Jimmie Johnson’s milestone appearance in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway ended prematurely after a crash on lap 111. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion qualified 17th but struggled early, falling to the back of the 40-car field.

Johnson remained near the rear before hitting the wall on lap 111, also collecting Connor Zilisch, who was making his NASCAR Cup Series debut. Johnson managed to drive his damaged No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota to pit road, but the car, visibly suffering from multiple suspension failures and driving nearly sideways, was taken to the garage. The team retired after completing just 111 of the 400 scheduled laps due to extensive damage.

With 84 career wins, including eight at Charlotte and four in the Coca-Cola 600 during his time with Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48, Johnson now focuses on his role as co-owner of Legacy Motor Club. His team showed mixed results, with Erik Jones starting from the rear while John Hunter Nemechek ran strongly, holding top-10 and occasional top-five positions early in the race.

The NASCAR Cup Series continues next Sunday, June 1, with the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, airing at 7 p.m. ET on Prime.

The first and second stage results are in from the 2025 Coca Cola 600, with William Byron netting both stage wins and leading the way at Charlotte Motor Speedway after 200 laps of action.

Bouncing back quickly from his Indy 500 wreck disappointment, Kyle Larson had led the race in the early stages after overtaking pole winner Chase Briscoe. However, on lap 42, Larson spun his car on what was his second big mistake of the day, allowing Byron, who was close behind, to inherit the lead.

Larson ultimately ended the first stage in 31st place, but Byron never looked back, going on to dominate the remainder of the first stage, which ultimately ended under caution after a spin for another Hendrick Motorsports driver, Alex Bowman.

In stage two, Byron has continued to look strong, whilst the likes of Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick also collected good stage points as the caution once again came out as the stage end approached, this time due to a spin from Kyle Busch.

Busch remains in the race, as does Larson, who ended stage two P29.

Let’s take a look at the first and second stage results in full below!

READ MORE: NASCAR Race Today: Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte start times, schedule and how to watch live on TV

NASCAR Cup Series: Coca Cola 600 Stage 2 results

NASCAR Cup Series: Coca Cola 600 Stage 1 results

READ MORE: NASCAR announce driver disqualification at Charlotte

How many laps is the Coca Cola 600?

The Coca Cola 600 requires 400 laps to complete.

What date is the 2025 Coca Cola 600?

Sunday, May 25th, 2025

What channel is the 2025 Coca Cola 600 on?

Amazon Prime Video will broadcast the race with radio coverage from PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Where is the Coca Cola 600 race located?

The Coca Cola 600 will be held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina.

How many miles is the Coca Cola 600?

The Coca Cola 600 is 600 miles in length.

When was the Coca Cola 600 first run?

The Coca Cola 600 was first run in 1960.

Which driver has the most wins at Charlotte?

Jimmie Johnson holds the record for most Charlotte victories (outside of All-Star Races) with eight wins to his name.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series team slammed with double penalty ahead of Coca Cola 600

Related

Following a strong and consistent 2024 season that took him to a track championship without a feature win, then enduring a terrible start to the 2025 season, Jeff Strunk of Boyertown, Pa. was able to break the victory drought, scoring the win in the 30-lap T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modified feature Saturday night at Grandview Speedway.

Strunk was able to wrestle the lead away from Bobby Gunther-Walsh of Allentown, Pa. following a lap five restart, then survive some mid-race pressure from Logan Watt of Boyertown, Pa. Duane Howard of Oley, Pa. and Mike Gular of Harleysville, Pa., to eventually pull away in the late stages of the race to secure the victory.

The win for Strunk was the 79^th Saturday night NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series win of his career, and overall counting his Thunder on the Hill Series 358 Modified wins, it marked his 90^th career Grandview Speedway feature win.

Jesse Landis of Gilbertsville, Pa. used the outside lane of the speedway to secure the lead from a strong running Kaitlyn Bailey of Alburtis, Pa. on lap eleven, then raced home to his third career Grandview Speedway T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman division feature race win.

The Outlaw Racing Series Vintage racers were also on hand, with Gage Phillips and Sven Olson securing wins in the Modified and Sportsman classes for the Vintage division racers in their 20-lap main event.

The winners received bonus money (Modified $300, Sportsman $200) from T.P. Trailers and Truck Equipment of Limerick, Pa., sponsors of the two divisions at Grandview Speedway, in a race program run under the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series banner.

Saturday night’s race program was a continuation of a show that was started a week prior, when rain interrupted the action after four T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman and two T.P. Trailer Modified heats had been completed. The night’s action started with T.P. Trailer Modified heats number three and four and continued from that point on to the conclusion with the evening’s main events.

The 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature got off to a bit of a slow start, with three cautions and a red flag for several mishaps in the first ten laps before things settled down into some serious racing action, with Chris Gambler of Trexlertown, Pa. taking the early lead.

Gambler lead through lap five when he broke and stopped for a caution, while Bobby Gunther-Walsh was in a heated battle with an eighth place starting Jeff Strunk for the number two position, followed by Ryan Beltz of Barto, Pa., Mike Laise of Pottstown, Pa., Justin Grim of Orefield, Pa., Nick DeSantis of Temple, Pa., and Ryan Grim of Laurys Station, Pa., who were all battling for the next several positions.

The Gunther-Walsh and Strunk fight for second became the battle for first, with Strunk securing the lead to complete lap number six, while a 14^th starting Logan Watt and 16^th starting Mike Gular were quickly advancing through the field

By lap ten Strunk would be leading, with entertaining action behind him between Gunther-Walsh and Watt for second, and Laise and Gular for fourth, while 24^th starting Duane Howard was also flying, and reached position six to join in the action up front.

By lap twelve Watt and Gular had advanced to second and third and began battling one another in a great race for second, while closing in on leader Strunk, with Howard now in fourth and 21^st starting Jared Umbenhauer of Richland, Pa. now up to position five.

Howard would eventually pass Gular on lap 21 for third and join Watt in the battle for second while also putting some pressure on Strunk for the top spot.

With five laps to go, Strunk opened up some breathing room over the rest of the pack, leaving Watt and Howard in a great battle for second, along with Gular and Umbenhauer in a two car fight for fourth down to the finish.

Several drivers who were caught up in some of the early race mishaps were also making some late race comebacks including Craig Von Dohren of Oley, Pa., Brett Kressley of Orefield, Pa., and Louden Reimert of Oley, Pa. who all rallied back for a top ten finish.

At the checkered flag it was Jeff Strunk scoring a long awaited feature win, followed by Logan Watt, Howard, Gular, Umbenhauer, Von Dohren, Kressley, Ryan Grim, Laise for his best run of the season, and Reimert.

Qualifying heats for the 38 cars on hand were won by Logan Watt, Nick DeSantis, Bobby Gunther-Walsh, and Justin Grim with Jared Umbenhauer and Ryan Watt of Boyertown, Pa. winning the consolations.

The T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature started with a massive 15-car mishap on the front straightaway, with all drivers okay and six cars getting knocked out of action, and the starting line up completely changed.

Kaitlyn Bailey would take the lead when action got underway, with Zach Steffey of Sinking Spring, Pa., Jesse Landis, Parker Guldin of Temple, Pa., Ebby Ridge of Upper Black Eddy, Pa., and Gavyn Krupp of Barto, Pa. all racing for positions behind her.

Bailey would be leading when Landis caught up to her on lap eight and the race for the lead was on, with Landis trying high, then low, and finally swept to the high groove to make the pass for the lead exiting turn four to score lap eleven.

Just past half-way Steffey, Ridge, and Guldin were fighting for third, while another battle further back was raging for position under a blanket between Brad Brightbill of Sinking Spring, Pa., Decker Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa., Chase Gular of Pennsburg, Pa., Mike Schneck Jr. of Lebanon, Pa., and Colin Cox of Perkasie, Pa. who was advancing forward from a consolation qualifying spot.

Following the two cautions early, the feature ran the final laps under all green flag conditions, with spirited action down to the finish.

At the checkered, it was Jesse Landis scoring the win for the third time in his career, followed by Kaitlyn Bailey for her career best finish, Steffey, Ebby Ridge with his best ever Grandview finish, Guldin, Krupp, Decker Swinehart, Brightbill, Schneck Jr., and Cox.

Qualifying heats (run last Saturday) for the 42 cars on hand were won by Ebby Ridge, Tom Miller Jr. of Boyertown, Pa., Parker Guldin, and Brad Brightbill while Mike Stofflet of Mertztown, Pa. and Nathan Mohr of Reading, Pa. won the consolations.

Gage Philips made a beautiful outside pass of Ron Myers on lap eleven exiting turn four to take a lead he would never surrender and went on to win the 20-lap Outlaw Racing Series Vintage feature race. Sven Olson started eleventh in the 14-car field and worked his way forward, to finish the race in fourth position, giving him the Sportsman class win in a competitive feature event.

Grandview Speedway will be presenting another NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series program next week featuring the T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, the T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, along with the Pro 4 Racing Series Four Cylinder stock cars.

The show on Saturday, May 31 will include qualifying events leading into a 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature, a 25-lap feature for the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman and a 25-lap main event for the Pro 4 Series racers.

Pit gates will open at 4 pm, with grandstand gates opening at 5:30 pm, warm-ups starting at 6:15 pm, and the first race of the evening getting the green flag at 7:30 pm.

Adult grandstand admission is $20, students 10-15 with ID are $10, while children ages 9 and under are admitted free of charge. Pit admission is $35 for NASCAR members and $45 for non-members.

The United Racing Club (URC) Sprint cars will make their only visit of the year on Saturday, June 7 joining the T.P. Trailer Modifieds and T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman on A.D. Moyer Lumber Company Night starting at 7:30 pm.

The second Thunder on the Hill Racing Series event is just around the corner on Tuesday, June 17, as Levan Machine & Truck Equipment presents the Jesse Hockett Classic USAC National Sprint Car Series Eastern Storm opener.

This program includes time trials, and qualifying events leading up to the 40-lap feature event that pays $6000 to win. The program also includes the 358 Modifieds with qualifying events and a 30-lap $3000 to win feature, that could pay an added $2000 from Alpine Building Supply if the winning driver is a first time Thunder Series winner.

Since the 1960’s, Grandview Speedway has been presenting exciting wheel to wheel NASCAR stock car racing every Saturday Night starting in April and running through October, plus special events. Grandview Speedway is located at 43 Passmore Road, Bechtelsville, Pa. 19505, just off Route 100, ten miles north of Pottstown, Pa.

Information is always available at www.grandviewspeedway.com or on Facebook, or by telephone at 610.754.7688.

T.P. TRAILER NASCAR MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 laps): JEFF STRUNK, Logan Watt, Duane Howard, Mike Gular, Jared Umbenhauer, Craig Von Dohren, Brett Kressley, Ryan Grim, Mike Laise, Louden Reimert, Justin Grim, Carroll Hine III, Ryan Beltz, Nick DeSantis, Bobby Trapper Jr., Bobby Gunther-Walsh, Kyle Smith, Doug Manmiller, Ron Haring Jr., Brian Hirthler, Clay Butler, Eric Biehn, Ryan Watt, Tim Buckwalter, Chris Esposito, Chris Gambler, John Willman, Ray Swinehart

DID NOT QUALIFY: Cody Manmiller, Logan Bauman, Darin Schuler, Eddie Strada, Jon Kellner, Craig Whitmoyer, Eric Kormann, Matt Yoder, Bobby Trapper Sr., Matt Stangle

T.P. TRAILERS WINNER’S BONUS ($300): Jeff Strunk

VP RACING FUELS HARD CHARGER: Duane Howard +21

PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Jeff Strunk ($75), Logan Watt ($50), Duane Howard ($25)

DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Jeff Strunk

T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): JESSE LANDIS, Kaitlyn Bailey, Zach Steffey, Ebby Ridge, Parker Guldin, Gavyn Krupp, Decker Swinehart, Brad Brightbill, Mike Schneck Jr., Colin Cox, Chase Gular, Adriana Delliponti, TJ Mayberry, Teague Miller, Brett Gilmore, Kyle Hartzell, Mike Stofflet, Lawson Szerencits, Nathan Mohr, Mark Gaugler, Ryan Graver, Tom Miller Jr., Addison Meitzler, Brett Grim, Joey Vaccaro, Mark Mohr, Dylan Swinehart

DID NOT QUALIFY: Kenny Gilmore, Stephen Laubach, BJ Joly III, Tom Miller Sr., Jason Graber, Bryce Bashore, Dakota Kohler, Colton Perry, Nate Horn, Taylor Kramer, Dennis Graber, Kenny Bock, Dylan Cappel, Brayden Shelton, Mark Behm

T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT WINNER’S BONUS ($200): Jesse Landis

GRANDVIEW $100 HARD CHARGER: Colin Cox +15

PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Jesse Landis ($75), Kaitlyn Bailey ($50), Zach Steffey ($25)

DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Jesse Landis

DRIVEN RACE OIL/JOHN WILLMAN MOTORSPORTS OIL & FILTER KIT 7^th PLACE: Decker Swinehart

OUTLAW RACING SERIES VINTAGE FEATURE FINISH (20 laps): GAGE PHILLIPS, Ron Myers, Scott Schaffer, SVEN OLSON, Curt Neiman, Dave Dissinger, Bill Gerhart, Lucas Mutter, Casey Davis, Jr. Mikosz, BJ Joly, Tori Hall, Gene Wrightstone, Matt Smith

UPCOMING EVENTS –

Saturday, May 31 – T.P. Trailer Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman, Pro 4 Racing Series, TRIVIA NIGHT – 7:30 pm

Friday, June 6 – Outlaw Racing Series Enduro, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage, Xcel 600 Modifieds – 7 pm

Saturday, June 7 – A.D. MOYER LUMBER COMPANY NIGHT – T.P. Trailer Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman, URC Sprints – 7:30 pm

Saturday, June 14 – T.P. Trailer Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman – 7:30 pm

Tuesday, June 17 – THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES –JESSE HOCKETT CLASSIC EASTERN STORM – USAC National Sprint Tour, 358 Modifieds* – 7:30 pm

Grandview Speedway PR

By JENNA FRYER

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Alex Palou took the ceremonial swig of milk in victory lane at the Indianapolis 500. He allowed his wife to have a sip, she in turn gave a sip to their baby, and team owner Chip Ganassi ended up with the bottle and took a drink, as well.

“I have to tell you, it was the best milk I ever had,” Palou said.

The first Spaniard to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” then took a victory lap with his entourage around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the back of a pickup truck. At one point, Palou climbed onto its roof and raised his arms in triumph, the winning wreath draped around his neck. He briefly lost his balance and Ganassi instinctively reached out to grab his star driver.

No need.

Palou rarely makes a wrong move.

“All my family around, it’s amazing, honestly,” he said, smiling. “All the team around, they make me look really good on the track.”

Palou came to the speedway as the two-time defending IndyCar champion — he has three titles in four years — and had opened this year with victories in four of the first five races. It’s the kind of start not seen since 1964, when A.J. Foyt won the first seven races of the season, including the Indy 500.

But it was win No. 6 that Palou had circled on his calendar. Without an Indy 500 win, he said, his career would be incomplete.

“Like he said last week, if he was to go through his whole career and not win here at Indianapolis, it wouldn’t be a complete career,” Ganassi said. “I don’t want to say his career is complete now — he’s got a lot in him yet. Look at the last five, six races we’ve had. It’s just incredible. He’s on a roll.”

Palou was in fuel-saving mode over the closing laps, following former Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson. Palou got tired of staying put with 16 laps remaining and charged ahead — a move Ericsson said “will keep me up at night. What I did and what I didn’t do.” Palou was never challenged from there, taking the checkered flag as a crash brought out a caution.

He stopped the car just beyond the Yard of Bricks, climbing out of it and nearly losing his balance as he raised his arms in triumph. Palou jumped down and took off in a run down the front stretch, pulling off his gloves and tossing them behind him, and ultimately was engulfed by his father, Ramon, and his team in a jubilant celebration.

Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti both hugged him, a pair of former Ganassi Indy 500 winners welcoming him into their exclusive club. He wasn’t sure what the win will do for him Spain, which celebrates Formula 1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz Jr., but Palou said for the first time he can recall he saw throngs of fans with Spanish flags chanting his name at an IndyCar race.

“It makes it extra special that I’m the first Spanish driver to win it,” Palou said. “But honestly, if I was the 50th Spanish driver to win, I would be as happy as I am now.”

Meanwhile, Ericsson climbed from his car in pit lane and pressed his hands to his face, the disappointment of coming oh-so-close to a second Indianapolis 500 victory etched across his face. David Maluks was third for A.J. Foyt Racing.

“It’s pretty painful,” Ericsson said of his second career Indy 500 runner-up finish. “I need to look at it again. You replay it in your head a million times after the finish, wondering what I could have done differently. Second means nothing in this race.”

Josef Newgarden’s bid to win three consecutive Indy 500s ended with a fuel pump issue. He was trying to become the first driver to come from the back row to win because he and Team Penske teammate Will Power were dropped to the back of the field for failing inspection before the final rounds of qualifying.

Power wound up 19th, the highest-finishing Penske driver on a miserable day for the organization owned by Roger Penske. He earlier this week fired his top three IndyCar executives for a second technical infraction in just over a year, and has had to defend the optics of his teams failing inspections when he also owns IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500.

Penske has won the Indy 500 a record 20 times.

It was the sixth Indy 500 win for Ganassi, who has been on a dominating wave since hiring Palou before the 2021 season. Palou won the championship in his first year with the team, added two more titles, and now seems on pace for a fourth one.

“I’ll tell you what, that kid’s a good driver. I think he’s off to a good start,” Ganassi said. “We’re gonna have a good season. It might be OK. Yeah, might be okay. Might be looking at a championship.”

Ganassi also vowed that winning the Indy 500 win “is going to make Alex Palou’s career. It is going to make his life.”

Palou started the race tied with Pato O’Ward as the co-favorites, listed at +500 by BetMGM Sportsbook. O’Ward finished fourth — the fifth time in six career starts the Mexican has finished sixth or higher. Kyle Larson won’t complete “the double” after crashing out of the Indianapolis 500 before he headed to North Carolina to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race.

___

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

Originally Published: May 25, 2025 at 9:24 AM EDT

Kyle Larson wrecked out of the Indianapolis 500 on Lap 92 of the 200-lap race, spinning out on a restart and collecting two other cars. He finished 27th, leaving the track visibly dejected after a difficult month.

But he has to move past that quickly with NASCAR’s longest race directly ahead of him, starting on the outside of the front row for the Coca-Cola 600. During the plane ride, he said in a video message that “more than anything, (just need to) mentally get reset at this point and try to forget about the last hour.”

His Hendrick Motorsports crew chief, Cliff Daniels, met with NASCAR on Prime on how Larson deals with the disappointment from Indy while focusing on what he has to do at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“Luckily, we’ve had quite a while together in our relationship and just our competitive career,” said Daniels. “What makes him so good and so special is just that he races so often and he’s able to kind of turn the page. When he has races that end on a high note, he turns the page for the next race (and) likewise if things don’t go well like they didn’t go well today.”

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

He spoke with Larson as he made the trip from Indianapolis to Charlotte, saying he poked fun at the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and even managed to make him smile.

“I think he’s ready for tonight. Obviously, he was disappointed in the way today went but he’s still very appreciative of the opportunity, as all are to have the support of Mr. Hendrick and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports.”

He went on to say that Larson is no stranger of putting bad races behind him with how often he is driving something, whether it be a World of Outlaws sprint car or an Arrow McLaren Chevrolet in the Indianapolis 500.

“He’s not a rookie at that,” said Daniels. “And even in our journey together, we’ve had experiences where he’s run a lot of different types of race cars on a Cup weekend. The magnitude and the gravity and just all the prep for Indy is a lot different, (but) we’ve been trying to provide an environment here so when he’s at Indy and he’s with the Arrow McLaren guys, he can stay focused on the mission at hand with them … and providing him a space where he (can come) in with us, get up to speed with us and go do business.”

The Coca-Cola 600 is airing exclusively on Prime Video for the first Cup race to air on a streaming platform.