After crashing his primary car in practice Saturday, Ross Chastain drove from dead last and passed William Byron with six laps remaining to win Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The watermelon farmer from Alva, Florida earned his sixth career NASCAR Cup Series victory — making it four consecutive winning seasons — as he earned his first career crown jewel win.
RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Charlotte
But for the other 39 drivers, some will leave Charlotte with momentum, while others head to Nashville Superspeedway (Sun. 7 p.m. ET, Prime Video, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) scratching their heads. Every race matters as Nashville marks the start to the second half of the regular season.
THREE UP ⬆️
1.AJ Allmendinger
Started: 5th
Finished: 4th
What happened: Allmendinger had arguably one of the best non-road course races of his Cup Series career, earning points in each stage and coming home with his first top-five finish of the 2025 campaign. He recorded his best result since finishing fifth at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October 2023, and while he didn’t run full time last year, the finish is a massive step in the right direction for the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.
What’s next: Allmendinger has a best finish of 10th (2023) in three career starts at Nashville and also owns an Xfinity Series victory at the 1.33-mile concrete oval. Sitting 17th in the Cup Series stands (after an eight-spot jump at Charlotte), another strong race could be the momentum the Los Gatos, California native needs as the playoff push ramps up.
2.Brad Keselowski
Started: 35th
Finished: 5th
What happened: Keselowski can finally begin to exhale. He earned his first top-five (and top-10) finish of the season Sunday at Charlotte, putting an end to a long stretch of poor races and miscues to open 2025. Keselowski earned the pole and showed contending speed last week in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, so maybe the 41-year-old has truly started to hit on something with his No. 6 RFK Racing team.
What’s next: Nashville hasn’t treated Keselowski kindly in the past as he’s finished 23rd or worse in three of his four starts there. He’s still buried in points, sitting 32nd, but maybe this newfound speed and execution could lead to a solid outing in Music City.
3.Michael McDowell
Started: 15th
Finished: 7th
What happened: Intermediate-track racing had never been a strength for McDowell in the past, but it seems like he’s hit on something in his first year with Spire Motorsports. After a near-win at Texas Motor Speedway three weeks ago, the 40-year-old fired back with a quiet top 10 Sunday at Charlotte. It’s his best finish of the season and the best of his career in Queen City.
What’s next: McDowell hasn’t finished better than 13th in four starts at Nashville, but all of those races came while he was still at Front Row Motorsports. While Nashville is a bit shorter, it races like an intermediate track, meaning another strong performance could be in the cards next weekend as McDowell looks to continue chipping into his points deficit. He’s 19th in the standings, 21 points behind Ryan Preece for the final provisional playoff spot.
THREE DOWN ⬇️
1.Denny Hamlin
Started: 20th
Finished: 16th
What happened: Hamlin spent much of Sunday’s race contending for the victory until a mishap during his final pit stop. Coming for service at Lap 348, his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team didn’t fully fuel the car as the second gas can was never fully engaged. Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gayle had to bank on a late caution which never came, meaning the Toyota had to surrender third place for a splash of fuel with 11 laps to go.
What’s next: Hamlin has a pair of poles and top 10s in four trips to Nashville, nearly winning last year’s five-overtime marathon before ultimately running out of fuel. Intermediates haven’t been kind to him in 2025 with just one top 15 in five starts (Homestead-Miami, 5th), but his 56 career Cup victories prove that he can win just about anywhere.
2.Tyler Reddick
Started: 12th
Finished: 26th
What happened: After finishing fourth or better in each of the first three stages, Reddick’s night got derailed with a pit road speeding penalty at Lap 348. Add salt to the wound, Reddick fenced the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota on the backstretch in the closing laps — directly in front of then-leader Byron — suffering front-end damage en route to a finish two laps off the race.
What’s next: Reddick finished third last year at Nashville, his only positive in four starts at the track. He’s riding a stretch of five finishes of 14th or worse — oddly uncharacteristic for the reigning regular-season champion. As he’s still searching for his first win of the 2025 campaign, maybe Reddick and crew chief Billy Scott can build off the positives from Sunday and last year’s Nashville race to finally return to Victory Lane.
3. Ryan Blaney
Started: 21st
Finished: 38th
What happened: Blaney’s day ended prematurely after suffering terminal damage in a crash at Lap 245. Exiting Turn 4, Chase Briscoe made contact with Blaney, the 2023 Coca-Cola 600 winner, sending him into the wall and receiving a blow from Daniel Suárez, who Briscoe also clipped. Blaney didn’t score any stage points on the evening, but he was trending the right direction after a less-than-ideal mid-pack starting position.
What’s next: The 31-year-old remains Team Penske’s final driver without a win in 2025, and Nashville could be the perfect place to turn his luck around. Blaney has a pair of top 10s in four starts — the two blips crashes in races where he showed contending speed. Teammate Joey Logano won the race last year to kickstart his championship campaign, so who knows, maybe the same could be in store for Blaney.
