{"id":58526,"date":"2026-05-21T14:45:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=58526"},"modified":"2026-05-23T18:17:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:17:13","slug":"nascar-weekend-preview-charlotte-motor-speedway-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/21\/nascar-weekend-preview-charlotte-motor-speedway-6\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR Weekend Preview: Charlotte Motor Speedway"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series drivers ready for the sport\u2019s longest event<\/b><\/p>\n

More than two hours before sunset on Sunday, NASCAR Cup Series drivers are scheduled to begin their long day\u2019s journey into night with the commencement of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6 p.m. ET on Prime Video, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25, 2025 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Logan Riely\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Won by nine different drivers in the last nine years, NASCAR\u2019s marathon Crown Jewel race is so long (400 laps, 600 miles) that it requires an extra stage, and as such, it\u2019s the most lucrative race on the schedule in terms of points available to the drivers.<\/p>\n

A staple of Memorial Day weekend\u2014along with the Indianapolis 500\u2014the Coca-Cola 600 also gives drivers in NASCAR\u2019s top division the chance to honor fallen soldiers through the \u201c600 Miles of Remembrance\u201d program with placement of their names on the windshields of their respective race cars.<\/p>\n

William Byron has never won NASCAR\u2019s longest race, though he came close last year. Dealing with changing track conditions as darkness fell, Byron won the first three 100-lap stages and led 283 of the 400 laps, only to be passed by Ross Chastain six laps from the finish near the end of a closing 87-lap green-flag run.<\/p>\n

This year, Byron is hoping to improve by one position at the finish<\/p>\n

\u201cCharlotte\u2019s a huge race,\u201d said Byron, who is honoring Captain William Jacobsen of Fayetteville, N.C., this weekend. \u201cI think anyone would say that because of the extra stage. Just the time of the season\u2014it kind of kicks off the summer stretch with a number of things, the broadcast side and kind of the way the schedule rolls.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s big, and I think last year was good to us. We had a good run there. We were really competitive, and I think it\u2019s one we have circled where we can take the stuff we\u2019ve been learning and hopefully apply all that and be competitive\u2014and we need to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chastain hasn\u2019t won a Cup Series race since his triumph in last year\u2019s Crown Jewel event. Perhaps that\u2019s one reason the driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet remembers the victory so fondly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a race we\u2019ll never forget,\u201d said Chastain, who will carry the name of Sgt. First Class Johnathan B. McCain of Chandler, Arizona, on his windshield this weekend. \u201cI have the trophy right in my shop at home in my barn, right where we hang out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had many Busch Lights just sitting around talking about it in the offseason\u2026 Having that trophy there is a great motivating thing that we want to get back there and be capable of winning again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much was made of Rory McIlroy completion of golf\u2019s Grand Slam in the 2025 Masters. McIlroy became only the sixth golfer in history to win all four majors.<\/p>\n

The NASCAR version of the Grand Slam\u2014featuring Crown Jewel races DAYTONA 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500\u2014has been achieved only four times, by Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, who was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday, joining the other three Grand Slam winners.<\/p>\n

Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson are the only active drivers with wins in three different Crown Jewel races. Hamlin lacks the Brickyard 400. The other three drivers need the DAYTONA 500 to complete the slam.<\/p>\n

Busch, however, won\u2019t compete this weekend after being hospitalized with what his family termed \u201ca severe illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is currently undergoing treatment and will not compete in any of his scheduled activities this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway,\u201d the Kyle Busch Family said in a statement released Thursday.<\/p>\n

Austin Hill will substitute for Busch in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in Sunday\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

Tyler Reddick, who is carrying the name of Sgt. Robert Wayne Crow Jr. of Kansas City, Missouri, on his windshield, has a chance to achieve a feat that hasn\u2019t been accomplished since 1997.<\/p>\n

That was the last time a driver\u2014in this case Jeff Gordon\u2014won the DAYTONA 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same year.<\/p>\n

Reddick has won five of the first 12 races this season, with an average finish of 5.67, the sixth-best such mark through the first 12 races in NASCAR\u2019s Modern Era (1972 to date).<\/p>\n

Like Byron, Reddick has never won NASCAR\u2019s longest race.<\/p>\n

Kyle Larson, who is honoring Staff Sgt. Ryan Christopher Malm  on Sunday, looks to end a 36-race winless streak. Larson won the 600 in his 2021 championship season.<\/p>\n

Two NASCAR Cup drivers spice up field for O\u2019Reilly Series race<\/b><\/p>\n

Full-time Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott and William Byron won the last two NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

The good news for series regulars is that neither Elliott nor Byron will compete in Saturday\u2019s Charbroil 300 (5 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s bad news, too. Trackhouse Racing Cup drivers Ross Chastain and Connor Zilisch will be driving for JR Motorsports in Saturday’s race.<\/p>\n

Chastain is the defending winner of the Coca-Cola 600 Cup Series race. Zilisch finished second to Byron in last year\u2019s O\u2019Reilly Series event at Charlotte.<\/p>\n

Driving the No. 1 Chevrolet for JRM, Zilisch has won twice in five O\u2019Reilly starts this season, at Bristol and Watkins Glen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to the Charlotte race with JR Motorsports,\u201d Zilisch said. \u201cWe\u2019ve won a couple of races this season, and I think we have a great opportunity to run well this weekend in our Registix Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting late in the afternoon will be a challenge, but I\u2019m confident that (crew chief) Rodney (Childers) and I will keep up with the balance of the car with the changing track conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only will Zilisch have to battle Chastain, but he\u2019ll also face JRM teammate Justin Allgaier, the last series regular to win at Charlotte (2023).<\/p>\n

Allgaier holds the series lead by 175 points over Sheldon Creed, the largest advantage a driver has enjoyed at any point during a season since NASCAR instituted one-point-per-position scoring in 2011.<\/p>\n

Collectively, JR Motorsports drivers look to extend the organization\u2019s streak of placing at least one car in the top 10 to 72 races. RFK Racing holds the record for consecutive top-10s with 79 (2008-2010).<\/p>\n

Just because Elliott and Byron aren\u2019t racing, Hendrick Motorsports isn\u2019t without a shot to win. Corey Day, who has scored two victories in his rookie season\u2014the latest at Dover last Saturday\u2014will drive the No. 17 Hendrick entry.<\/p>\n

Day, who is racing on Charlotte\u2019s 1-5-mile oval for the first time, is the first Hendrick driver since Kyle Busch in 2007 with multiple O\u2019Reilly Series wins in the same season.<\/p>\n

Kyle Busch out of NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck race with severe illness<\/b><\/p>\n

Hospitalized with what his family described as a \u201csevere illness,\u201d Kyle Busch will miss not only Sunday\u2019s Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race but also Friday night\u2019s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kyle Busch. (Photo by Patrick McDermott\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Busch won last Friday\u2019s Truck Series race at Dover Motor Speedway in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet and was slated to drive the same truck at Charlotte before the illness forced his withdrawal.<\/p>\n

Corey Day will take Busch’s place in the No. 7 Chevrolet in Friday night’s race.<\/p>\n

Even without Busch in the field, there\u2019s a diverse array of talent in Friday\u2019s race, from series leader Kaden Honeycutt, who picked up his first career victory May 8 at Watkins Glen, to triple-duty drivers Connor Zilisch and Ross Chastain, who will be competing for Spire Motorsports and Niece Motorsports, respectively.<\/p>\n

In addition, road course superstar Shane van Gisbergen will run the third Truck Series race of his career and his first on a 1.5-mile intermediate oval.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to have the opportunity to run the No. 71 truck for Spire Motorsports,\u201d van Gisbergen said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be epic. I really enjoy racing the Truck Series. I had a decent crack at it a couple of weekends ago in Watkins Glen, but I\u2019m looking forward to another go on an oval.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series regulars Brandon Jones and William Sawalich will race as TRICON Garage teammates with Honeycutt, who is driving the No. 11 Toyota that carried Corey Heim to victory last year.<\/p>\n

Honeycutt finished third behind Heim and Chastain at Charlotte last season, with Layne Riggs, who trails Honeycutt by 38 points in the series standings, running fourth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service NASCAR Cup Series drivers ready for the sport\u2019s longest event More than two hours before sunset on Sunday, NASCAR Cup Series drivers are scheduled to begin their long day\u2019s journey into night with the commencement of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6 p.m. ET on Prime Video, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":52412,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[233,16],"class_list":["post-58526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-charlotte-motor-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2217044756-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1864","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-fdY","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58526"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58529,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58526\/revisions\/58529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}