0
0
May 22, 2025
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
Kyle Larson’s double is top of mind as Coca-Cola 600 approaches
On a tripleheader NASCAR weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the big news is clearly “The Double.”
For the second straight year, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson will attempt to run both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.
If the day goes according to plan, Larson will complete 500 miles in the 109th running of the Indy 500, scheduled to start at 12:45 p.m., and commute to Charlotte to start in NASCAR’s longest race (6 p.m. ET Sunday on Amazon Prime, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Larson hopes to join an elite group of drivers who have competed in both races on the same day—the late John Andretti, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.
Stewart is the only driver to have completed all 1,100 miles while attempting the Double, a feat he accomplished in 2001 when he finished sixth in the Indy 500 and third in the Coke 600.
Typically, Larson is taking a low-key approach to his potential race results, and he doesn’t appear concerned with the attention that might accrue to successful runs in both races.
“I don’t really think about it a whole lot,” Larson said on Wednesday during a video conference call with reporters. “I love to race, and I try to do the best job that I can. Usually, if you’re doing a good job and you’re prepared and all that, the accolades and the stuff that goes with it will just naturally come.
“The same goes for this weekend. If I can just do a good job, get good finishes and show that we were capable of running up front with these (IndyCar) guys, I think that would do a lot. I think there’s more positives to be made from the results this weekend than negatives.”
Larson won the Coca-Cola 600 from the pole during his NASCAR Cup Series championship season in 2021. He’s one of eight different drivers to triumph in the last eight races.
Three of the last five Coke 600 winners have gone on to win the series championship in the same year they won the race—Chase Elliott (2020), Larson (2021) and Ryan Blaney (2023).
Blaney’s victory in the only NASCAR race that features four stages (100 laps each) rather than three was his first of the 2023 season. This year he comes to Charlotte seeking his first win of 2025. Both his Team Penske teammates—Joey Logano and Austin Cindric—already have won races this year.
“It was cool to win this race a couple years ago,” Blaney said. “I grew up going to this race a lot, watching Dad (Dave Blaney) run it, spending the time with family. Memorial Day weekend’s always really special, being able to see a lot of troops and meet their families around the race track.
“Meeting the families (whose) son or daughter is running with us on our windshield is always a really special moment. But, yeah, it was neat to accomplish a huge feat two years ago. And last year, I thought we had a decent run going, and unfortunately, we didn’t finish it.”
On a day when weather played havoc with both the Indy 500 and Coke 600, Christopher Bell won the 2024 Charlotte race, which was shortened from 400 to 249 laps because of rain.
A downpour at Indianapolis Motor Speedway delayed the start of the 500 and caused Larson to miss the Charlotte race. This year, he has committed to start the 600, even if it means leaving Indianapolis before the completion of the event.
Larson’s three victories, eight top fives, nine top 10s and 817 laps led in 2025 all are career high-water marks for the first 12 races of a season.
Note: Sunday’s race will be the first on the Amazon Prime streaming service under this year’s new broadcast deal.
Connor Zilisch returns to action in double-duty role at Charlotte
After hard contact with the inside wall during a late wreck at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, Connor Zilisch missed the following NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, citing lower back issues.
The good news? A healthy Zilisch will return to action in Saturday’s BetMGM 300 (4:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Moreover, Zilisch also will make his oval-track debut in the NASCAR Cup Series in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“Charlotte is my first race in my hometown, and a lot of my family will be there this weekend so that’s exciting, for sure,” said Zilisch, who will drive the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet on Saturday and the No. 87 Trackhouse Racing Chevy on Sunday. “It’s going to be special for me to go there and race for the first time in the Xfinity car and to also double up and race the Cup car.
“I think the Xfinity race at Charlotte is going to be really good for us, considering how well we’ve done on the intermediate tracks this year. We’ve just got to continue to build on what we’ve learned throughout the season and hopefully have a good run in the Jarrett Chevrolet at my home track.”
Zilisch will have plenty of competition. Full-time Cup driver William Byron is driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, hoping to duplicate teammate Chase Elliott’s victory in last year’s edition of this race.
Series leader Justin Allgaier, Zilisch’s teammate at JRM, is another strong entry. Allgaier dominated the race in 2023, winning from the pole and leading 83 of 200 laps. The reigning series champion already has two victories this season on 1.5-mile tracks, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Allgaier, however, will have to buck a trend to win on Saturday. There has not been a repeat winner in the last 12 Xfinity Series races at Charlotte.
Last 1.5-miler hosts a home game for most NASCAR Truck Series teams
It’s old home week for most of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series teams competing in Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (8:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
All but two of the teams in the series are based in the Charlotte area. The exceptions are ThorSport Racing from Sandusky, Ohio, and Rackley W.A.R. from Centerville, Tenn.
If you’re looking for a favorite for Friday’s race, it might be wise to stay close to home, specifically at TRICON Garage in Mooresville, N.C. That’s home base for Corey Heim, who has won four of the last eight Truck Series races on intermediate speedways.
Unfortunately for the driver of the No. 11 Toyota, Friday’s Truck Series event will be the last on a 1.5-mile intermediate track this season.
A three-time winner so far this year, Heim is the only driver to have led laps in all 10 Truck Series races this season. With 14 career victories, he needs one more to tie three-time series champion Matt Crafton for 10th on the all-time win list.
Standing in Heim’s way are full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain. Busch’s record at Charlotte is unassailable—he has eight wins and 12 top-two finishes in 15 Truck Series starts at the track.
Driving the No. 44 Chevrolet for Niece Motorsports, Chastain hopes to reprise his 2022 victory at the track.
“I think Charlotte is a great track for us to race on,” Chastain said. “The pavement is wore out and bumpy, so we’re always searching around for grip. With how short the truck race is (134 laps) compared to the other series, we all know that we have to make moves quickly to get track position.
“When we were able to win here a few years ago, it felt so rewarding because we had been close so many other times. I’m hoping we can have another chance at doing that again this week.”
