mistakes on my end.”
—Kyle Larson, Driver
Larson indicated that his early spin was due to losing grip and brushing the wall, which harmed his car’s handling for the rest of the race. He credited his team’s effort for keeping him competitive.
“I just got super loose into (Turn) 3 out of nowhere early in the race, caught the wall, got toe damage and thought the team did a good job to get us to where we were somewhat comfortable the last 100 laps,”
—Kyle Larson, Driver
“I just needed to chip away at it from now and still end up OK.”
—Kyle Larson, Driver
Between competing in Indianapolis and Charlotte, Larson covered 595 of a possible 1,100 miles on Sunday.
“Not the day that I wanted but huge thank you to Rick and Linda Hendrick, all of Hendrick Motorsports, Arrow McLaren, everybody involved in making the day memorable,”
—Kyle Larson, Driver
“Even though it wasn’t memorable for a good reason. Just unfortunate. Hopefully, we can run it back someday.”
—Kyle Larson, Driver
Race Highlights and Final Standings
With Byron’s domination of all three stages, the race remained tense until Chastain’s late victory charge. Key performances from Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin contributed to multiple lead changes, and pit strategy, fuel management, and car reliability played vital roles all night.
William Byron’s pace and control throughout most of the event ensured that
“William Byron leads most laps at Coca-Cola 600”
would be a storyline, despite the late heartbreak. Chastain’s perseverance and his Trackhouse Racing crew’s tireless work ultimately led to an emotional win, proving that no race is finished until the final lap. The dramatic finish at Charlotte highlighted the unpredictable nature of NASCAR and set the stage for upcoming championship battles, as drivers and teams continue to adjust and look for every advantage moving forward.
