NASCAR Live Race Updates: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte
Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all. Welcome to the Racing America On SI Live Race Updates page for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Be sure to refresh this post throughout Sunday's crown jewel event as the Live Race Updates story will be updated regularly with the biggest moments from the 600-mile race around the 1.5-mile oval including lead changes, crash replays, the winner of the race, finishing results, and more.
- Final Stage Updates
- ROSS CHASTAIN WINS THE COCA-COLA 600!
- Stage 3 Updates
- Stage 2 Updates
- Stage 1 Updates
- Pre-Race Updates
Final Stage Updates
ROSS CHASTAIN WINS THE COCA-COLA 600!
Ross Chastain was able to hold off William Byron over the final six laps of Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 and the driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet took home the win in the crown jewel event. Chastain started dead-last (40th) on his path to victory.
Fin | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
3 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
4 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
5 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford |
6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
7 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
8 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
9 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford |
10 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
Click here for the full race results for the Coca-Cola 600.
Lap 394: Chastain and Byron Make Contact For The Lead
With Denny Hamlin driving by on the inside, Ross Chastain makes a move inside, and slides up the racetrack and makes slight contact with race-leader William Byron. NEW LEADER: Ross Chastain
Lap 392: Byron and Chastain Continue to Battle; Approaching Lapped Car of Joey Logano
William Byron and Ross Chastain are within a half-second of each other as they approached the lapper of Joey Logano. Inside the final 10 laps, as Chastain looks for the lead on the No. 24.
Lap 389: Denny Hamlin Out of Gas; On Pit Road
Denny Hamlin, who was running inside the top-10, has run out of gas and is headed to pit road for an unscheduled pit stop. An incredible effort to be at the front of the pack from the No. 11 has evaporated in the closing stages of the 2025 Coca-Cola 600.
Lap 385: Ross Chastain is THERE!
The No. 1 is on the rear-bumper of William Byron, and is hounding the Charlotte, North Carolina-native for the victory of the 2025 Coca-Cola 600.
Lap 382: Ross Chastain is CLOSING
Ross Chastain is drastically closing in on race-leader William Byron, drawing within a half-second of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Can the Trackhouse Racing driver make the pass?
Lap 375: Chastain Moves to P2
Ross Chastain is turning laps faster than William Byron, and he has gone past Denny Hamlin for second place.
William Byron had near disaster as Tyler Reddick slammed into the outside wall right in front of him.
Lap 370: Hamlin Told He's Short on Fuel
Denny Hamlin has been told by his team that he can only run 15 more laps (there are 30 remaining) as his fueler was unable to get any fuel into the gas tank from the second fuel can on his pit stop.
Lap 363: Byron Regains Lead
While Ty Gibbs has yet to pit to finish off the green flag pit sequence, William Byron has gone past him for the lead. Denny Hamlin sits around 1.5 seconds behind Byron after the green flag pit cycle.
Lap 352: Tyler Reddick Penalized
A pit road penalty will force Tyler Reddick back down pit road, which will spoil what had been a really, really good run for the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota.
Lap 350: William Byron Narrowly Defeats Hamlin Off Pit Road
William Byron and Denny Hamlin kicked off the cycle of green flag pit stops, and Byron was able to narrowly defeat Hamlin off of pit road, which should allow Byron to maintain his lead when the pit stops all cycle out.
Ross Chastain is the current leader of the race, but has yet to pit.
Lap 341: Nemechek Pops Wall
Trying to hold off Todd Gilliland on Lap 341, John Hunter Nemechek popped the outside wall on the backstretch. Nemechek now runs 26th after running near the front most of the race.
Lap 333: Byron Charges Back Past Hamlin!
My, oh, my William Byron went low into Turn 3 and took the lead back from Denny Hamlin on Lap 333. Hamlin holds the lead off of Turns 1 and 2, and he is back out front.
Lap 327: Hamlin Takes Lead back!
Denny Hamlin makes a move on William Byron, and he takes the lead back from William Byron on Lap 237. Hamlin made slight contact with Byron going into Turn 1 as he took the lead.
Lap 320: Hamlin Takes Second Back
Denny Hamlin came back and took the second spot back from Tyler Reddick, and now Hamlin is setting sail on William Byron for the race lead.
Lap 317: Hamlin Loses Second to Tyler Reddick
After a several-lap side-by-side battle, Tyler Reddick prevails over Denny Hamlin and moves into the second position behind William Byron.
Lap 314: Back to Green
Denny Hamlin leads the field to green, but William Byron is stalking him for the race lead. Hamlin takes sole possession of the lead in Turns 1 and 2, but Byron puts a power move on Hamlin for the lead in Turns 3 and 4. Byron takes the lead back.
Lap 308: Heartbreak For Hocevar
We're back under caution as Carson Hocevar blew an engine from the second position on the restart. As Hocevar was dropping trhough the field lock a rock with his expiring engine, Chris Buescher collided with Hocevar on the backstretch and the two crashed.
The engine blows on the No. 77!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 26, 2025
Heartbreak for @CarsonHocevar! pic.twitter.com/40mfANrDcL
Lap 304: Denny Hamlin Wins Race Off Pit Road
While William Byron swept the opening three Stages of the Coca-Cola 600, it feels like the momentum is swinging. Denny Hamlin won the race off of pit road heading into the restart of the final Stage of the race.
Carson Hocevar will restart second, and Byron fell to third on the race off of pit road.
Stage 3 Updates
Lap 300: William Byron Sweeps Stages 1, 2, and 3
William Byron had to make a late-Stage rally to take the Stage 3 win, but he was able to pull it off. And in doing so, Byron has now pocketed 30 Stage Points through the opening 300 laps of Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.
Coca-Cola 600 Stage 3 Results
Fin | Car | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 | William Byron | 10 | 1 |
2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 9 | -- |
3 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | 8 | -- |
4 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 7 | -- |
5 | 1 | Ross Chastain | 6 | -- |
6 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | 5 | -- |
7 | 20 | Christopher Bell | 4 | -- |
8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | 3 | -- |
9 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | 2 | -- |
10 | 60 | Ryan Preece | 1 | -- |
Lap 290: Byron Back to the Lead!
Denny Hamlin got tight while being pressured by William Byron, and was not able to air block Byron, who was in second place. This allowed Byron to get alongside him, and he side-drafted his way past Hamlin for the race lead.
Carson Hocevar attempted to follow Byron through, but he couldn't get past Hamlin.
Lap 280: Byron Pressuring Hamlin
Denny Hamlin has pressure from William Byron behind him, but Hamlin utilizes some blocking by way of dirty air, which will hold Byron at bay for the lead for now. Byron slides back to about a half second back of Hamlin, and he is now trying to hold off Carson Hocevar for second again.
Lap 262: Hamlin Takes Lead!
Denny Hamlin has gotten around William Byron, the race's dominant driver for the race lead on Lap 262. Now, Byron is trying to hold off Hocevar for P2. Looks like the handle is starting to fall off for Byron.
Lap 257: Carson Hocevar Still Working Over Hamlin
Carson Hocevar clicked across the finish line in second place on Lap 257, but he couldn't complete the pass, and Hamlin went back by on Lap 258. But Hocevar is definitely challenging.
Byron leads Hamlin by 0.661 seconds on Lap 258.
Lap 252: Back to Green!
Once again, Denny Hamlin gets a great restart and looks to be ready to take the lead from William Byron, but Byron again charges through Turns 3 and 4, and he rockets back out front. With Byron out front by himself, Carson Hocevar is now applying all sorts of pressure to Denny Hamlin for second place.
Lap 245: Caution
A massive crash on this restart, which started with contact from Chase Briscoe onto Ryan Blaney on the exit of Turn 4 on Lap 245, sent Blaney into Daniel Suarez. Kyle Larson was heavily involved as was Justin Haley.
Contact! 😱
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 26, 2025
Shortly after a restart, @Blaney, @Daniel_SuarezG and @KyleLarsonRacin are caught up in this crash! #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/LnnQTUNCwe
Lap 240: William Byron Wins Race Off Pit Road -- Again
William Byron, who has led 192 laps so far in this race, wins the race off pit road yet again. Denny Hamlin will restart from the second position.
Lap 238: Caution
Zane Smith got loose while batling with Shane van Gisbergen off of Turn 2 on Lap 238, and Smith spun. The driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford couldn't get his car stopped, and slammed into the inside barrier with the front of his car.
The No. 38's night is over after this incident on the @CLTMotorSpdwy backstretch. pic.twitter.com/bY1ZkzWvHs
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 26, 2025
Lap 221: Kyle Busch Scrapes the Wall
Kyle Busch now runs 26th after he scraped the wall pretty severely on Lap 221.
Lap 209: Back to Green!
William Byron leads the field back to green, but it looked like Denny Hamlin got a better launch. They are side-by-side for the lead through Turns 1 and 2. Byron prevails in Turns 3 and 4, though.
Lap 206: Byron Wins Race Off Pit Road
William Byron holds serve as the leader of the race as he won the race off pit road under this caution over Denny Hamlin. Tyler Reddick will restart from the third position.
Lap 203: Moment of Silence
The 39 cars still running in today's Coca-Cola 600 have all been brought down pit road, and have shut down their engines for the annual moment of silence on pit road in remembrance of the fallen soldiers of the United States military.
On this Memorial Day Weekend, we pause after Stage 2 to Honor and Remember our fallen heroes. #NASCARSalutes pic.twitter.com/XFJK0e2A80
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 26, 2025
Stage 2 Updates
Lap 200: William Byron Takes Stage 2 Win
William Byron has swept the opening two Stages of the Coca-Cola 600. The hometown boy, who would love to win a NASCAR Cup Series race at his home track, is looking good at the halfway point of the Coca-Cola 600.
Denny Hamlin finished second in the Stage.
Kyle Busch (21st) spun off of Turn 4 coming to the Stage checkered flag.
Coca-Cola 600 Stage 2 Results
Fin | Car | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 | William Byron | 10 | 1 |
2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 9 | -- |
3 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | -- |
4 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | 7 | -- |
5 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | 6 | -- |
6 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | 5 | -- |
7 | 1 | Ross Chastain | 4 | -- |
8 | 43 | Erik Jones | 3 | -- |
9 | 4 | Noah Gragson | 2 | -- |
10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | 1 | -- |
Lap 191: Reddick Struggling on Long Run
Tyler Reddick gave up the runner-up spot to Denny Hamlin a couple of laps ago, and now Reddick is in jeopardy of losing the third spot to John Hunter Nemechek. Reddick has a fast car, but lacks speed on the long run.
Lap 175: Hocevar Has Climbed to 5th
After starting near the rear of the field due to a spin in qualifying, Carson Hocevar has moved into the fifth position. Hocevar was the fastest car in practice on Saturday, and is showing speed again in tonight's Coca-Cola 600.
Lap 164: Reddick to P2
Tyler Reddick has gotten around John Hunter Nemechek for the second position. William Byron is leading the race by 7.599 seconds.
Lap 161: Byron Cycles Back Out to the Lead
Green flag pit stops have cycled out and William Byron remains the race leader. However, we have a new runner-up driver as John Hunter Nemechek has moved into the second position.
Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top-five runners after green flag pit stops.
Lap 156: Herbst Spins Onto Pit Road
Riley Herbst went for a spin at the entrance of pit road on Lap 156, but the caution flag does not fly. Green flag pits will continue to cycle out.
Lap 150: Green Flag Pit Stops Begin
Chase Briscoe and others have come to pit road on Lap 150 to kick off a round of green flag pit stops with 50 laps remaining in Stage 2 of the Coca-Cola 600.
Lap 118: Back to Green!
William Byron takes the field into Turn 1, and fends off Tyler Reddick to maintain the lead of today's race.
Lap 111: Caution!
An incident involving Jimmie Johnson, Connor Zilisch, and Cole Custer has brought the caution back out on Lap 111. It looked like Johnson got into the outside wall off of Turn 4, and he clipped into Zilisch, and Custer was collected as well.
Problems for @JimmieJohnson in the No. 84! @ColeCuster and @ConnorZilisch are also involved. pic.twitter.com/7E96HqaGbK
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 25, 2025
Lap 108: Back to Green!
William Byron leads the field to Turn 1 on this restart, but Tyler Reddick is taking the fight to him on the outside. Reddick will actually be credited with leading Lap 108, but Byron gets back ahead for the lead on Lap 109.
Lap 103: Byron Wins Race Off Pit Road
William Byron, the Stage 1 winner, will remain the race leader as he won the race off of pit road under the caution following the Stage. Michael McDowell, who finished 10th in Stage 1, missed his pit stall, and had to make a second pit stop and will restart from the rear.
Top 10 going into this restart: 1. Byron, 2. Reddick, 3. Hamlin, 4. Bell, 5. Allmendinger, 6. Nemechek, 7. Elliott, 8. Gragson, 9. Buescher, 10. Hocevar
Stage 1 Updates
William Byron Wins Stage 1
William Byron was able to keep the Toyotas at bay as he scored the Stage 1 win over Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and John Hunter Nemechek. Byron secured the Stage Win with a spin from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman on Lap 97.
Coca-Cola 600 Stage 1 Results
Fin | Car | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 | William Byron | 10 | 1 |
2 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 9 | -- |
3 | 20 | Christopher Bell | 8 | -- |
4 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | 7 | -- |
5 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | 6 | -- |
6 | 17 | Chris Buescher | 5 | -- |
7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 4 | -- |
8 | 4 | Noah Gragson | 3 | -- |
9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | 2 | -- |
10 | 71 | Michael McDowell | 1 | -- |
Lap 97: Caution!
Alex Bowman spun off of Turn 4 from the 10th position, and that will bring out the caution. This caution should also secure the Stage Win for William Byron.
Lap 81: Reddick's Run Stalls; Bell Looking for P2
Reddick, who had closed to within 0.200 seconds of Byron, has now dropped to about a half-second back of the race leader, and now Christopher Bell is pressuring Reddick for the runner-up spot.
Lap 76: Reddick Pressuring Byron
With under 25 laps remaining in Stage 1 of the Coca-Cola 600, Tyler Reddick has clawed to within two-tenths-of-a-second of William Byron for the race lead.
Lap 51: Back to green!
We are back to green flag on Lap 51, and William Byron leads the field into Turn 1.
Lap 49: Wheel Flies Off Bilicki's Car
Josh Bilicki's No. 66 Garage 66 Ford has lost the right rear wheel as the race was about to go back to green. NASCAR waved off the restart.
Lap 45: Byron Wins Race Off Pit Road; Briscoe Penalized
William Byron won the race off pit road ahead of Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell and John Hunter Nemechek.
Chase Briscoe, the polesitter of the race, will go to the rear for an uncontrolled tire on his pit stop.
Lap 42: Caution!
Kyle Larson spun his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the exit of Turn 4, and spun into the infield road course, and artificial turf. Larson feels like his toe may be off a bit after tagging the wall in Turn 3 a few laps earlier.
The No. 5 goes for a slide, but @KyleLarsonRacin is able to keep it off the wall. pic.twitter.com/5o2rsoX3up
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 25, 2025
Lap 40: Bell Takes Sixth
Christopher Bell made a pass on John Hunter Nemechek on Lap 40 to take over the sixth position. Bell, the defending winner of the race has climbed from the 10th starting spot.
Lap 36: Larson Scrubs Wall
Kyle Larson scrubbed the wall in Turn 3 on Lap 36, but was able to keep on truckin without losing the lead. William Byron is now 0.606 seconds behind him in the runner-up spot.
Lap 30: Byron Holds Off Challenge From Reddick
Kyle Larson is up to a near-one-second lead and William Byron was able to successfully fend off a challenge from Tyler Reddick for the second spot.
Lap 18: Tyler Reddick Chasing Byron for Second
Tyler Reddick is turning laps faster than second-place runner William Byron, and he looks like he may just be a couple of laps from challenging Byron for the spot. Larson continues to lead by 0.360 seconds.
Jimmie Johnson Sliding Back
Making his 700th start tonight is seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. Johnson, who started 17th, has fallen to 25th in the opening laps of the race.
Lap 9: Larson Back to the Lead
Kyle Larson has worked back around his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron for the race lead on Lap 9.
Larson leads Byron, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, and Chris Buescher on Lap 9.
Larson Leads Lap 1
Kyle Larson takes the lead from Chase Briscoe in Turns 3 and 4, and he leads lap 1, but now he is under pressure from Briscoe and William Byron. They go three wide, and William Byron ends up leading Lap 2!
Green Flag!
Polesitter Chase Briscoe has taken the green flag, and he leads Kyle Larson and the rest of the field in the Coca-Cola 600 into Turn 1. The battle for a win in the Coca-Cola 600 is on!
First green flag of #NASCARonPrime! pic.twitter.com/RoKwNxa1DI
— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) May 25, 2025
Pre-Race Updates
6:17 PM ET: Engines Fired!
After a command to start engines delivered by Pete Hegseth and active duty military members, the 40 cars in the field for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 have come to life. Engines are loudly purring, and it is time for a 600-mile slugfest.
600 miles of pure grit are on tap!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 25, 2025
The engines are fired from @CLTMotorSpdwy! #NASCARonPrime pic.twitter.com/9ztGQi3pnS
6:08 PM ET: National Anthem and Flyover Complete
Danlie Cuenca, a vocalist from the United States Navy Band, performed an excellent rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, which was followed by a flyover. Next up will be the command to start engines!
A beautiful rendition of our national anthem 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/48FUnW1HtI
— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) May 25, 2025
Three Cars To The Rear
NASCAR has confirmed that three cars will drop to the rear of the field prior to the green flag of Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Kyle Busch (qualified 24th), and Erik Jones (27th) will drop to the rear due to unapproved adjustments to their No. 8 and No. 43 cars, and Ross Chastain, who was set to start last, will drop to the rear as his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing team had to go to a backup car after a crash in Saturday's practice session.
NASCAR Reveals Official Timeline of Coca-Cola 600 Pre-Race Festivities
- 6:01 PM ET: Invocation
- 6:05 PM ET: National Anthem
- 6:16 PM ET: Command to Start Engines
- 6:27 PM ET: Green Flag
NASCAR has also confirmed that the tradition of conducting a moment of silence to recognize fallen soldiers will continue this year in the Coca-Cola 600. At the end of Stage 2, the cars will be brought down pit road, and engines will shut off. Once the engines go quiet, the moment of silence will be observed.
Sunday's pit road speed limit has been set at 45 mph, and the pace car will travel around the 1.5-mile speedway at 55 mph. The estimated fuel window for the NASCAR Cup Series car at Charlotte Motor Speedway is 68 laps.
Kyle Larson Crashes Out of Indianapolis 500 on Lap 92
Kyle Larson's bid to win the Indianapolis 500 in his second attempt came to a premature end with a crash in Turn 2 on Lap 92 of the 200-lap event.
Larson lost control of his No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet in Turn 2, spun out, and collided with Kyffin Simpson. Both drivers would crash into the outside wall, and would see their races come to an end. Additionally, Sting Ray Robb, would go into the inside barriers attempting to avoid the crash.
KYLE LARSON LOSES CONTROL 🫣
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 25, 2025
The No. 17 @ArrowMcLaren is OUT of the #Indy500. pic.twitter.com/shImdxZPqb
Coca-Cola 600 Pre-Race Info
Coca-Cola 600 will be televised on Prime Video, the first of five NASCAR Cup Series races to be covered by the streaming service. Television coverage of the event will begin at 6:00 PM ET. The Performance Racing Network (PRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the event's radio broadcast.
For subscribers of the Max streaming service, NASCAR Driver Cam, which streams live in-car camera footage from every car in the field, will be available for today's race.
The overall race purse, which teams will fight for their portion of in Sunday's race is a total of $13,651,450.
The race distance is 400 laps around the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway, which equates to a 600-mile race distance.
The race will be broken up into four Stages. Stage 1 will end at the conclusion of Lap 100, Stage 2 will end at the conclusion of Lap 200, Stage 3 will end at the conclusion of Lap 300, and the race is scheduled to finish at the end of Lap 400, barring an Overtime finish.
The winner of Stages 1, 2, and 3 will be awarded one Playoff Point, and the overall race winner will be awarded five Playoff points. The Playoff Points will be added to the reseeded point totals if the drivers make it into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and the Playoff Points will be carried through each round of the Playoffs.
The top-10 finishers in Stages 1, 2, and 3 will also receive regular-season championship points. The Stage Winners will receive 10 points for the Stage Win, and the point total will decrease by one point for the top-10 finishers in each Stage.
Christopher Bell is the defending winner of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Last season's race was shortened due to weather.
Chase Briscoe Takes Second Crown Jewel Pole of 2025
Chase Briscoe followed up a pole position in the season-opening Daytona 500 with another pole-winning run for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600. Briscoe narrowly defeated Kyle Larson by 0.020 seconds to win the pole with a lap time of 29.532 seconds (182.852 mph).
Coca-Cola 600 Starting Lineup
Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
3 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
4 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford |
5 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
6 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB | Toyota |
7 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
8 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
9 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
10 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
Click here for the full starting lineup.
McDowell, No. 71 Spire Team Lose Car Chief, Pit Selection After Pre-Race Inspection
It wasn't what the No. 71 Spire Motorsports team had in mind for a start to their Coca-Cola 600 race weekend, but Michael McDowell will chase his third career NASCAR Cup Series win at a bit of a disadvantage after his No. 71 Chevrolet failed pre-race inspection multiple times on Saturday.
As a result of the multiple inspection failures, the No. 71 team will be without car chief Griffin Rider for the remainder of the weekend, and McDowell's team lost their pit selection, which goes by order of qualifying results.
McDowell did go on to qualify 15th for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 in Saturday's qualifying session.
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Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.
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