Those who define themselves as car enthusiasts are anything but average drivers. They live and breathe driving, and to them, their auto isn’t just some random vehicle, but a place they fully enjoy.
They do not utilize a car to move from one place to another, but also relax their mind and body. However, sometimes, no matter how soothing this experience can be, it can be a bit challenging, too, because it requires certain levels of focus and energy, which you cannot always provide, regardless of how much you want.
In these instances, one of the best things that you can do for yourself is to unwind after time on the road. If you’re unsure which methods are the most effective, then pay close attention to the ones that will be shown below!
How About Some Gambling?
Yes, that’s right. Now, you may have thought about it before, but trust us when we say that it is one of the most thrilling things you’ll ever do. On these platforms, you can play online bingo games for real money, and, simultaneously, try out a bunch of different games, depending on your style and preference. Truth be told, there aren’t many online places where you can have both a great time and earn some bucks!
What’s especially fantastic about the online world is the fact that it’s full of enticing games that are intended for every skill level, which means that you do not need to be a pro to have a great time!
When Was The Last Time You Took Care Of Your Four-Wheeler?
Even though we assume that you’ve done it relatively recently, it doesn’t hurt to remind you once again. Namely, the vast majority of car drivers perceive car maintenance as almost as relaxing and fun as driving it, so it comes as no surprise if your automobile is in perfect condition in this regard.
Still, if you haven’t done it in a while, now is a good moment to wash it, spruce up the interior, and inspect it, as well, just to see if there’s any debris. Something like this can actually be very relaxing.
Most drivers thoroughly enjoy this task because it enables them to slow down for a bit and, concurrently, gives them their full attention to their baby (car). You must admit that there’s nothing better than seeing it looking all sparkly and tidy.
Upcoming Road Trips Can Be An Amazing Motivation
You do not need to travel at this very moment to feel excited about traveling. Planning and organizing future adventures can be super fun, too! In fact, many car drivers adore researching scenic routes, coastal highways, or places that aren’t as popular among tourists.
These activities make them feel super excited because they’ll know exactly what they’ll be doing when it’s time to go on vacation, and they are also extremely relaxing!
You do not need to be the most imaginative person in the Universe to think of ideas that are going to relax you for a while, while you are saying a temporary goodbye to your buddy (automobile). All of the aforementioned suggestions are perfect for this endeavor!
Daniel Suárez capitalized on a late two-tire pit strategic call that netted him a rain-shortened victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 24.
The 2016 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion from Monterrey, Mexico, led the final 17 of 373-shortened laps in an event where he qualified in 14th place and rallied from making an early unscheduled pit stop under green that pinned him a lap down in the first stage period. Amid various pit strategies, several on-track incidents and a late overcast of wet weather, Suárez cycled to the lead during a caution period with 44 laps remaining after he only elected for a two-tire pit service for track position.
During the event’s final restart with 31 laps remaining, Suárez received a strong launch to remain out in front of Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin for three green-flag laps. But a caution was displayed with three laps remaining. As the track conditions worsened, which would require extra time to dry, Suárez was declared the winner. He cherished the victory and dedicated it to his late fellow competitor and ex-teammate/boss, Kyle Busch.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through a metric qualifying formula. This was due to inclement weather, which canceled Saturday’s on-track qualifications. As a result, Tyler Reddick was awarded the pole position. He shared the front row with Ty Gibbs. Alex Bowman was the lone competitor who dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments that were made to his entry.
Before the event, a moment of silence and a bagpipe performance of Amazing Grace were performed to pay homage to the late two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch. Busch’s wife, Samantha, his two children, Brexton and Lennix, his parents, Tom and Gaye, his brother, Kurt, and all in attendance. This was followed by a 21-gun salute and the performance of Taps for Memorial Day.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Tyler Reddick dueled with Ty Gibbs for nearly a full lap in front of a stacked field before the former motored ahead from the inside lane through Turns 3 and 4. Reddick led the first lap over Gibbs while Michael McDowell, Shane van Gisbergen, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher followed suit, respectively. Reddick proceeded to stretch his early advantage to four-tenths of a second by the fifth lap mark as Gibbs, McDowell, Blaney and van Gisbergen were racing in the top five, respectively.
On the eighth lap, a moment of silence was held in remembrance of Kyle Busch during the event’s live broadcast. The fans in the grandstands gestured eight fingers to salute and pay homage to Kyle Busch, who raced the number 8. As the on-track action continued, Reddick stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second during the eighth lap mark and he slightly grew it to eight-tenths of a second by Lap 15.
Through the first 25-scheduled laps, Reddick continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second. He was followed by Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, and Shane van Gisbergen in the top five. Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell, Austin Cindric and Austin Dillon completed the top 10.
AJ Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, Christopher Bell, Zane Smith and William Byron, respectively. Meanwhile, Austin Hill, piloting Busch’s entry that was re-numbered from 8 to 33, was scored in 21st place. He was ahead of Ross Chastain, John Hunter Nemechek, Brad Keselowski and Todd Gilliland while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Connor Zilisch, Corey Heim, Joey Logano and Alex Bowman trailed in the top 30, respectively. Katherine Legge and Timmy Hill were lapped by Reddick while Carson Hocevar was mired in 31st place.
Nine laps later, the event’s first caution flew when Josh Berry, who was racing outside the top-30 mark, spun off the second turn. During the event’s first caution period, the field led by Reddick pitted for service for the first time. Following the pit stops, Reddick exited pit road first ahead of Briscoe, Gibbs, Preece, Hamlin, van Gisbergen, Cindric, Larson, Buescher and Austin Dillon, respectively.
The start of the next restart on Lap 39 featured Reddick and Briscoe battling for the lead, where Briscoe led the next lap before Reddick reassumed it by Lap 41. Reddick proceeded to stabilize his advantage over Briscoe by the Lap 50 mark while Gibbs, Hamlin, Preece, Buescher, Wallace, Larson, van Gisbergen and Austin Dillon followed suit in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Daniel Suárez, after making an unscheduled pit stop three laps earlier, was a lap down in 38th place.
On Lap 53, the caution returned when Austin Cindric, who was racing outside of the top-10 mark, got sideways off the front of Christopher Bell through the first two turns. Cindric slid from the bottom towards the outside wall before he lightly bounced off the wall and clipped the side of Byron as Byron was trying to avoid Cindric. As Cindric kept sliding down the apron, he was hit hard by an oncoming Connor Zilisch, leaving both competitors’ entries destroyed. During this latest caution period, some of the drivers, including Preece, Buescher, Zane Smith, Reddick, Briscoe, Hamlin and Gibbs, pitted, while the rest, led by Ross Chastain, remained on the track.
As the Coca-Cola 600 restarted on Lap 59, Wallace was off the pace after being shoved into the wall by Byron and McDowell. While Wallace pitted, the event remained under green flag conditions as both Zane Smith and Preece overtook Chastain and battled for the lead during the next lap. Preece led the Lap 60 mark before Smith assumed full control during the next lap and so forth. Smith led through the Lap 89 mark before the caution flew as Chase Elliott got loose off the second turn, slid down the backstretch and hit the inside wall head-on. This latest caution period featured most of the leaders pitting, except for McDowell and John Hunter Nemechek. Amid the pit stops, Bell received a penalty for equipment interference. Zane Smith was also penalized for speeding on pit road.
With five laps remaining in the first stage period, the event restarted as McDowell briefly gained an advantage with the lead from the inside lane. Through the first two turns, Larson and Hamlin pinned McDowell in a three-wide battle as Larson motored ahead with the lead. Hamlin then used the outside lane to draw alongside Larson through Turns 3 and 4, with the battle ensuing throughout the frontstretch. By the following lap, Larson was able to clear Hamlin and maintain a steady lead while Chase Briscoe challenged teammate Hamlin for third place. By then, McDowell had fallen outside of the top-10 mark while Erik Jones, Reddick, Blaney, Gibbs, Preece, van Gisbergen and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trailed in the top 10, respectively.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 100, Larson captured his fourth Cup stage victory of the 2026 season. Briscoe, Reddick, Hamlin, Jones, Blaney, Gibbs, Preece, Stenhouse and van Gisbergen were scored in the top 10, respectively. And, 33 of 39 competitors scored on the lead lap.
Under the event’s first stage break period, most of the front-runners led by Larson remained on the track. Other drivers, including Jones, Buescher, Noah Gragson, Ty Dillon, Cole Custer, McDowell, Nemechek, Cody Ware and Ross Chastain pitted.
The second stage period of the Coca-Cola 600 started on Lap 108 as Larson and Briscoe occupied the front row. At the start, Larson received a push from Hamlin and motored ahead of Briscoe through the first two turns. As the field fanned out and jostled for spots through the backstretch, Larson led the next two laps before Briscoe drew alongside and overtook Larson entering Turns 3 and 4 by Lap 111.
Just past the Lap 125 mark, Briscoe was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin while Reddick, teammate Gibbs and Larson occupied the top-five spots ahead of Blaney, van Gisbergen, Stenhouse, Keselowski and Josh Berry, respectively. Briscoe stabilized his lead to eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin by Lap 130 before Hamlin narrowed the deficit to be within three-tenths behind Briscoe on Lap 140.
On Lap 143, Hamlin overtook Briscoe for the lead. Shortly after, green flag pit stops commenced as Byron pitted. More names that included Austin Dillon, Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek and Suárez pitted before Briscoe, Preece, Allmendinger and Corey Heim pitted by Lap 146. The leader Hamlin pitted on Lap 147 along with Larson, Blaney, van Gisbergen, Zane Smith and Bowman before more names that included Gibbs, Reddick, Stenhouse, Jones, Noah Gragson, Buescher and Joey Logano towards the Lap 150. Once the remainder of the field pitted under green, including Bell and Hocevar, Hamlin cycled back to the lead by Lap 155.
Just past the Lap 160 mark, Hamlin was leading the Coca-Cola 600 by more than three seconds over Briscoe while Gibbs, Larson, Reddick, Bell, Blaney, van Gisbergen, Stenhouse and Buescher were in the top 10, respectively. Hamlin added another second to his advantage, a four-second lead, by Lap 170, before the advantage slightly decreased to above three seconds at the Lap 180 mark. Hamlin would grow his lead back up to four seconds by Lap 190 as Gibbs, Briscoe, Larson, Reddick and Bell were in the top six, respectively.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 200, Hamlin claimed his fourth Cup stage victory of the 2026 season over Gibbs, Briscoe, Reddick, Larson, Bell, Blaney, Buescher, van Gisbergen and Stenhouse, respectively. By then, 17 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap.
Under the second stage break of the Coca-Cola 600, the field was brought to pit road for a brief intermission period. During the intermission period, the entire NASCAR community shared a moment of silence to honor and observe the men and women who sacrificed their lives in service of the United States of America on Memorial Day weekend. Once the intermission period concluded, the leaders pitted for service, and Hamlin exited pit road first ahead of Briscoe, Gibbs, Larson, Reddick, Buescher, van Gisbergen, Blaney, Stenhouse and Preece.
The third stage period of the Coca-Cola 600 started on Lap 207 as Hamlin and Briscoe occupied the front row. At the start, Hamlin dueled with Briscoe for nearly a full lap before he side-drafted his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate through the backstretch and just managed to motor ahead from the inside lane through Turns 3 and 4, which he led the next lap. By Lap 209, the caution returned when Katherine Legge, who had fallen off the pace and was driving below the apron in Turns 3 and 4, had a right-front wheel detached from her entry.
The next restart on Lap 215 featured Hamlin and Briscoe dueling for the lead for a second time. Compared to the previous restart, Briscoe managed to remain even with Hamlin for the following lap. But Reddick made a bold three-wide move on the latter two, sliding in front of Briscoe to lead the next lap. Reddick led the next four laps before Hamlin tried to assume it on Lap 222. Despite leading the latter lap, Reddick reassumed and maintained the top spot up to Lap 250 just as another cycle of green flag pit stops started to occur. During the cycle, Bell led seven laps before he pitted and Reddick cycled back as the leader by Lap 258.
At the Lap 270 mark and with concerns of wet weather looming towards the track, Reddick was leading by more than a second. Briscoe as Hamlin, Gibbs, Larson, Bell, van Gisbergen, Blaney, Logano and Stenhouse were racing in the top 10, respectively. Reddick continued to lead over the next 16 laps before Hamlin assumed the top spot on Lap 287. Hamlin would lead up to Lap 295 before Bell assumed it a lap later. Shortly after, the caution flew and the third stage period concluded under caution.
When the third stage of the Coca-Cola 600 concluded on Lap 300, Bell captured his third Cup stage victory of the 206 season. He won over his teammates Hamlin, Gibbs and Briscoe. Larson, Reddick, van Gisbergen, Keselowski, Blaney and Stenhouse were scored in the top 10. And, 19 of 39 competitors were scored on the lead lap.
During the event’s third stage break period, Timmy Hill had his event come to an end as his entry was on fire on the right side of his entry on pit road. Following an extensive caution period to have Hill’s incident cleaned, the lead lap field led by Bell pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Bell exited first ahead of teammates Gibbs and Hamlin while Briscoe dropped to seventh. Reddick and Larson exited in the remaining top-five spots, respectively.
With 88 laps remaining in the Coca-Cola 600, the final stage period commenced as Bell and Gibbs occupied the front row in front of Reddick, Hamlin, Briscoe and Larson. At the start, Gibbs briefly prevailed over Bell from the outside lane through the first two turns and the backstretch before he was pinned in a three-wide battle with Bell and Reddick.
Gibbs managed to fend off the latter two to lead the next lap. He spent the following five laps leading over Reddick, Larson and Bell before the caution returned. This was due to Stenhouse hitting Chastain in the rear, getting the latter loose and sending him spinning down the backstretch and making hard contact with the inside wall. Chastain’s wrecked entry then shot back up the track and was dodged by the field.
During the caution, nearly the entire field returned to pit road for service while Gibbs and van Gisbergen remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Larson, Bell, Hamlin, Briscoe, Jones, Logano and Zane Smith all exited pit road in front of Reddick following two-tire pit services.
With 74 laps remaining, Gibbs and van Gisbergen led the field to the restart, where van Gisbergen motored ahead through the first two turns. Van Gisbergen maintained a steady lead over Bell for two laps before Briscoe, who was mired in 13th place, bumped and sent Buescher into teammate Preece through the backstretch.
As Buescher spun through the backstretch, Preece and Briscoe collided as Briscoe hit the inside wall head-on while Berry hit Preece’s wrecked entry. During this caution period, some led by Gibbs and including Keselowski, Custer, Allmendinger, Stenhouse, Berry and McDowell pitted while the rest led by van Gisbergen remained on the track.
As the Coca-Cola 600 restarted with 63 laps remaining, Bell managed to outduel van Gisbergen for nearly a full lap as the former motored ahead during the next lap. Bell continued to lead over Hamlin, Reddick, Larson and van Gisbergen before the caution flew with 48 laps remaining due to reports of lightning six miles out of the track. The event, though, was not placed in a lightning hold as the reported lightning was moving away from the track, which kept the field under power and under a cautious pace. During this latest caution period, the field pitted and Suárez utilized a two-tire pit call to exit first ahead of Bell, Hamlin, Larson and Reddick.
When the event restarted with 31 laps remaining, Suárez launched ahead of Bell and Larson through the frontstretch. Suárez maintained the lead for a full lap while Bell was trying to fend off Hamlin for the runner-up spot. Suárez continued to lead in front of Bell and Hamlin over the next three laps before the caution flew due to reports of rain detected through the first two turns.
As the rain increased, the field led by Suárez was directed to pit road and the Coca-Cola 600 was placed in a red flag period for nearly eight minutes. Due to time constraints needed to have the track dried from the rain, the event was ruled official, 27 laps shy of its scheduled distance. As a result, Suárez was declared the winner by being the leader at the time of the event’s official ruling.
With the victory, Suárez notched his third NASCAR Cup Series career win, his first crown-jewel victory in NASCAR’s premier series and his first since he won at EchoPark Speedway in February 2024. He also achieved the second victory of the 2026 season for Spire Motorsports and the first for crew chief Ryan Sparks.
While celebrating his Coca-Cola 600 victory with his crew, Suárez was overcome with emotions as he dedicated his victory to Kyle Busch, with whom Suárez was teammates in both the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series divisions. Suárez also campaigned in two part-time Craftsman Truck Series seasons with Busch’s team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, and achieved his first victory at Phoenix Raceway in November 2016.
“This [win] really means a lot,” Suárez said on pit road on Prime Video. “I’ve been saying for years that this is my favorite race of the year. I get to have my family here every year. This is most of the time the only race that I get to come. It’s been a very tough week. Kyle [Busch], he was special. This one is for Kyle, for Samantha, for Brexton, for Lennix, for all his family. This is very special. Every win is special, but definitely, this one has a special flavor because of Kyle.
“If it wasn’t for Kyle, I wasn’t going to be an [O’Reilly] champion. I wasn’t going to have my shot in the Cup Series and to be able to win this race for him, it’s unbelievable. The [No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet] team did an amazing job. It wasn’t easy. We had a lot of issues throughout the race, but they put us in contention and we executed well. The car was fast.”
Christopher Bell, who led 44 laps and won the third stage, finished in second place while Denny Hamlin, who led 75 laps and won the second stage, settled in third place. Tyler Reddick, who led a race-high 119 laps, ended up fourth place and Kyle Larson, who led 14 laps and won the first stage, rounded out the top five.
Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, William Byron and Zane Smith completed the top 10 in the final running order, respectively.
There were 32 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The event featured 12 cautions for 75 laps. In addition, 20 of 39 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 13th event of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Tyler Reddick leads the standings by 122 points over Denny Hamlin, 174 over Ryan Blaney, 195 over Ty Gibbs and 197 over Chase Elliott.
Results:
Daniel Suárez, 17 laps led
Christopher Bell, 44 laps led, Stage 3 winner
Denny Hamlin, 75 laps led, Stage 2 winner
Tyler Reddick, 119 laps led
Kyle Larson, 14 laps led, Stage 1 winner
Ty Gibbs, 17 laps led
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
William Byron
Zane Smith, 31 laps led
Shane van Gisbergen, 11 laps led
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Erik Jones
Michael McDowell led three laps
Brad Keselowski
Cole Custer
Alex Bowman
AJ Allmendinger
Corey Heim
Todd Gilliland
Riley Herbst, one lap down
Bubba Wallace, one lap down
Carson Hocevar, one lap down, four laps led
Noah Gragson, one lap down
Ty Dillon, one lap down
John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down
Austin Hill, one lap down
Cody Ware, two laps down
Josh Berry, two laps down
Chris Buescher, six laps down
Katherine Legge, 12 laps down
Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident
Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident, one lap led
Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident, 34 laps led
Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident, three laps led
Timmy Hill – OUT, Fire
Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident
Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident
Connor Zilisch – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, May 31, and air at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video, PRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, May 24, 2026) – Felix Rosenqvist capped his magical May by edging David Malukas in a last-lap drag race to the Yard of Bricks with the highest stakes, winning the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the closest finish in the century-plus history of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
Rosenqvist rode the high line against the concrete wall exiting Turn 4 on Lap 200 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian and powered past the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet of David Malukas to prevail by .0233 of a second. The previous closest finish in “500” history came in 1992, when Al Unser Jr. held off a charging Scott Goodyear by .043 of a second.
“Unreal; I still don’t believe it,” Rosenqvist said. “It kind of worked out the right way when I got back to third, and then I just had to flat-out lap on the high line, and it stuck,” Rosenqvist said. “It was just the coolest way you can finish and win an Indy 500.”
The breathtaking race featured an event-record 70 lead changes over its 200 scintillating laps, breaking the previous mark of 68 set in 2013. With his second career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory, Rosenqvist became the third Swedish driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” joining Kenny Brack (1999) and Marcus Ericsson (2022).
Meyer Shank Racing also earned its second NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory – both coming in the most prestigious race in the world. Helio Castroneves captured his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in 2021 for the Ohio-based team.
The victory capped a remarkable month for Rosenqvist. He and his wife, Emille, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Stella, on May 4.
“I really miss my wife and my newborn child, Stella,” Rosenqvist said. “I wish they were here with me. This whole month, becoming a dad and winning the ‘500’ … We joked about it in the beginning: ‘Maybe you’ll win the ‘500’ and have a baby.’ It’s just unreal.”
Scott McLaughlin finished third in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet, as the fabled team placed two drivers in the top three but fell just short of a record-extending 21st Indy 500 victory.
Pato O’Ward placed fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, his fifth career top-four finish in seven “500” starts without a victory. Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five in the No. 66 Acura Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian despite taking the green flag in the lead on a one-lap shootout for the victory after a late caution.
An incredible .4360 of a second separated the top-five finishers. Rosenqvist’s average speed was 162.021 mph.
The one-lap dash to the checkered flag and immortality was set up when rookie Mick Schumacher brushed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 in his No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda on Lap 197.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap 199, with Armstrong leading to the flag stand with the white flag in the air and one lap remaining, with Malukas in second and Rosenqvist third. Malukas powered to the lead entering Turn 1 and started to pull away on the backstretch of the 2.5-mile oval with teammates Armstrong and Rosenqvist running side by side in a joust for second.
Rosenqvist, running the high line around the oval, nosed ahead of Armstrong in Turn 4 and set his sights on Malukas. With the checkered flag in the air ahead, Malukas drove his car toward the pit wall to try and break Rosenqvist’s aerodynamic tow. Malukas then moved toward the center of the track, and Rosenqvist quickly swung his machine back toward the top of the racetrack, just barely avoiding contact.
The two cars were side by side yards from the finish line when Rosenqvist nosed ahead and crossed the Yard of Bricks first by about a half-car length, the capacity crowd of 350,000 pulsating in delight.
It was the most important of the 629 on-track passes in the race, including 567 for position.
“I don’t know what else we could have done,” Malukas said as he choked back tears in his pit box. “We were the fastest car that whole race. I gave it 150 percent. I mean, I almost crashed this damn car every lap, and we still ended up with a P2.
“I just can’t believe it. I don’t know what else I can give. So close. This place, we’re going to come back and bring it everything. We’re going to give it 160 percent the next time.”
Said Rosenqvist: “Good job to Marcus and David at the end. They raced really cleanly. It’s because of drivers like that you get really good racing. Unbelievable.”
McLaughlin, O’Ward and Armstrong then crossed the Yard of Bricks three-wide in the sprint for third, capping a race for the ages.
The spellbinding finish was the final act of a dual-strategy drama that unfolded over the closing laps. O’Ward, Armstrong and Rosenqvist made their final pit stops on Laps 164, 165 and 166, respectively, right at the edge of the fuel window to finish the race without another stop under green-flag racing.
Meanwhile, Malukas, McLaughlin and pole sitter Alex Palou in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda were among a group of cars that were on a different sequence and had to make their final stops on Laps 175 (Malukas) and 176 (Palou and McLaughlin).
Malukas took control of that chasing group, but they were more than 20 seconds behind O’Ward, Rosenqvist and Armstrong with less than 25 laps to go. Rosenqvist, with two more laps of fuel than O’Ward, was content to ride in the draft of the Mexican and save even more fuel as both lapped nearly 10 mph slower than the chasing pack to ensure they could make it to the finish.
Rosenqvist finally pounced past O’Ward for the lead on Lap 185 and was headed toward Easy Street.
The chasing trio of Malukas, McLaughlin and Palou appeared to be running out of laps to catch O’Ward, Rosenqvist and Armstrong, but the field was bunched on Lap 192 when rookie Caio Collet slammed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, triggering the sixth of seven caution periods in the race.
Race officials immediately red-flagged the event for accident cleanup, with all cars pulling into the pits.
“It was the perfect situation for us before that,” Rosenqvist said. “We kind of had everything lined up. Pato was struggling with fuel, and we were pretty rich (on fuel) to the end. I was like: ‘This is going to be great. At some point you’re just going to pass him and hopefully cruise to the win.’ But then in the end, everything flipped upside-down.
“But you just have to reload. I was a little negative at first. I was like, ‘Of course, this happened.’ But then you just had to think forward. It actually was good when I got back to third because it felt like I was hunting instead of being hunted.”
Rosenqvist led the field to green flag on the Lap 196 restart after the 10-minute red flag period, with O’Ward second and Armstrong third. But Armstrong powered to the front in the four-wide restart with a bold outside move in Turn 1, with Malukas riding his aerodynamic coattails to second. But then Schumacher made contact with the SAFER Barrier to bring out the final caution on Lap 197, setting up the one-lap dash for glory.
NTT P1 Award winner Palou led a race-high 59 laps but finished seventh. Adding his 12 bonus points for earning the Indy 500 pole, Palou leads the series standings by 42 points over Malukas entering the next event, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday, May 31 on the streets of Detroit.
NIECE MOTORSPORTS NCTS RACE RECAP: CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY I
Event: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (134 laps / 201 miles) Round: 10 of 25 (Regular Season) Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway Location: Concord, North Carolina Date & Time: Sunday, May 24 | 10:00 AM ET
No. 4 J.F. Electric Chevrolet Silverado RST Driver: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Crew Chief: Mike Shiplett
Start: 34th Stage 1: 8th Stage 2: 17th
Finish: 9th Driver Points: N/A Owner Points: 29th
Key Takeaway: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the J.F. Electric team had a roller coaster of a day in Charlotte, but made the most out of it and nabbed another top-10 finish. Stenhouse Jr. rolled off from the trunk of the field due to the qualifying metric system, but he quickly found a way forward. The No. 4 Silverado broke into the top-10 on several occasions, but received damage later on in the race after making contact on restarts. Stenhouse Jr.’s pit crew made damage repairs which kept him in the hunt, and the Cup Series veteran was able to rally back for a solid ninth-place result.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s Post-Race Thoughts: “It felt like we passed a thousand trucks out there today. We started at the back and worked our way forward. On a couple of those restarts, I felt like I needed to clear some of the guys that were kind of holding each line up, and I just felt like I always picked the wrong line or did the wrong thing, which took us out of being able to run top-five. I felt like my truck was capable of it, but it just seems like every decision I made was wrong as a driver on the restarts. I feel like I kind of had a flat there, so I kind of felt it out a little bit, and then lost our track position. I was coming back through there and got some damage when those two trucks got together and came in, fixed the damage up as much as we could and then drove from dead last to ninth there. Our J.F. Electric Chevy was really fast, I was really happy with it. I had a lot of fun, but I’m just bummed that I never made the right decisions there on the restarts.”
About J.F. Electric: J.F. Electric is an electrical contractor that provides engineering expertise, backed by construction and installation know-how in a diverse range of service offerings, from utilities and commercial projects, to industrial and telecommunications customers. When having a long family history in an industry, a company not only builds on its knowledge and experience, it takes pride in cultivating a solid understanding of client needs, all the while nurturing strong relationships with its employees. Evolving through five generations of the Fowler family, J.F. Electric has matured into a well-managed and thoughtfully diversified electrical contractor which is poised to continue its growth and expansion into the future.
No. 42 Comprehensive Logistics Chevrolet Silverado RST Driver: Conner Jones | Crew Chief: Landon Polinski
Key Takeaway: Conner Jones and the Comprehensive Logistics team had some close calls throughout the race in Charlotte, but never gave up and earned a top-15 result. Jones started the time-shortened event in 22nd and was moving forward when he received damage on the right front of his truck in the opening stage. Jones nearly avoided a spinning truck on the backstretch, but picked up additional damage after getting slightly clipped on the right side. The No. 42 crew repaired his truck and made adjustments to tighten the handling up for the final run to the checkers. Jones crossed the line in 14th-place – marking his best finish of the year so far.
Conner Jones’ Post-Race Thoughts: “I think we just fired off too free, and we were consistently too free the whole run. I felt like every time I’d get in dirty air, we could do a little something, but we would end up getting free when someone would put it on our door pretty hard. We got the damage from the stack up down into turn one. There was not really much I could do; I got ran through from the back. Overall, I feel like it was a really solid day. Best finish of the year so far. Just can’t thank all of my partners, everyone at Comprehensive Logistics, Chevrolet, Scott’s Collectibles, and my Niece Motorsports guys enough. Our truck was really, really good today.”
About Comprehensive Logistics: Comprehensive Logistics (CLI) is a full-service inbound-to-manufacturing logistics partner specializing in high-volume, high-velocity, and highly complex operations, including warehouse management, value-added services, sequencing, transportation, and sub-assembly manufacturing. By integrating advanced technology, data-driven insights, and process engineering with experienced teams, CLI delivers high-precision, reliable logistics solutions tailored to evolving customer needs. For more information, please visit complog.com.
No. 44 Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet Silverado RST Driver: Andres Perez de Lara | Crew Chief: Wally Rogers
Key Takeaway: Andrés Pérez de Lara and the Acceptance Insurance team showcased resilience in Charlotte. Pérez de Lara had to start towards the rear of the field once qualifying was cancelled due to rain, but he navigated through the pack in the opening stage. The No. 44 truck had speed, and his pit crew gained him spots on multiple occasions. While running just outside the top-10 in the final stage, however, Pérez broke loose while running under another truck and went for a spin. Luckily, the truck did not receive any damage, and Pérez was able to continue on in the race. He was credited with a 19th-place finish.
Andrés Pérez de Lara’s Post-Race Thoughts: “It was a little bit of a chaotic race. We had to start in the back due to the metric, and I feel like we made some gains. Our Acceptance Chevy had some speed, but we just got caught in some bad situations throughout the race. That last spin at the end killed our chances at putting together a good result, but we have the speed. We’re ready to go back to Nashville and see what we can do there.”
About Acceptance Insurance: Acceptance Insurance is a proud member of Confie, the largest personal lines agency in the U.S. We believe in investing in the communities we serve by offering affordable insurance solutions so our customers can have peace of mind. Our agents and team members uphold our values, which include promoting excellence, responsibility and caring.
Acceptance has been in business for over 50 years. We have over 700 agents in over 288 neighborhood locations ready to give you the service, respect and savings you deserve. We come to you so you can find the solutions you need, regardless of your background and driving record. We offer easy solutions to meet your unique needs.
No. 45 Protect Your Melon North Carolina Chevrolet Silverado RST Driver: Ross Chastain | Crew Chief: Phil Gould
Start: 14th Stage 1: 11th Stage 2: 3rd
Finish: 29th Driver Points: N/A Owner Points: 8th
Key Takeaway: Ross Chastain and the Protect Your Melon team contended for the race win in Charlotte, but unfortunately were not able to finish. Chastain started mid-pack, but it did not take him long to find the leaders. Noting a tight-handling truck, the team made adjustments to free Chastain up in the second stage where he moved up to third. After making contact with another competitor on the backstretch, Chastain’s right front tire deflated and prompted him to lose track position in the final stage. Through strategy, the No. 45 made it back into the top-five once again, but the battery became disconnected in the closing laps of the race. With too little time to change it out, the team was done for the day in 29th-place.
Ross Chastain’s Post-Race Thoughts:
Interviewer: Ross, I know it wasn’t the finish you wanted out there, but your truck looked good for a little bit out there. How did it feel out there today?
“Yeah, I took the left front fender in at the start of the race, and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day. I knocked the right front off and the right rear quarter panel. We were still fast enough to compete, but that was just a very sloppy day on my part. I took a truck that could have won and knocked the fenders off it. Our Protect Your Melon Silverado was fast, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Huge thanks to all of the No. 45 guys for bringing us a great truck today.”
About the North Carolina Governor’s Office of Highway Safety: Dedicated to reducing the numbers of traffic crashes and fatalities in North Carolina, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program promotes efforts to reduce traffic crashes in North Carolina and promotes highway safety awareness through a variety of grants and safe-driving initiatives.
About Niece Motorsports: Niece Motorsports is a professional auto racing team that has competed in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series since 2016. The team is owned by Josh Morris of DQS Solutions and Staffing and the Fowler Family of J.F. Electric and Utilitra, and was founded by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. At its 80,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Salisbury, NC, Niece Motorsports is a full-service race vehicle build shop as well as a customizable fabrication shop for any manufacturing needs.
Follow the Team: To keep up to date with the latest team news, visit niecemotorsports.com or connect on Facebook and Instagram (@NieceMotorsports) as well as X (@NieceMotorsport).
Layne Riggs persevered to win a wild conclusion to the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 24, that was postponed to two days and shortened by 24 laps due to time constraints.
The 23-year-old Riggs from Bahama, North Carolina, led five times for a race-high 52 of 110-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row and was competitive by racing at the front for a majority of the event. With the event mired with a race-record 11 caution periods, on-track incidents, foggy conditions, and intense on-track battles towards the front, Riggs capitalized on the final restart by receiving a push from teammate Chandler Smith. This allowed Riggs to lead the final seven laps under NASCAR’s adverse conditions rule due to time constraints, to fend off Kaden Honeycutt and notch an emotional Truck victory in the wake of the passing of two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through a qualifying metric formula after inclement weather canceled Friday’s qualifying session. As a result, Corey Day, who filled in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST entry for the late two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, was awarded the pole position. He shared the front row with Layne Riggs.
The event was initially scheduled to occur on Friday, May 22, at 7:30 p.m. ET, but was first postponed to Saturday morning and a second time to Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET due to inclement weather that canceled both the event’s practice and qualifying sessions. Ultimately, the event was postponed a third time to 10 a.m. ET for Sunday, May 24, due to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ event occurring throughout the Trucks’ initial second time slate. Prior to the start of Sunday’s Truck event, NASCAR revealed intentions to use the adverse conditions rule to have the event at Charlotte complete by noon ET.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Corey Day gained an early launch from the inside lane while Layne Riggs struggled to launch from the outside lane. This caused the field to stack up and fan out through the frontstretch and the first two turns. Amid the early action, Day led the first lap over a hard-charging Kaden Honeycutt before the latter used the outside lane to duel with Day. Both Day and Honeycutt continued to battle fiercely for the lead until Day forced Honeycutt towards the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4. This allowed Riggs, who rebounded from his stumbling start, to storm past both and assume the lead on the second lap.
Through the first five laps, Riggs was leading by four-tenths of a second over Christian Eckes while Honeycutt, Brandon Jones, Day, Chandler Smith, Stewart Friesen, Leland Honeyman Jr., Jake Garcia and Ross Chastain were racing in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Luke Baldwin, who made early contact with the outside wall through the first two turns, plummeted to the tail end of the field in 36th place.
The following lap, the event’s first caution flew due to Shane van Gisbergen, who was racing towards the rear of the field, getting loose and spinning his No. 71 NationsGuard Chevrolet Silverado RST entry through the first two turns as he was dodged by Travis Pastrana. As the event restarted on the 11th lap, Riggs motored ahead of Eckes and Honeycutt from the inside lane and through the first two turns to retain the lead while the rest of the field behind fanned out through the backstretch. While Riggs led the next lap, the field continued to fan out and jostle for early spots through every turn and straightaway.
On Lap 14, Eckes and Riggs made contact for the lead through the frontstretch, with Riggs nearly getting sideways while trying to side-draft Eckes on the right-rear side. This allowed Eckes to move into the lead and both Honeycutt and Brandon Jones followed suit in second and third, respectively. Meanwhile, Riggs dropped to fourth place in front of teammate Chandler Smith as Eckes continued to lead by four-tenths of a second through the Lap 20 mark.
Shortly after, the event’s second caution flew due to Ty Majeski falling off the pace and coasting his No. 88 Menards/ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 entry through the apron. Majeski’s incident occurred not long after he pitted during the event’s first caution, and he dropped out of the lead lap category after he needed a wrecker to push him back to pit road. Teammate Cole Butcher would also drop off the pace, and he needed a wrecker’s push to assist him due to a mechanical issue. During the latest caution period, nearly the entire field led by Eckes pitted while some, including Justin Haley, Dawson Sutton, Frankie Muniz, Spencer Boyd, and Josh Reaume, remained on the track. Following the pit stops and with mixed pit strategies ensuing, Enfinger, who only opted for fuel for his entry, exited pit road first ahead of Riggs, Eckes, Chastain and Honeycutt, respectively.
With two laps remaining in the second stage period, Haley was pushed by Enfinger ahead of Sutton through the frontstretch before the field, including the front-runners, engaged in a three-wide battle for the lead. Amid the three-wide action through the backstretch, Eckes motored ahead with the lead and he retained the lead throughout the two-lap shootout.
When the first stage period conclude on Lap 30, Eckes captured his third Truck stage victory of the 2026 season. Brandon Jones settled in second ahead of Riggs, Enfinger, Honeycutt, Sawalich, Day, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jake Garcia and Giovanni Ruggiero, respectively, while 32 of 36 competitors were scored on the lead lap.
The second stage period started on Lap 35 as Eckes and Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes motored ahead with the lead from the inside lane as the field fanned out through the first two turns and the backstretch. As Riggs came storming through the runner-up spot, Eckes led the next lap while teammates Honeycutt and Jones battled for third place in front of Enfinger and Day.
On Lap 38, the caution returned due to Luke Baldwin’s No. 2 Team Reaume Chevrolet Silverado RST entry blowing up in smoke and flames through the frontstretch. Baldwin managed to steer his entry below the apron through the first two turns and park it before he exited under his own power. Following an extensive caution period, the event restarted on Lap 45. At the start, Eckes and Riggs battled for the lead in front of a stacked field before Riggs received a push from Jones to motor ahead. As Honeycutt tried to make a three-wide move, Eckes lost ground of the lead as Riggs led the next lap over Jones, Eckes and Honeycutt, respectively.
During Lap 46, the caution returned for a wild accident through the backstretch when Day, who was trying to fend off Giovanni Ruggiero for sixth place, got turned. Amid Day’s spin, his No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST entry briefly came off the ground before it landed back on the ground and pounded the inside wall hard on the driver’s left side. Day’s wrecked entry then slid back up the track and was hit by Mini Tyrrell while the rest of the field scattered to avoid the carnage. During the latest caution period, some including Ruggiero, Enfinger, Stenhouse, van Gisbergen, William Sawalich, Chandler Smith, Dawson Sutton, Frankie Muniz, Corey LaJoie, Kris Wright, Conner Jones and Leland Honeyman Jr. pitted while the rest led by Riggs remained on the track.
The start of the next restart on Lap 53 featured Riggs motoring ahead from the inside lane ahead of Eckes, where Riggs then threw a block on Eckes through the backstretch. As the field both scrambled and fanned out towards multiple lanes through the frontstretch, Riggs led the next lap over Eckes and Jones while Ross Chastain navigated his way up to fourth place in front of Daniel Hemric, Honeycutt and Ben Rhodes.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Riggs captured his second Truck stage victory of the 2026 season. Eckes followed suit in second ahead of Chastain, Hemric and Jones while Honeycutt, Friesen, Rhodes, Jake Garcia and Tyler Ankrum settled in the top 10, respectively. By then, 31 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap. During the event’s second stage break period, multiple competitors and front-runners led by Riggs and Eckes pitted while the rest led by Enfinger remained on the track.
With 68 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Enfinger and Connor Zilisch occupied the front row. At the start, Enfinger received a push from Ruggiero from the inside lane to motor ahead of Zilisch through the first two turns. Through the backstretch, Chastain and Honeyman Jr. made contact as Chastain nearly got loose while slipping through the backstretch’s infield. Chastain managed to keep his entry straight and proceed without drawing a caution despite sustaining a left-front tire rub. Another lap later, the caution returned due to Spencer Boyd spinning. At the time of caution, Ruggiero was leading ahead of Enfinger, Zilisch, Sawalich and Eckes, respectively.
The next restart with 62 laps remaining featured Ruggiero maintaining the lead form the inside lane ahead of Zilisch, Enfinger and a stacked field through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field fanned out through Turns 3 and 4 before navigating back through the frontstretch, Ruggiero led the next two laps as the event reached its final 60-lap mark. Two laps later, the caution flew due to Leland Honeyman Jr. spinning below the apron entering the backstretch and hitting the inside wall on the driver’s left side.
During the latest caution period, a majority of the field led by Ruggiero pitted for service while some including Ankrum remained on the track. Ankrum and Sutton, both of whom did not pit, led the field to the next restart with 52 laps remaining. At the start, Ankrum was pushed by Riggs from the inside lane to motor ahead through the first two turns until Riggs used the outside lane and a push from Ross Chastain to assume the lead. As Riggs led the next lap, the field scrambled, fanned out and jostled for late positions while Zilisch, who was racing in the top 10, was penalized for a restart violation.
With less than 50 laps remaining, Riggs maintained a stable lead over a fierce battle for the runner-up spot that involves Chastain and Riggs. Behind, Chandler Smith occupied fourth place in front of Zilisch, Hemric and Ankrum while Friesen got loose and barely touched the outside wall entering the frontstretch. The caution then flew with 47 laps remaining due to Kris Wright and Brenden Queen wrecking against one another towards the frontstretch’s outside wall.
During the next restart with 40 laps remaining, Riggs and Eckes battled for the lead as the adverse condition rule came into effect with only 15 minutes left before the noon deadline loomed. Riggs initially had the advantage at the start before Eckes received a push from Honeycutt to overtake Riggs through the backstretch and lead for the next lap. Eckes maintained the lead until Riggs reassumed it with 12 minutes left. With 12 minutes left, Friesen spun through the frontstretch’s grass, but he nursed his entry to pit road without drawing a caution. Amid Friesen’s incident, Riggs maintained the lead over Eckes, Honeycutt, Chandler Smith and Chastain before the caution flew with 11 minutes remaining. The caution was for Andres Perez De Lara spinning as he entered the backstretch.
When the event restarted with four and a half minutes left on the clock, Riggs received a push from teammate Chandler Smith from the inside lane to motor ahead of Eckes and lead through the backstretch. Eckes then dropped out of the top-five mark, and the field scrambled through every turn and straightaway as Riggs maintained the lead with three minutes left over Honeycutt, Zilisch, and Chandler Smith.
Then, with less than three minutes left, the caution flew when Chandler Smith, who was dueling with Zilisch for third place, got loose as he slid up the track while nearly making contact with Zilisch, spun down the track, and hit the inside wall head-on. During the caution period, the noon deadline struck, and the event concluded under caution. This awarded Riggs, who sported his college UNC Charlotte on his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford F-150 entry, the victory over a hard-charging Honeycutt.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com
With the victory, Riggs, who dedicated his victory to the late two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, recorded his seventh NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career victory, his second of the 2026 season after he won at the Streets of St. Petersburg in mid-February, and his first at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Riggs’ Charlotte victory was also the third of the year for both Front Row Motorsports and Ford, with Ford achieving a Truck victory at Charlotte for a second time ever.
“I hope [Kyle Busch]’d be proud of that performance,” Riggs, who paid homage to Kyle Busch by performing Busch’s signature bow on the frontstretch and fought tears of emotions, said. “Our hearts are really heavy this weekend and just been trying to struggling with it a little bit, and just trying to have my game face on and right . Great job to everybody at Front Row Motorsports. Thank you so much to my teammate Chandler Smith. He stuck with me and pushed me [on that last restart]. Super proud of him and the strong performance we had today. This is a track that [Front Row Motorsports] and the Nos. 34 and 38 have struggled at for years. We really got to it on the Ford Racing Simulator. We went to work and we got it done. “
Kaden Honeycutt settled in second place while Connor Zilisch rallied from his late restart violation penalty to finish third. Ben Rhodes and Giovanni Ruggerio finished in the top five while Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, Tanner Gray, Rick Stenhouse Jr., and William Sawalich completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were 18 ead changes for nine different leaders. The event featured 11 cautions for 53 laps. In addition, 27 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 10th event of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, Kaden Honeycutt leads the standings by 11 points over Layne Riggs, 71 over Christian Eckes, 75 over Giovanni Ruggiero, and 78 over Chandler Smith.
Results:
Layne Riggs, 52 laps led, Stage 2 winner
Kaden Honeycutt
Connor Zilisch, one lap led
Ben Rhodes
Giovanni Ruggiero, 12 laps led
Christian Eckes, 33 laps led, Stage 1 winner
Brandon Jones, one lap led
Tanner Gray
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
William Sawalich
Daniel Hemric
Corey LaJoie
Jake Garcia
Conner Jones
Shane van Gisbergen
Grant Enfinger, four laps led
Justin Haley, three laps led
Timmy Hill
Andres Perez De Lara
Tyler Ankrum, three laps led
Travis Pastrana
Dawson Sutton
Leland Honeyman Jr.
Frankie Muniz
Spencer Boyd
Stewart Friesen
Cole Butcher
Josh Reaume, one lap down
Ross Chastain, three laps down
Chandler Smith, four laps down
Kris Wright – OUT, Accident
Brenden Queen – OUT, Accident
Ty Majeski, 59 laps down
Mini Tyrrell – OUT, Accident
Corey Day – OUT, Accident, one lap led
Luke Baldwin – OUT, Engine
Next on the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, for the Allegiance 200. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, May 29, and air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM.
HONEYCUTT HOLDS POINTS LEAD WITH RUNNER-UP FINISH TRICON Garage puts all five of their Tundras in the top-10 for the second time in team history
CHARLOTTE, NC (May 24, 2026) – Kaden Honeycutt battled for the lead late before finishing second in a shortened NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon. The race, which was delayed four times from its original starting time of Friday evening, completed 110 of 134 laps before it was called. Honeycutt continues to hold the points lead.
TRICON Garage had a stellar team day as they placed their five Tundras in the top-10 for the second time in team history (COTA 2024). Honeycutt (second) was followed to the line by Gio Ruggiero (fifth), Brandon Jones (seventh), Tanner Gray (eighth) and William Sawalich (10th). For Jones, it is his third top-10 in as many Truck starts this season.
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) Charlotte Motor Speedway Race 10 of 23 – 201 Miles, 134 Laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Layne Riggs*
2nd, KADEN HONEYCUTT
3rd, Connor Zilisch*
4th, Ben Rhodes*
5th, GIO RUGGIERO
7th, BRANDON JONES
8th, TANNER GRAY
10th, WILLIAM SAWALICH
18th, TIMMY HILL
23rd, LELAND HONEYMAN JR.
26th, STEWART FRIESEN
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
KADEN HONEYCUTT, No. 11 Safelite + Foster Love Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
Finishing Position: 2nd
What would have one more restart done for you?
“I don’t know. Maybe would have won the race. We will never know. I thought that with Ben (Rhodes) behind me, I would have had a really good pusher to go and mix it up for the win, but unfortunately, we had the time clock. What else could you do. We couldn’t go more than five or six laps green today, really just a bad race for all of us. Really egregious, but thank you to Safelite, Foster Love, the whole 11 team, TRICON Garage, TOYOTA RACING, Mobil 1 – everyone that supports us, it is very much appreciated. Definitely could be worse. I definitely wanted to be the guy that gave Kyle (Busch) the bow there, because he definitely deserved it. If I had won, I was planning on giving Brexton (Busch) the flag, because he probably would have laid another butt whopping on us if he was here. Just a bad week for all of us; a tough weekend for the whole community. Hug your loved ones, appreciate them, tell your mom and dad that you love them even if you don’t have a great relationship with them. Life means more than racing for sure. Second is good, still have a points lead and we will fight in Nashville next week.”
GIO RUGGIERO, No. 17 First Auto Group Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
Finishing Position: 5th
How do you feel about the run?
“I feel good about the truck. Our Tundra drove really good. Just unfortunate that we ran out of time there at the end of the race, but just looking forward to going to Nashville and continuing to have speed and the handling we have had the last few weeks.”
Solid top-10 and helped TRICON get all of their Tundras in the top-10. Can you tell us about your race?
“Yeah, just not a very clean day for our Black’s Tire Tundra. I feel like this is one of our better race tracks for qualifying, so I was bummed out when it got rained out. Just starting 19th, 20th made it kind of tough on us. We fired off – I was too tight, so we tried to come down and make a small adjustment and just kind of got on the other side of it, and really just hopped around on either side of the balance most of the day. There at the end, we just went back to how we started the race and was able to get back through there with a good call by Jeff (Hensley, crew chief) putting tires on when he did, just a couple of good restarts. Not a super clean day, but hopefully we can build on it as we go into Nashville. We are in a little bit of a points hole, so hopefully this is a start of digging us out of that.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
ARCA Menards West at Colorado National Speedway: The Legendary Billy Green 150 Presented by NAPA Auto Parts Post-Race Notes
Reigning ARCA Menards West champion Trevor Huddleston (No. 50 High Point Racing / Racecar Factory Ford) led the final 126 laps to score his second consecutive victory in Saturday’s The Legendary Billy Green 150 Presented by NAPA Auto Parts at Colorado National Speedway. Huddleston took the lead from Sioux Chief PowerPEX Pole Award winner Robbie Kennealy (No. 1 Jan’s Towing Ford) at lap 25 and led the rest of the way.
The win is Huddleston’s fifth consecutive top-five finish to open the season; he is the only driver to finish in the top five in every race so far this year.
Kennealy finished second, his best finish of 2026. His 24 laps led were his first laps at the front of the field since he led three laps at Tucson Speedway in April.
Local favorite Cade Fox (No. 66 Champ Transportation / Grease Monkey Chevrolet) finished third in his ARCA Menards West debut driving for his Colorado National Speedway rival Eric Rhead. Fox, who celebrated his 17th birthday on Saturday, is a regular competitor in the track’s Grand American Modified division and finished one point behind Rhead for the championship in 2025.
Mason Massey (No. 19 Mongoose Power Solutions Chevrolet) finished fourth, his fourth top-five finish of the year. Despite his fourth-place finish, Massey drops to 20 points behind Huddleston for the lead in the ARCA Menards West championship standings.
Kyle Keller (No. 4 Nascimento Motorsports / Battle Born Chevrolet) finished fifth in his first ARCA Menards West start of the season. It’s the second top-five result for the Nascimento Motorsports team; they finished second at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway with Eric Nascimento, Jr. at the wheel.
Mia Lovell (No. 15 Pine Health Toyota) was forced to start at the tail of the 16-car field after a mechanical issue at the end of practice forced her Nitro Motorsports team to miss qualifying. Lovell patiently worked her way through the field and scored a career-best sixth-place finish.
Hailie Deegan (No. 16 NAPA Auto Care / Monster Energy Chevrolet) finished seventh after spending the bulk of the race battling inside the top five. Deegan earned one of her three career ARCA Menards West victories at Colorado National Speedway in 2019.
Cole Denton (No. 71 Jan’s Towing Ford) finished eighth, Gavin Ray (No. 7 Johns Manville Toyota) finished ninth, and Andrew Champman (No. 55 High Point Racing / Racecar Factory Ford) rounded out the top ten.
There were only two cautions, the first for a spin by Scotty Milan (No. 51 Scott’s Auto / Milemarker Chevrolet) at lap 50 and the second and final caution for the midway break at lap 76.
Huddleston’s margin of victory was 1.938 seconds; his winning average speed was 63.025 miles per hour in a race that took 53 minutes, 33 seconds to complete.
The next race for the ARCA Menards West is the NAPA Auto Care Greg Biffle Memorial 150 at Tri-City Raceway. The race is scheduled to start at 11 pm ET / 8 pm PT on Saturday, June 6 and will be streamed live on FloRacing. ARCARacing.com will have live timing & scoring data for all on-track activity and live race audio.
About ARCA The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio, and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States. Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly and regional tour racing all across the country, the organization to sanctions over 100 races per year in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, ASA STARS National Tour, ASA CRA Super Series, ASA Midwest Tour, ASA Southern Super Series plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. For more information about ARCA visit , or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing).
About Menards A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states. Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building. You’ll find a large selection of lumber, roofing, siding, construction blocks, trusses, doors and windows, plus cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, paint, plumbing supplies and more. To complete the job, Menards has quality hand tools, power tools, fasteners, electrical tools plus storage options and supplies for everyone from the weekend warrior to the pro!
Menards has what you need to complete your outdoor projects and keep your yard in tip-top shape including mowers, trimmers, blowers, pressure washers and more, plus a beautiful garden center stocked with plants, shrubs, trees, landscaping tools, grass seed, fertilizer options, outdoor décor and patio furniture. Menards also has everyday essentials like health & beauty products, housewares, pet and wildlife supplies, automotive items and even groceries. And at Christmas, an Enchanted Forest display area with impressive trees, lighting, decorations, ornaments, inflatables and more.
Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too! For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.
Ross Chastain emerged victorious in a bizarre, rain-shortened Charbroil 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 23.
The 2025 Coca-Cola 600 champion from Alva, Florida, led three times for 28 of 91-shortened laps. Chastain started in 14th place. The event was delayed over four hours due to inclement weather. When the event resumed in the evening, with damp and misty conditions, Chastain settled in third place at the first stage’s conclusion after battling towards the front.
During the second stage period, Chastain utilized two restarts, one on Lap 58 and another on Lap 66, to fiercely battle his competitors, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and Jesse Love for the lead. On track conditions continued to worsen, becoming damper and mistier.
After swapping the lead with Love on four instances, Chastain overtook Love for what would be a final time on Lap 72. Another lap later, he, along with several competitors, ran over a patch of oil that came off of Dawson Cram’s entry. It forced many drivers to drift up the track and make contact with the outside wall through the first two turns.
Amid the incident, Chastain retained the lead and remained on the track under a cautious pace to capture the second stage victory. A lap after the second stage concluded, he, along with the entire field, was directed to pit road. This forced a second red-flag delay due to the mist on the track. With track conditions not improving, NASCAR declared the event official 109 laps shy of its scheduled distance and awarded Chastain his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory of the 2026 season.
The event’s starting lineup was determined using a metric qualifying format after inclement weather canceled Saturday’s on-track qualifying. Per the metric formula, Justin Allgaier was awarded the pole position, and he shared the front row with rookie Corey Day.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Justin Allgaier launched ahead with the lead from the inside lane while Corey Day struggled to launch from the outside lane, which created a mini stack-up. As the field fanned out and jostled for early spots through the first two turns and the backstretch, Allgaier was challenged by Sam Mayer in a side-by-side battle for the lead, starting from the first two turns and carrying forth through Turns 3 and 4. Amid Mayer’s challenge, Allgaier led the first lap by 0.024 seconds.
Prior to the second lap, the event’s first caution flew due to Harrison Burton spinning in Turn 3 after making contact with Jesse Love. After the caution period was extended due to light sprinkles, the event restarted on the 11th lap. At the start, Mayer dueled with Allgaier from the inside lane until he motored ahead through the first two turns. As Allgaier fended off teammate Connor Zilisch for the runner-up spot, Day then challenged Zilisch for third place while Mayer led the next lap.
Through the Lap 15 mark, Allgaier, who reassumed the lead from Mayer two laps earlier, was leading by four-tenths of a second over Mayer while Zilisch, Austin Hill and Day occupied the remaining top-five spots over Ryan Sieg, Brandon Jones, Rajah Caruth, Ross Chastain and Sammy Smith, respectively. Over the next five laps, Brent Crews overtook Sammy Smith for 10th place. In addition, Day and Hill swapped for fourth place while Jones and Ryan Sieg swapped for sixth place. Meanwhile, Allgaier stretched his lead to more than a second over teammate Zilisch while Day trailed by two seconds in third place, along with fourth-place Austin Hill.
On Lap 25, a scheduled competition caution flew as Allgaier had maintained the lead over teammate Zilisch, Day, teammate Ross Chastain and Jones, respectively. During this caution period, nearly the entire field led by Allgaier pitted for service while JJ Yeley, Nathan Byrd, Dawson Cram and Joey Gase elected to remain on the track for a single lap. Following the pit stops, Allgaier exited pit road first ahead of Zilisch, Day, Jones and Chastain, respectively, and he cycled back to the lead when Yeley, Byrd, Cram, and Gase pitted their respective entries.
Then on Lap 33, the field led by Allgaier was directed to pit road and the event was placed in a red flag period for four hours, 21 minutes and 59 seconds due to rain falling on the track. When the red flag lifted and the field returned to the track under caution at 10 p.m. ET. During the caution period, some, like Jeb Burton, Blaine Perkins, David Starr, Joey Gase and Josh Bilicki, pitted while the rest, led by Allgaier, remained on the track.
When the event resumed on Lap 37 at 10:08 p.m. ET, Allgaier motored ahead from the inside lane and he maintained the lead for a full cycle while teammate Zilisch kept pace from the runner-up spot. Amid multiple battles that ensued within the field, Allgaier retained the lead for another lap (Lap 39) before Zilisch made a move beneath Allgaier entering the frontstretch and barely led the next lap. Amid the side-by-side battle, Zilisch briefly got loose through the first two turns. This allowed Allgaier to motor back ahead with the lead from the outside lane.
Then on Lap 41, Allgaier slipped up the track and got loose through Turns 3 and 4. This allowed Zilisch to make another move beneath Allgaier through the frontstretch as the former led while Day used the momentum gained entering the frontstretch to assume the runner-up spot. Allgaier then engaged in a fierce battle with teammate Ross Chastain and Day to maintain the runner-up spot while Zilisch maintained a steady advantage.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Zilisch captured his third O’Reilly stage victory of the 2026 season. Allgaier, Chastain, Day and Mayer followed suit in the top five, respectively, while Love, Jones, Caruth, Crews and Creed were scored in the top 10, respectively.
Under the event’s first stage break period, nearly the entire field led by Allgaier returned to pit road, this time for pit service, while Blaine Perkins remained on the track. Following the pit stops and amid mixed pit strategies, Allgaier exited pit road first after only opting for fuel to his entry. Austin Hill, who only went for a two-tire pit service, exited second ahead of Zilisch, Day and Love, respectively.
The second stage period started on Lap 51 as Perkins and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, the field stacked up as Allgaier used the outside lane to outduel Perkins through the first two turns and lead through the backstretch. Shortly after and as the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the backstretch, the caution returned when Creed bumped and got Jones sideways exiting the backstretch. This resulted in Jones colliding with teammate Crews and both went up the track and collided with Harrison Burton against the outside wall while the rest of the field scattered to avoid the carnage. As a result, the Toyota trio of Jones, Crews and Burton were knocked out of contention.
The next restart on Lap 58 featured Allgaier and Hill dueling for the lead through the first two turns as the field fanned out. Amid the jostling of positions, both Hill and Chastain used the outside lane to motor past Allgaier through the backstretch and Turns 3 and 4 before Hill led the next lap. During the following lap, Love overtook Allgaier for third place as the latter was fighting the grip from his entry. Soon after, on Lap 60, the caution returned when Mayer, who was racing in between Day and Zilisch towards the top-five mark, got loose, veered to the right and smacked the outside wall through the first two turns. The incident ended Mayer’s event with a wrecked entry and heavy right-side damage.
As the event restarted on Lap 66, Love executed a three-wide move beneath teammate Hill and Chastain through the backstretch to storm to the lead. As the field behind fanned out and jostled for spots, Love led the next two laps before Chastain dueled and overtook Love entering the first two turns. Both Chastain and Love fiercely swapped and dueled for the lead over the next four laps before Chastain managed to clear and slightly drive away from Love.
The caution then returned on Lap 72 due to multiple competitors, most notably the leader Chastain, Allgaier, Gray and Creed, hitting the outside wall through the first two turns after slipping through oil that came out of Dawson Cram’s entry. Following the chaotic incidents, Chastain maintained the lead and Allgaier pitted for fresh tires while Gray and Creed went behind the wall (garage area) for repairs.
As the event entered an extensive caution period to clear the oil off the racing surface. The track conditions also became misty. With the visibility becoming foggier and amid multiple attempts to have a late-race shootout to conclude the second stage period, the second stage period concluded under caution. Chastain was scored as the leader and the stage winner. Love settled in second ahead of Hill, Sawalich, Day, Zilisch, Ryan Sieg, Cole Custer, Carson Kvapil and Caruth, respectively.
Another lap later, the field led by Chastain was directed to pit road and placed in a second red flag delay due to the wet, misty conditions. With the conditions not improving, NASCAR declared the event official and Chastain was awarded the victory.
With the victory, Chastain notched his third NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career win in his 220th start, his first at Charlotte and his first driving for JR Motorsports. He also achieved his first O’Reilly victory since he won at Daytona International Speedway in July 2019 and the ninth victory of the 2026 season for JR Motorsports.
“I first watched a [JR Motorsports] car drive by me here at Charlotte in 2014,” Chastain said on pit road on the CW Network. He continued, saying, “I was on the apron in practice, and one drove by. I decided right then that I wanted to be in one [JR Motorsports car]. It took me until 2025 to get in one.
“That’s a testament to just continuing to work. I’ve asked and couldn’t raise the funds. I’ve asked if they were full. I had funds like there wasn’t room at the end…I did not think that we would win one like this, driving into the fence in liquid. I have no idea what it was, but I drove off into [Turn] 1 like normal, and there was something on the track. No matter how we win, I felt like we could’ve raced with [the field] again at the end.”
Photo by Logasn Allen for SpeedwayMedia.com
Amid his victory celebrations on pit road, Chastain took a moment to pay homage to his fellow competitor and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, the latter of whom died this past Thursday from a severe illness at age 41.
“This weekend, [it is] just incredible to try to grasp losing Kyle,” Chastain added. “I just don’t understand how he’s not here racing. I don’t grasp it mentally or spiritually. Obviously, racing is the best thing we can do to celebrate him and what he did in this sport and in his life. That feels good to win because it was a long time coming.”
Chastain, who has now won across NASCAR’s top three national touring series divisions at Charlotte Motor Speedway, would continue honoring Kyle Busch by performing Busch’s signature bow in Victory Lane before the former executed his own signature move by smashing a watermelon.
Meanwhile, Love was left bitter over NASCAR’s management of the overall event prior to the official call on pit road. Amid his frustrations, Love, who notched his third runner-up result of the 2026 season, took the lifelong lessons garnered in the wake of Kyle Busch’s death into perspective and tried to seek any positives while also paying homage to Busch.
“I’m mad,” Love said. “I think it’s a complete joke [with NASCAR] handling [the event] how they handled it. I was really mad when I got out of the car, for obvious reasons, get on top of the pit box and realize that I got to do interviews. Then I kind of realized if this week’s taught us anything, it’s that this all doesn’t matter as much as we think it does. There are things way more important than a trophy. As much as I’m angry and confused and upset, I also realize there’s a lot of hurt people right now. I think we can find some OK-ness and knowing that.”
Austin Hill, who is going to pilot Kyle Busch’s re-numbered 8 entry to 33 for this weekend’s Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 event, settled in third place while William Sawalich and Corey Day finished in the top five. Connor Zilisch, Ryan Sieg, Cole Custer, Carson Kvapil, and Rajah Caruth completed the top 10, respectively.
There were 14 lead changes for seven different leaders. The event featured six cautions for 54 laps. In addition, 29 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 15th event of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Justin Allgaier, who ended up in 29th place, continues to lead the standings by 145 points over Jesse Love, 167 over Corey Day, 186 over Sheldon Creed, and 216 over Brandon Jones.
Results:
Ross Chastain, 28 laps led, Stage 2 winner
Jesse Love led four laps
Austin Hill, one lap led
William Sawalich
Corey Day
Connor Zilisch, seven laps led, Stage 1 winner
Ryan Sieg
Cole Custer
Carson Kvapil
Rajah Caruth
Sammy Smith
Parker Retzlaff
Anthony Alfredo
Dean Thompson
Leland Honeyman Jr.
Austin Green
Lavar Scott
Patrick Staropoli
Kyle Sieg
David Starr
Ryan Ellis
Jeb Burton
Joey Gase
Blaine Perkins led three laps
Josh Bilicki
Nathan Byrd
Brennan Poole
Andrew Patterson
Justin Allgaier, 36 laps led
Jeremy Clements, one lap down
Taylor Gray – OUT, Accident
Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident
Dawson Cram – OUT, Engine
JJ Yeley – OUT, Fuel Pump
Brandon Jones, 29 laps down
Sam Mayer – OUT – Accident, 12 laps led
Brent Crews – OUT, Accident
Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule is Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, for the Sports Illustrated Resorts 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, May 30, at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, PRN Radio, and SiriusXM.
Tyler Reddick was awarded the pole position for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 23.
The event’s starting lineup was going to be determined through a single-car, single-lap qualifying session. A total of 39 competitors vying for 39 starting spots cycled around Charlotte Motor Speedway once to post the fastest lap amongst one another. The competitor who posted the fastest single lap was awarded the pole position.
Due to inclement weather, the event’s starting lineup was determined using a qualifying metric formula per the NASCAR rulebook. As a result, Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 Mobil 1/O’Reilly Auto Parts Toyota Camry XSE entry for 23XI Racing, was awarded the top-starting spot for this year’s longest, crown-jewel event on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
Reddick, this year’s Daytona 500 champion from Corning, California, is currently leading in both the driver’s and owner’s standings. He is also coming off a fifth-place result during the latest Cup points-paying event at Watkins Glen International (May 10). This year’s Coca-Cola 600 event will mark Reddick’s third time starting on pole position based on NASCAR’s metric qualifying formula, with his other two instances occurring at EchoPark Speedway in mid-February and Talladega Superspeedway in mid-April.
Reddick will share the front row with Ty Gibbs, the latter of whom finished in third place at Watkins Glen and is ranked in sixth place in the driver’s standings. Shane van Gisbergen, who won at Watkins Glen, will start in third place and share the second row with Michael McDowell, the latter of whom finished in the runner-up spot to van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen. Chase Briscoe, who finished in fourth place at Watkins Glen, will start in fifth place and share the third row with Ryan Blaney, with Blaney finishing in 11th at Watkins Glen.
Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon and AJ Allmendinger will start in the top 10, respectively, ahead of Denny Hamlin, who won last weekend’s NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway.
Notably, Austin Hill, who is driving the No. 33 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry for Richard Childress Racing will start in 13th place. Hill is piloting the entry that has been renumbered from 8 following the death of two-time Cup Series champion and former Coca-Cola 600 champion, Kyle Busch.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
In addition, Katherine Legge, who is attempting to become the first female competitor to achieve the Memorial Day ‘Double’ by competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, will start in 37th place for the latter event. Legge is starting in 26th place for this year’s 110th running of the Indianapolis 500.
With 39 competitors vying for 39 starting spots, all made the main event.
Earlier today, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ North Carolina Education Lottery 200 event at Charlotte was postponed a second time from 8 a.m. ET to 9 p.m. ET for Saturday due to inclement weather. The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ Charbroil 300 event at Charlotte also had its practice and qualifying sessions, but plans to hold the event at 5 p.m. ET. The Cup Series plans to host a Coca-Cola 600 combined practice session in preparation for Sunday’s main event.
Coca-Cola 600 – Starting Lineup:
Tyler Reddick
Ty Gibbs
Shane van Gisbergen
Michael McDowell
Chase Briscoe
Ryan Blaney
Chris Buescher
Austin Cindric
Austin Dillon
AJ Allmendinger
Denny Hamlin
Ryan Preece
Austin Hill
Daniel Suarez
John Hunter Nemechek
Chase Elliott
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Zane Smith
Todd Gilliland
Erik Jones
Cole Custer
Carson Hocevar
Bubba Wallace
Connor Zilisch
Brad Keselowski
Ross Chastain
Noah Gragson
Alex Bowman
Riley Herbst
William Byron
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Joey Logano
Josh Berry
Ty Dillon
Timmy Hill
Katherine Legge
Cody Ware
Corey Heim
The 2026 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 24, and air at 6 p.m. ET on Prime Video, PRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
TOYOTA RACING – Denny Hamlin NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
CONCORD, NC (May 23, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race from Charlotte Motor Speedway.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
What was it like for Kyle to come to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008, and how did your relationship evolve over the next 15 years?
“I mean, it was eye opening for one. When I signed my deal with Joe Gibbs Racing as development driver, it was kind of, I think it was the first year he going to run full-time with Hendrick in the O’Reilly Series. I just remember that, it was kind of him and Martin (Truex) and just those two guys going back and forth and just he was really, really good, but I didn’t really know until he got in the same equipment that I got in and I could see how fast he was and just generally how good he was. At that point, it was like this is going to be super challenging to be the fastest and the best at your organization. You are going to have a really tough time, as long as this guy’s your teammate. So just at that point when he came over and obviously set the world on fire, it certainly was eye-opening to me. To see kind of how in-depth he was with the race cars quite a bit different style than myself personally. But that was just kind of how he grew up is being super hands-on with the cars and he was very in tune with wanting to be involved with setups and things like that strategy. I was just a feedback kind of person. That was it you were just going to get the driving side of that from me. So it certainly challenged me to evolve and when I came into NASCAR itself, it was like, I come from short tracks. I didn’t come from a mile and a halves and stuff like this. It just was such an important part of my development process to have a teammate like him that was good at stuff like this, that I could learn from. So there’s no question, there was many, many instances where me and Kyle got to switch cars at a test, and at that point when I sat in the cars, I was like, okay, so this is what a winning car feels like. This is just not the direction that I would think, and then vice versa, we go to short tracks, he’d get in and be like, man, it’s a lot different than what I would shoot for, and that combo is what made us more rounded than we ever were as race car drivers, just having that opportunity. I’m just super grateful for the opportunity to work with them as long as I did.”
Are there things that the public doesn’t know that helped make Kyle great?
“Well, I mean, there’s some of it that just some people are just more skilled than others, and he was just far more skilled than 99.9% of the people that did it, and I don’t know how he did some of the stuff that he did behind the wheel. I was teammates and got beat by him more times than I beat him. Just, I don’t know. He was exceptional in what he did. I don’t know what that is. I think he had a really good upbringing and had his brother to kind of push off of. That probably was super helpful. He got to race all kinds of different cars when he was younger, started at a very young age, but there’s still that it factor that can’t be learned and that’s what kind of set them apart from everyone else.”
How would you like to see Kyle be honored going forward?
“I really don’t I don’t know the answer necessarily to that. Everyone pays tribute in different ways. It’s just like everyone grieves in different ways and some people celebrate in different ways. So, it’s very hard to say what is the right thing. You just try to do the, as a person, you try to do the right thing, and honor him yourself and try not to judge anybody else’s celebrations or tributes because they’re celebrating in their own way.”
What can you tell us about the level of intensity that Kyle held?
“It was definitely a level of intensity, but…I don’t know if arrogance is the right word, but he earned it. Like, he backed it up. Like, it was well earned. That’s what I think made him so good is that he could drive in on lap one lap of practice and say, it’s going to stick because I’m going to make it stick. and so that level of confidence is what makes the greats of sports better than everyone else. I never have been that guy that – every weekend we talk about, I got to work my way into this. I’ll see you on Sunday. He just had the swagger, and he had it when he was a rookie and he had it at all times. That’s something that just, uh, doesn’t come by too often and you saw kind of Michael Jordan’s documentary, right? Like his swagger and confidence that, and that just set him apart and allowed him to take himself to another level, and that as teammates, that’s what I saw out of Kyle’s. It’s just the ability to reach a level that it’s hard for me to comprehend or be able to replicate.”
Do you think there are things you are going to pay attention to health wise after this week?
“You’re crazy if you don’t have a certain level of paranoia at this point. I just know my side of things, we really try to prepare as best we can, and for all things that may or may not happen, and to try to not leave any burden to the family or anything like that, but you try to live every day to the fullest. That’s what this reminds us of, right? You try to prepare and all those other things, but at some time, you have to just enjoy the day and the moment that you’re in, because tomorrow’s not given.”
Was your interaction with Dover with Kyle your last interaction?
“It was good. I mean, we had laughs and smiles together. That was really a good opportunity. I wasn’t even aware that we were doing it together. I don’t think it was planned. I think he might have been early to that appearance. Quite unusual, but he was early. I think he was supposed to be before me or after me and instead went on with me for that one. But it was good. We got to talk about old people’s stuff (laughter). There were aches and body pains, things like that, and just they were listening off kind of our accomplishments and stuff, and it was like, Kyle, that just means that we’re old (laughter). That’s it. This many starts and got all these accomplishments. It just means we’ve been around a really, really long time, and so it was really good to have that last interaction with them and see them.”
What were you doing and what was your reaction when you got the news?
“I was at an autograph session and just kind of right in the middle of it. I got a call and I knew I needed to step away and take it for a few minutes and then come back.”
About Toyota
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