CONCORD, N.C. – It’s been more than three months since Hendrick Motorsports made history with its 10th DAYTONA 500 victory, but a special delivery Thursday ensured the moment won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France presented Rick Hendrick with a custom Rolex watch to commemorate the achievement, marking a first-of-its-kind gift for the only team owner in history to reach double-digit wins in the Great American Race.

The Feb. 18 triumph by William Byron broke a tie between Hendrick Motorsports and Petty Enterprises for the most DAYTONA 500 wins. It was the driver’s second consecutive victory in the crown jewel race, making him the youngest multi-time winner in the event’s history.

The back of the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona watch is inscribed with the words, “First 10x DAYTONA 500 champion,” along with Hendrick’s name.

“This is such a meaningful gift, and I’m truly grateful to Jim, everyone at NASCAR, and the team at Daytona International Speedway,” Hendrick said. “The DAYTONA 500 has given us some incredible moments, and this watch will always remind me of the people who made them possible. It’s not just about the wins – it’s about the drivers, crew chiefs, team members, and their families who’ve put their heart into this organization. I’ll think of them every time I look at it.

“I never thought I would win one DAYTONA 500. I couldn’t have imagined 10 in my wildest dreams. It’s hard to believe.”

Also attending the presentation were track president Frank Kelleher and a group from Hendrick Motorsports including vice chairman Jeff Gordon, president and general manager Jeff Andrews, vice president of competition Chad Knaus, DAYTONA 500-winning crew chief Rudy Fugle, and No. 5 team crew chief Cliff Daniels.

Gordon wasn’t left out of the gift giving. The three-time DAYTONA 500 champion was presented with a ring by Kelleher for the 2024 win as well.

Hendrick Motorsports now sits alone in terms of claiming the most wins across NASCAR’s crown jewel events. The team has also compiled 12 victories in the Coca-Cola 600, 12 in the Southern 500 and 11 in the Brickyard 400, leading all three categories. Its 14 NASCAR Cup Series championships and 316 points-paying race wins are also the most all-time.  

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NASCAR star Kyle Larson will be taking another shot at “the Double,” one of the most grueling feats in all of motorsports, when he tries to complete every lap of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.

Tony Stewart is the only driver to have successfully pulled it off, and that was nearly 25 years ago.

But while attempts have been scarce since John Andretti first tried it in 1994, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of ambitious drivers interested. Defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin and reigning IndyCar series champion Alex Palou all expressed some desire to give it a go this week.

“Gosh, we could have a huge laundry list of people that should do it,” said Newgarden, who is aiming for an unprecedented third straight Indy 500 win. “You could ask the majority of the field (and they) would want to do the double. It’s so much fun.”

Yet it’s also a massive undertaking, which is why Stewart still stands alone, and not just on the driver who has to complete 1,100 miles around Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway — tracks some 550 miles apart. It also takes some serious financial support, the backing of teams in both IndyCar and NASCAR, tremendous logistical help, and plenty of luck that the weather cooperates, cars hold up mechanically and the driver is able to avoid any wrecks.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, whose brother Kurt completed the Indy 500 in 2014 but failed to finish the Coca-Cola 600, is among those who have tried to put together a deal to attempt “the Double” but haven’t quite pulled it off.

“It’s just very difficult to get that lined up,” Newgarden said. “Doing what Kyle (Larson) is doing right now, it’s harder than it looks. What I mean by that is just putting the program together. You would have a lot of people doing it if it was simple, I can promise you that. I think Kyle Busch has spoken publicly about trying to get something off the ground. That’s Kyle Busch. It should seem like it’s pretty likely for him to put a program together. It was quite difficult.”

So who else could be in line to try?

Ryan Blaney has contemplated it, and he presumably would have plenty of synergistic support given that Team Penske has established NASCAR and IndyCar programs. But it would take the convincing of team owner Roger Penske, who also owns the IndyCar Series, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 — a race he has won a record 20 times.

“I would love to see Blaney do it at some point,” Newgarden said.

Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing, was close to a deal years ago when that team still had a NASCAR program. Dixon pointed out that there are also conflicts of interest to overcome, such as when an IndyCar driver whose team is powered by Honda has the chance to drive a Cup Series car that might have a Chevrolet engine.

“It’s not an easy thing to do,” Dixon said. “Really admire the people that do it.”

Dixon paused, before telling Palou sitting next to him: “Alex, you should do it.”

“I would love to do it,” he replied. “I would do it.”

McLaughlin, another Team Penske driver with extensive stock car experience, was asked about trying to tackle both Memorial Day weekend races. Before jumping to IndyCar, McLaughlin was one of the most dominant drivers in the history of the Supercar Series in Australia and New Zealand, winning 56 races and three series championships.

Those races take place on road courses, though, and the Coca-Cola 600 is on the Charlotte oval. So, McLaughlin said, all those years of stock car experience Down Under might not translate so easily to a Cup Series car.

“The only reason you’d think that is is if it was road course-to-road course,” he said. “But I think the oval is a completely different kettle of fish. If I was to do ‘the Double,’ I would like to do an (oval) race before Charlotte.”

Larson’s attempt is once again a joint effort of Hendrick Motorsports on the NASCAR side and Arrow McLaren on the IndyCar side.

He had high hopes of completing all 1,100 miles last year, but rain wreaked havoc with his schedule. Larson managed to finish the rain-delayed Indy 500, then do the entire helicopter-plane-helicopter trip to Charlotte, only to be greeted there by more rain upon his arrival. It ultimately washed out the rest of the NASCAR race before he ever got a chance to turn a lap.

The forecast for Sunday? A bit chilly but most likely dry.

“I feel like the Hendrick aviation side does a really good job with logistics and working with motorsports to make sure all the timing’s right on everything and everything operates smoothly,” Larson said. “Yeah, we had the weather delay for the Indy 500 last year, but aside from that, the travel side of it was all smooth. So, as far as I know, nothing is different this year.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske, stopped by the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield media center before qualifying to talk about this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU HAD AN EVENT ON TUESDAY WITH JORDAN DAVIS IN CONCERT. HOW DID THAT GO? “It was incredible. It was our third annual concert for charity. We had Jordan Davis down there, who is an incredible artist. An awesome guy, by the way. A very normal person. You meet celebrities sometimes and you wonder what they’re gonna be like and he is really normal. So, it was great to have that. We packed the house down there with close to 2400 people showing up. I’m proud of the effort from the team to be able to put on an event like that. It’s a lot of work to put on that type of stuff, but obviously it’s worth it. We were able to raise a lot of money to help foster care in the North Carolina region and it was good. You have two missions when you go there. One, is to obviously raise money for foster care, but the other is to hopefully inspire people to make that leap of faith. If they’re on the fence thinking about should we become foster parents or not, hopefully you can push them over the edge a little bit to take that next step. Those were the goals and hopefully we achieved two of them. It was great timing. Everyone knows this week is so busy with so many different events. Every night it seems like there’s an event to go to and something to do. Our community does a cool job of making the Charlotte race weeks like Speedweek in a way. There’s always something to do every night and obviously with the Truck race last night and what we see tonight with the Xfinity cars as well.”

HOW DO YOU PROCESS WHAT HAPPENED WITH YOUR INDY CAR TEAMMATES THIS PAST WEEK AND WHAT THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH? IS THERE A CONCERN OF ANY TYPE OF RESIDUAL IMPACT WITH THE CHANGES HAVING AN EFFECT ON THE NASCAR SIDE OF TEAM PENSKE? “We’re all one team. That’s the way I’ve always viewed it. That’s why we love to support what the Indy Car guys are doing every week and vice versa. We’re in the same building, so there are some shared pieces there. When we go to whatever manufacturing, engineering, those type of things, there are some shared people there. When we see something like that, yeah, does it impact us? Obviously, it’s going to. I think Roger’s comments during the sitdown with Jamie (Little) was everything we needed to hear. Roger came down to visit all of us. He visited drivers and crew chiefs, but then visited the whole team in a Roger type was as you would expect. At this point, it’s unfortunate, but we’ve got to move forward. It’s something that happened and we’ve got to stay out the windshield as Roger always says.”

HOW DOES THIS TRACK COMPARE TO OTHERS AND WHAT MAKES IT GREAT FOR DRIVERS? “It’s become a great racetrack again. It was great and there was a moment in time where everyone was kind of ‘eh’ about it, and that’s really why the Roval started. Now, it’s kind of like, ‘I don’t know if we need the Roval.’ The oval is fantastic. The racing that we see on this racetrack has been great. You look at the start of the Truck race last night, I was up in the booth, and it was like, ‘These guys are racing the heck out of each other,’ and it was really fun to watch. They’re not wrecking each other. It’s not like cautions every five laps like some tracks. It was a really fun race to watch. I expect the same here today with the Xfinity cars and the Cup cars have put on a good race here the last few years as well. It’s challenging. You brought up the surface. It’s definitely on a landfill. It’s bumpy out there. Three and four, it’s rough. It shakes the heck out of you and you do that for 600 miles you don’t feel too good afterwards, so it’s definitely a physical racetrack at this point.”

WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT THE ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR A DRIVER WHO WINS THIS RACE? “You want to win every race. All the wins, especially at the Cup level, all of them mean a lot because it’s hard to do. Everyone is so good and our season, if you can have a five-win season, that’s a pretty good season so you lose a lot. You don’t really care where you get your wins. Obviously, when you think of the Coca-Cola 600, maybe there’s a little extra there. It’s kind of like you look at this as one of the top three biggest races of the year that we have, just from a prestige and historic standpoint. This is a really special one to win. I’d like to be that guy. We’ve been close before, but haven’t quite gotten the old Coca-Cola fridge that they hand out to the winners. I get a picture sent to me before every race here because as a Coca-Cola driver they send me a picture of it and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know. I got it. I want to go get it. I understand. Message delivered.’”

IN WHAT WAYS IS THE COCA-COLA 600 STILL A TEST OF MAN AND MACHINE? “A lot of ways. It’s just long, but the track itself has become more challenging, which makes it even more physical for the driver and also the car. Getting shook around things come loose, things happen, things can break. There are a lot of pit stops, lots of them. There are a lot of opportunities for mistakes throughout the event, so it’s just trying to keep your head in the game and keep grinding it out throughout the whole event. You can get knocked down and you have time to get back up and get all the way back through. In today’s day and age, that’s really hard to do at most races because the cars are all so similar and speeds are so similar it’s hard to make your way back through the field, but here there are opportunities to pass, opportunities to recover and when you have a track that is this challenging, where cars are running the very, very top at the wall, the bumps create a lot of opportunities for people to have these big moments and get loose or spin out, wreck. The teams that can just keep going, just keep grinding it out and keep going, you can eventually find yourself back to the front.”

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF YOUR TEAM AS YOU MOVE FORWARD? “I think we’re in a pretty good spot right now. I thought at the beginning of the season our speed was pretty good, but our execution wasn’t there. Now I feel like our execution has become better and our speed is still there. The last few weeks it seemed like we were able to put everything together. Since Talladega on, we’ve been top 10, top 5 car and putting ourselves in position to win multiple times, whether that’s obviously Texas, Kansas, we got ourselves to the front. We needed more speed there, but Wilkesboro last week, obviously the car was really fast there, so I feel like we’ve cleaned up a lot of execution issues that we’ve had, and now I feel like we’re back to where we typically see the 22.”

WHEN YOU GO TO MICHIGAN AND WHAT THAT PLACE MEANS FOR YOUR TEAM AND FORD, HOW MUCH OF AN EMPHASIS IS PUT ON THAT RACE? “No more emphasis than any other race. We try to win them all. It’s not like we say, ‘Ah, this one doesn’t matter. We’ll just coast this one through.’ That’s not who we are. We don’t do that because every race matters, especially with the playoff format we have. Every win, every playoff point that you can get can be the difference at the end of the day, so we don’t really put more into any of them. I will say though that the manufacturers take pride in that trophy that they hand out there to the winning manufacturer, so it’s always a topic of discussion. We go up there early more times than not and go visit Ford headquarters and it’s a topic that comes up. They want that trophy in their main lobby, so when people walk in they can walk by it.”

WE HAVE THREE INTERMEDIATE TRACKS IN THE NEXT THREE WEEKS, IS IT AN IMPORTANT STRETCH FOR TEAMS TO HONE IN ON WHAT YOU HAVE FOR THE POSTSEASON, OR DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE AND THERE’S NOTHING LEFT TO LEARN? “There’s always something to learn. You never get it figured out. Everyone over time with this Next Gen car has honed in on specific things that they know are needle movers with their car setup and fine-tuning it, but you can see how the field is getting closer and closer and closer. We’ve had the same rule package for awhile and the teams have had this Next Gen car for awhile and team members have gone from team to team to team bringing their notebooks, so everyone eventually ends up running something fairly similar and I think we’re kind of at that point. With that said, are there still things to learn? Yes. Are we still trying to find the next little bit? We’re always going to be doing that, but we’re definitely on the fine point stuff, the very small little needle that is a little better. You’ve got to stack up 20 of those to really matter at this point, but it’s not like you get to go test much and go learn any other way, so once you get past this stretch of races, the next time you go to a mile-and-a-half you’re gonna be looking back at Kansas, Charlotte, Michigan – Nashville is kind of it’s unique area of what that really falls into – but you’re gonna be looking at those tracks saying, ‘OK, where do we need to build our setup off of?’”

LOOKING TO MEXICO CITY. WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO EXPERIENCE WITH THAT RACE? “I hope the fans enjoy it. I hope it’s a good turnout. I think there’s no doubt that a lot of times when you step outside of your comfort zone it’s uncomfortable. There’s risk involved, but there’s also high reward for our sport by doing this. Stepping out of what we typically do here in America and going international, it’s kind of a scary thing to do. Let’s be honest. I think everyone in here probably has some concerns of how are we gonna get there? Where are we gonna go? What do we do? I don’t know how to speak Spanish. I don’t know about you guys. I’ll only hang out with Suarez as much as I can (laughing). I don’t know where to go, so I think there’s just the unknown factor is at its all-time high when we go there. I hope it’s all worth it because it definitely is a lot of work. I was at the NASCAR building the other day and they had meetings with the truck drivers and going over logistics on how they’re gonna get everything there. They don’t do that for any other race. This is a very specific thing. I think it could be great. I think NASCAR is doing a good job so far from what I can tell and is covering their bases on making sure that there’s no surprises when we get down there. We’ve got to have our faith in them that they’re doing their job and it all ends up going well. I’m sure it will. I think everyone has been down there enough and talked about things enough that it will go well. Hopefully, the fans enjoy NASCAR racing. That’s what I hope.”

HOW HAVE YOU AS A DRIVER ADAPTED TO THE FORMAT OF THIS RACE AS IT HAS CHANGED TO STAGES? IS IT EASIER NOW WITH THOSE BUILT-IN BREAKS? “I still look at this race and I say, ‘Geez, if you can have a fast car in Charlotte for the Coke 600, there are more points available than any other race you go to.’ So, a fast car pays a bigger dividend throughout an event than anywhere else you go, so if you get that special car, that one that is just lights-out, you can really stack them in. If you have a bad day, you double down on that too. You hope that you’ve got a good car from that standpoint. There are obviously added cautions in comparison to what there used to be. That represents an opportunity for strategy when it comes to you, depending on where the caution ends up – if it’s a few laps before the end of a stage, one of those type of things, or just playing the stage cautions however you flip those or whatever you do. It presents an opportunity to stay more on the lead lap because there are more cautions. Typically, a race this long you’d probably have less cars on the lead lap, where the stages present the opportunity to wave are get more lucky dogs, those type of things. The recovery factor is a little bit higher than it used to be.”

Ford Performance PR

CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Larson is doubling down on “The Double.”

Larson is set to run both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, a task he set out to accomplish last year but never had a chance to complete after weather disrupted the NASCAR star’s plans.

A year ago rain delayed the start of the Indianapolis 500, putting Larson well behind schedule in his quest. He finished 18th in Indianapolis, and didn’t make it to Charlotte Motor Speedway until 249 laps had been completed. He was set to jump in the No. 5 Chevrolet and take over for replacement driver Justin Allgaier, but lightning and heavy rains forced NASCAR to call the race.

Larson never turned a lap at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“Last year wasn’t as fun and exciting as people might think,” Larson said. “I was super bummed because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to race in both. I didn’t get to enjoy the pre-race stuff or anything, but hopefully this year it goes better with the weather and I can just enjoy the whole experience.”

The forecast for Sunday in both cities looks a little more promising, although there’s still a small chance of rain.

If rain were to delay the start of the Indianapolis 500 again, Larson could face a tough decision. If he doesn’t make it back for the Coca-Cola 600, his playoff chances would be in jeopardy. Larson is considered one of the favorites to win the Cup Championship, having won three Cup Series races this year.

Hendrick Motorsports vice president Jeff Gordon said the team has a “concrete plan” to have Larson in Charlotte in time for driver introductions, about 45 minutes before the race.

“He will be here (at CMS) by 5:45 p.m.,” Gordon said emphatically.

Only a handful of elite drivers have dared to take on the epic motorsports crossover. Tony Stewart set the standard for “The Double” in 2001 when he finished sixth at the Indy 500 and third at the Coca-Cola 600, becoming the first driver to ever complete all 1,100 miles.

“I love to race,” Larson said of the challenge. “I love to compete in big events and I love to try new things to challenge myself,” said Larson. “I try to stay focused on making this the best experience I can and getting my car to drive the best it can while also enjoying the moment.”

Other things to watch at the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night:

Change in spotters

Christopher Bell and Brad Keselowski will have new spotters at the Coca-Cola 600.

Joe Gibbs Racing said Matt Philpott has replaced Stevie Reeves as Bell’s spotter. Reeves had been the spotter for Bell, last week’s All-Star Race winner and the defending Coca-Cola 600 champion, since he made his series debut in 2020.

“I was surprised as well,” Bell said of Reeves’ decision to leave the team. “It was all Stevie’s decision. He made the decision on his own to quit.”

Todd Brewer replaces T.J. Majors as Keselowski’s spotter. Majors will be out a month due to a medical procedure.

Byron’s extension

William Byron called it a “relief” to receive a four-year contract extension Friday from Hendrick Motorsports.

The two-time defending Daytona 500 champion said negotiations were “amicable” and he anticipated they would eventually get done.

“I definitely wanted to be here and focus on winning races,” Byron said. “That’s what it’s all about at Hendrick Motorsports and what I want to do. … I felt like Hendrick was always my home.”

Gordon said “we think it’s a no-brainer. It’s worked and he has been a great fit. … We were going to make it happen one way or another.”

Johnson set for milestone

Seven-time Cup Series champion and Legacy Motor Club part-owner Jimmie Johnson will hit a career milestone at the Charlotte Motor Speedway with his 700th career Cup Series start.

For the 49-year-old Johnson, it’s a poignant moment, returning to the venue where he began his Cup Series journey in 2001. Johnson’s first start came Oct. 7, 2001, at Charlotte. He went on to dominate at Charlotte, winning the Coca-Cola 600 four times (2003, 2004, 2005, 2014), the Bank of America 500 four times (2004, 2005, 2009, 2016), and the All-Star Race four times (2003, 2006, 2012, 2013).

“This is my 700th start, but let’s be clear – it’s not my last start,” Johnson said.

The Coca-Cola 600 grind

The Coca-Cola 600 is the longest race on the NASCAR circuit, and it can often take five hours to complete the 400 laps on a 1½-mile track. Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet formerly run by Dale Earnhardt, called it one of the most grueling races on the NASCAR circuit.

“The track’s not smooth. … It’s rough, so I think you prep your seat well for this race too,” said Dillon, who won the race in 2017. “I changed that two years ago when we went to this car. I remember the first time in the Next Gen car here, it was awful under caution, even just your head rattling around in there. So I tried to make our foam a little different around our head rest, which helps.”

Salute to service

Charlotte Motor Speedway has a long tradition of honoring the military on Memorial Day weekend as part of their “Salute to Service.” There are flyovers, numerous military members on site, the playing of “Taps” and each driver carries the name of a fallen soldier’s name on their racecar.

“To have a name on the side of a race car, to share that with their family, it means more than motorsports,” said AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 16 car for Kaulig Racing. “I’ll be 100% honest, I get lost. You know what our job is, you’re out there to win, and that’s all you focus on, but there’s a brief moment there of all the pre-race stuff at the (Coca-Cola) 600 where racing doesn’t mean anything.”

NASCAR on Prime

NASCAR on Prime is set to make its debut Sunday.

Prime Video will exclusively stream five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races to conclude the first half of the season. Adam Alexander serves as race announcer alongside analysts Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte in the booth, with Trevor Bayne, Kim Coon, and Marty Snider patrolling pit road. Danielle Trotta hosts Prime Video’s on-site studio coverage, joined by analysts Carl Edwards and Corey LaJoie.

Fans can watch NASCAR live at home or on the go, and across hundreds of compatible devices, streaming from the web, or using the Prime Video app on smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, game consoles, and connected TVs.

Charlotte Showdown: NASCAR Xfinity Stars Set for High-Stakes Battle

Updated: 10:50 AM CDT May 24, 2025

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway this Saturday for the BetMGM 300 — and with just 14 races left until the playoffs, every lap matters.North Carolina natives Josh Berry and Daniel Hemric will be racing in front of home crowds, looking to capitalize on familiar turf. Berry called it “a little extra special,” while Hemric has long said Charlotte is where his NASCAR dreams began.Meanwhile, expect sparks between Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill — their tense rivalry hit a boiling point last year, with Hill famously saying he “can’t wait” to stop being teammates.Catch the action Saturday, May 24 at 2:30 p.m. Central on Kansas City’s Own® KCWE