One (abbreviated) race down. Only a few flights and 600 miles of a second race to go for Kyle Larson today.

CONCORD, N.C. — There is no day in the entire world that represents a measure of time, distance and time over distance like the Sunday before Memorial Day. It is on this day that three of the greatest auto races in the entire world take place, from F1’s legendary Monaco Grand Prix, to IndyCar’s signature event in the Indianapolis 500, and the single greatest test of man and machine that NASCAR has to offer.

To commemorate America’s most solemn of holidays, NASCAR renews the tradition of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the single longest race in stock car racing and one of the sport’s crown jewel events. To win the Coca-Cola 600 is to survive perhaps the most physically and mentally demanding endurance race that NASCAR has to offer, and it is also to cap off the single biggest day in global motorsports with the honor of claiming victory at Charlotte, right down the road from where many NASCAR drivers and race teams make their home in the greater Charlotte area.

2025 Indianapolis 500: Kyle Larson looks to become latest NASCAR star to complete the Indy-Charlotte Double

Steven Taranto

Where to watch the Coca-Cola 600

When: Sunday, May 25 at 6 p.m. ET
Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway — Concord, North Carolina
Stream: Amazon Prime

Starting lineup

Chase Briscoe has won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600, posting a lap of 29.532 (182.852 mph) to win his second pole of the season — his other pole came in the Daytona 500 — and the fourth of his Cup career. Briscoe will be flanked on the front row by Kyle Larson, who will start on the outside pole at Charlotte after returning from his Indianapolis 500 duties on Sunday.

1. #19 – Chase Briscoe
2. #5 – Kyle Larson
3. #24 – William Byron
4. #17 – Chris Buescher
5. #16 – A.J. Allmendinger
6. #42 – John Hunter Nemechek
7. #54 – Ty Gibbs
8. #4 – Noah Gragson
9. #48 – Alex Bowman
10. #20 – Christopher Bell
11. #47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
12. #45 – Tyler Reddick
13. #7 – Justin Haley
14. #2 – Austin Cindric
15. #71 – Michael McDowell
16. #22 – Joey Logano
17. #84 – Jimmie Johnson
18. #21 – Josh Berry
19. #10 – Ty DIllon
20. #11 – Denny Hamlin
21. #12 – Ryan Blaney
22. #9 – Chase Elliott
23. #38 – Zane Smith
24. #8 – Kyle Busch
25. #99 – Daniel Suarez
26. #3 – Austin Dillon
27. #43 – Erik Jones
28. #60 – Ryan Preece
29. #41 – Cole Custer
30. #88 – Shane van Gisbergen (R)
31. #35 – Riley Herbst (R)
32. #23 – Bubba Wallace
33. #87 – Connor Zilisch
34. #34 – Todd Gilliland
35. #6 – Brad Keselowski
36. #51 – Cody Ware
37. #44 – Derek Kraus
38. #66 – Josh Bilicki
39. #77 – Carson Hocevar
40. #1 – Ross Chastain

Storyline to watch

Yet again, just as was the case in 2024, the biggest story of the Coca-Cola 600 will be Kyle Larson as he attempts to become the fifth driver in history to successfully race in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coke 600 on the same day. The question is not whether Larson can get from Indianapolis to Charlotte, and the question also isn’t exactly how well he can run in both races: The question is whether or not things will work out.

The worst-case scenario unfolded for Larson’s Double attempt one year ago, as a rain delay in the Indianapolis 500 forced Larson to have to miss the start of the Coke 600, then more rain ended the 600 prematurely before Larson could ever get in his No. 5 Chevrolet after finishing 18th at Indy. While the plan is for Larson to emphasize his NASCAR obligations this time around — 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan is Larson’s reserve driver should he be unable to compete at Indy — a favorable forecast is expected for both ends of Larson’s Double.

Assuming Larson starts both races without issue, his goal will be not only to compete and run up front at both Indy and Charlotte, but also to complete all 1,100 possible miles between the two races. That’s only happened once in the history of the Indy-Charlotte Double, and it occurred in 2001 when Tony Stewart finished sixth in the Indianapolis 500 and then finished third in the Coke 600.

“I travel around so much and race and fly in last minute for sprint car races and jump straight in and I think that will help the mindset of what it will be like for the 600,” Larson told NASCAR.com this week.

“I think for sure, for me it’s not like a culture shock at all to be here and then traveling around to race. It’s what I do every week. Time windows are tight so often, so it doesn’t seem any different than a normal weekend for me.”

If Larson’s Double attempt is successful, he will become the fifth driver to ever race in the Indy 500 and Coke 600 on the same day, joining Stewart, John Andretti, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch.

NASCAR news of the week

• Hendrick Motorsports has signed two-time Daytona 500 champion William Byron to a four-year contract extension that will keep him behind the wheel of the team’s No. 24 Chevrolet through the 2029 season. Byron, who was first signed by Hendrick in 2016, has 14 career wins and has made the Championship 4 in each of the past two seasons.
• Richard Childress Racing announced Saturday that they have picked up the option on Kyle Busch’s current contract, meaning Busch will officially return to RCR as the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet in 2026. Busch, who joined RCR in 2023, had been in the last year of his current deal before the team option was picked up.
• Christopher Bell will have a new spotter beginning this weekend, as spotter Stevie Reeves left the team following their win in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro a week ago. Reeves will be replaced by Matt Philpott, who has transitioned to spotting after previously working as an interior mechanic and tire specialist for Denny Hamlin’s team.
• The NASCAR Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2026 on Tuesday night, naming Kurt Busch, Harry Gant, and Ray Hendrick to the incoming class. Busch — a first-ballot Hall of Famer — and Gant made the Hall of Fame via the Modern Era ballot, while Hendrick — a Virginia short track legend famously known as “Mr. Modified” — was the Pioneer ballot nominee. Busch, Gant and Hendrick will be joined in the Hall of Fame by Humpy Wheeler, longtime president and GM of Charlotte Motor Speedway, who was named the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.

Pick to win

William Byron (+800) — Charlotte’s own Byron is still looking for his first win at Charlotte Motor Speedway, something he’s been close to getting in his last two Coke 600 starts. Byron led 91 laps from the pole before finishing second in 2023 — thanks in part to an absolutely elite performance by his pit crew — and then led 49 laps from the outside pole a year ago before running third.

A Coke 600 win would give Byron another marquee win to add to his back-to-back Daytona 500 crowns, and it would make him the first driver to win the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same season in some time. The last Daytona 500 winner to go on to win the Coke 600 three months later was Jeff Gordon — whose No. 24 Byron now drives — back in 1997.

So who wins the 2025 NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and which massive longshot could stun NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the 2025 NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway picks and best bets from a NASCAR insider who nailed a colossal 17 winners last year, and find out.

(CNN) — Lando Norris won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, cutting teammate Oscar Piastri’s lead at the top of the drivers’ championship to three points.

“It feels amazing,” Norris told broadcaster Sky Sports after the race. “It’s a long, grueling race, but good fun.”

“Amazing weekend, with pole, with today. This is what I did dream of when I was a kid. So I achieved one of my dreams,” he added.

The British driver began in pole position having put up a record lap in qualifying, and managed to hold onto his lead with Charles Leclerc lurking despite his tires locking up going into the first corner.

It was the closest anyone would come to overtaking Norris, even if a late fightback from the Monégasque driver meant that Norris’ win was not as comfortable as it had looked like it might be for much of the race.

“The last quarter was a little bit nervous, with Charles close behind and Max (Verstappen) ahead. But we won in Monaco, so it doesn’t matter how you win, I guess,” said Norris.

The victory means that the Englishman is the first McLaren driver to win in Monaco since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. The 25-year-old’s previous best finish on the historic track came in 2021, when he placed third.

Leclerc finished second in his home race, with Piastri completing the podium. Verstappen came in fourth, one place ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fifth.

Taking place on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, in easy view of the luxury yachts moored in the harbor, the Monaco Grand Prix has become synonymous with the glitz and glamor associated with F1 – Kylian Mbappé, Jeff Bezos and Naomi Campbell were among the celebrities in attendance on Sunday.

This year’s Monaco Grand Prix saw new rules designed to liven up a race which, in recent years, has often not lived up to the spectacle surrounding it.

Drivers must now pit at least twice, a ruling which aimed to avoid the kind of procession many fans complain can occur on the narrow, twisiting Monégasque roads on which overtaking is difficult.

In reality, the rule’s main effect was that there was as much attention on how quickly drivers were able to pit as there was on the race itself.

It also affected each driver’s race strategy; Verstappen, for example, waited until the very last moment to box for the second time in case there was a safety car, meaning he wouldn’t lose time in the pits and could hang on to his lead.

As it was, there were no such incidents and he only succeeded in slowing down the race so the field bunched behind him.

Further down the rankings, Isack Hadjar, Esteban Ocon, and Liam Lawson all did well to finish sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. Hadjar, in particular, benefited from teammate Lawson slowing down to hold off the chasing pack.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

INDIANAPOLIS — Alex Palou has become the first driver from Spain to win the Indianapolis 500 by holding off former Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson over the closing laps Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Palou, who has won three IndyCar titles in four years — including the last two, came to the speedway with four wins through the first five races. But it was No. 6, “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” that he had circled on his calendar. Without an Indy 500 win, Palou said his career resume would never be complete.

Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 winner, finished second for Andretti Global in a 1-2 finish for Honda. David Malukas was third for A.J. Foyt Racing and the highest-finishing Chevrolet.

Josef Newgarden’s bid to win three consecutive Indy 500s ended with a fuel pump issue.

Palou started the race tied with Pato O’Ward as the co-favorites, listed at +500 by BetMGM.

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Originally Published: May 25, 2025 at 2:54 PM MDT