Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Coca-Cola 600 Midweek Media Availability
Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse, won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2023 and comes into this year’s event with back-to-back third-place finishes in Texas and Kansas. He took time this afternoon to answer questions from the media about his expectations this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU HAVE HAD A LOT OF DIFFERENT RESULTS AT CHARLOTTE. IS THIS A TRACK THAT YOU CAN CONQUER? “I hope we can still conquer it. We’ll find out this weekend, but it was cool to win this race a couple years ago. I grew up going to this race a lot watching dad run it. I spent a lot of time with the family. Memorial Day Weekend is always really special. Being able to see a lot of troops and meet their families around the racetrack and meet those families with their son or daughter that’s riding with us on our windshield is always a really special moment. It was neat to accomplish and a huge feat two years ago. Last year, I thought we had a decent run going and unfortunately we didn’t finish it, but it is a tough place. No matter what race it is at Charlotte, whether it’s the 600, whether it’s the Roval. It used to be the Bank of America 500 before the Roval and it’s just a tough place. The 600-mile race is just another test of your grit and your determination and what teams can outlast, what teams can stay in it all night and be where they need to be at the end. It is a tough racetrack, but that’s what makes it really gratifying if you can do it.”

HOW MUCH DOES ADAPTABILITY STILL FACTOR IN WITH THE TRANSITION FROM DAY TO NIGHT? “You really have to be able to adjust. That’s a huge swing. We all talk about it. It’s a big part of our meetings. What does the track normally start like and then once it starts cooling off, where does it usually go? And you keep that in the back of your mind. It’s like, ‘OK, my car is doing this, but when the sun goes down it’s gonna change.’ Is it gonna change for my benefit? Or is it gonna change for our detriment. We have to be ahead of that, so that part is a huge piece of what we look at and what we try to prepare for, and that’s another big thing of staying in the game. Sometimes your race doesn’t start off how you want. You’re kind of off the pace, but maybe it’s gonna come to you. You have all night to work on it. The track is gonna change. Things are gonna figure themselves out, it’s just how can the teams adapt to everything, so that’s a huge part of the 600 and that’s why you see a lot of guys who are strong early and struggle late, or guys who are struggling early and then come on at the end of that race. That’s why you see this huge change in the field.”

YOU WENT TO MEXICO CITY WITH CHASE AND DANIEL A FEW WEEKS AGO. WHAT WAS IT LIKE DOWN THERE AND WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THAT RACE? “That was great to go down there. We had a fantastic time. I appreciate everyone for hosting us, seeing the racetrack in person, getting to tour it a little bit and getting toward the area. I’m really excited. I’ve been excited since Day 1 and they announced we were gonna go down to Mexico City and run that racetrack. I used to watch Busch races out there. I’ve watched the F1 races. It’s just a great facility and one of the best parts about it was whether it was the media that was there when we did the press stuff or the fans that came out to the events, they’re all incredibly excited for us to be there. They’re really welcoming us with open arms and that’s all we can ask for because you never know. All of these new places we go, whether it’s there or Chicago or went to North Wilkesboro again a few years ago, you never know how they’re going to receive us, but it always makes us feel good as competitors like, ‘OK, they’re really excited for this race,’ and hopefully we put on a good show. I look forward to it. I can’t wait to get down there and then go compete.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI WAS PRETTY OPEN ABOUT SAYING NORTH WILKESBORO SHOULD BE A POINTS RACE AND THE ALL-STAR RACE SHOULD GO BACK TO CHARLOTTE AND DROP THE ROVAL. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE OF CHARLOTTE’S TRACK LAYOUTS SHOULD LOOK LIKE? “I watched Brad’s presser and I agree with a lot of what he said. I liked what he said. I was asked all week last week at North Wilkesboro it was like, ‘Should they have a points race? Should it stay the All-Star Race?’ Honestly, I could go either way. As long as we’re going there in some regard, I’m fine with it. Points or All-Star Race. As far as the Charlotte race, whether it’s two ovals or still keep it like we are, the oval puts on such a good show nowadays that it’s hard to not want another oval race there. The Roval puts on a good show as well, but I’m biased. I run better at the oval than I do at the Roval, personally, so I’ll side with Brad on that one and I’ll be on his team.”

HOW IS YOUR CONFIDENCE WITH BACK-TO-BACK THIRD PLACE FINISHES? “I think it’s gonna be a really good racetrack for us. I enjoy going there. We’ve put together really good mile-and-a-halves so far this year and hopefully that translates. I was actually able to be a part of a tire test in Charlotte a couple months back, so it was nice to get a little bit more track time. We don’t really get to test very often anymore, so it was good to spend a couple days going through some tires, working on some things we could work on with the race car, so I have high hopes. I hope they stay high come Saturday and seeing what you’ve got on the racetrack and when you unload. If you’ve got to go to work, you go to work, but I’ve been happy with where our program has been this year. Hopefully, it can continue and we can continue to improve.”

THE WINNER OF THE 600 GOES TO ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY THE FOLLOWING YEAR. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN THROUGH THAT, WHAT’S IT LIKE TO EXPERIENCE? DOES THIS RACE HAVE EXTRA WEIGHT ADDED TO IT? “It’s a really important weekend. I was lucky I was able to see it when I was younger and when dad was racing with what that weekend meant. It’s not just a race going on. You have to understand what Memorial Day Weekend is about and that experience when I was able to go to Arlington, honestly, before I won it I didn’t know that was a thing that they took the previous winner to Arlington and had a whole day. We got to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, do the wreath laying ceremony, just being a part of all that was really, really special. I tell you, it just puts it into perspective for you. I put it when they asked me about it a couple years ago, it puts it into perspective of how small you actually are in the grand scheme of things of what actually matters. A lot of people that have laid down their life to let us do what we do on a week to week basis, it really just reigns it all in. You kind of understand what’s really important. It was a humbling experience. I’m really hoping that I get the chance to go back to Arlington because I’d love to bring my dad to see everything. I think he would really appreciate the people you meet, hear the history, meet family members and things like that at Arlington. It’s definitely a special weekend. I think NASCAR does the best job out of any sport, whether it’s honoring our current military members, remembering the ones who have lost their life, I think NASCAR is second to none when it comes to that and I’m very proud of that. That’s the way it should be.”

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU SPECIFICALLY LIKED ABOUT YOUR MEXICO TRIP AND HOW THE WEEK WILL UNFOLD? “We had a fun couple days down in Mexico City, whether it was going to the Luchidor match, which I really enjoyed because I like wrestling. I was a big fan as a kid, so doing that and just going to a couple of the local eateries and being able to see the culture. It was really neat to me. I’ve been to Mexico many times, but it was my first time in Mexico City, so just learning about it. I learned about the city. I didn’t realize how many people lived in the Mexico City area. It’s like the second-largest city and that it was built on a dried up lake bed. I didn’t know that either, so I was doing a little bit of history reading before I went, so I just love visiting new places, experiencing new things, experiencing different cultures and part of my sport, racing, is like you find motorsports fans anywhere around the world. It’s just cool to have that connection, so I had a blast. I can’t wait to get down there. We’re there for a long time. We’re there Thursday to Monday, so if I can sneak away a little bit and find some new eatery spots or if you have any suggestions, I’m up for anything.”

THERE ARE SOME GOOD TACO PLACES. “I forget the one taco place we went to. I got a hat from it, but it was one of the best spots I’ve ever been to. I’m gonna wear that hat. I’m bringing it with me. I’m gonna free advertise for them.”

WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO WINNING THE LONGEST RACE OF THE YEAR? “The key I feel like is just staying in the game. Like I said earlier, there are gonna be ups and downs all night. The racetrack is gonna change. You’ve got 600 miles to figure it out, so just mentally staying in it, not only me, but all the guys staying in the game, doing their job right and what you want your race to look like at the 450-mile mark. I try to break it up that way into quarters – 150, 300, 450, 600. Where do you want to be at each stage of this race and what does it look like for the end of this thing. You’ve got to persevere all night and we were able to do that two years ago. We were really good early. We weren’t the best car in the middle and we got to be the best car at the end, so it was just like staying with it and staying in touch with the lead and what your car needs is some of the most important things.”

DOES THE WEEKEND AT NORTH WILKESBORO PROVE THE SHORT TRACK PROGRAM ISN’T AS BAD AS PEOPLE MAY THINK? WHY WAS IT SO RACY THIS YEAR? “Don’t get me wrong, the short track package can definitely be better. There are always things we can do to get it better. I think why you saw a really good race at North Wilkesboro was the track, even compared to last year, was a little bit wider this year, so it just gave you more options and more lanes to search around and get clean air. I just wish that this car would work better in not as clean air, where you don’t need a full lane or three-quarters of a lane of clean air to get it. I wish it was more like a quarter of a lane of clean air you’ll be fine, so I just think the track got wider and I think that’s one of the biggest things. A lot of these short tracks we go to really don’t have that wide of a racing surface. Martinsville, you’re on the curb where it’s hard to get clean air. Richmond, we run around a little bit, but the fastest lane is on the bottom. Bristol is like two lanes, either the bottom or the very top, so it’s just hard to find clean air at some of these places, but Wilkesboro had three, four different lanes that you can search around and find out where you need to go. I think that’s why you saw a pretty good race there.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE TIRE TEST YOU HAD AT CHARLOTTE AND RACING WITH IT? “We went through a lot of different tires at that test over two days. It’s easy to lose track of what compound and what mixture is that and that. I need a spreadsheet of what everything was, but I think it’s important we continue to work down that road of softer tires and things like that. I give it to Goodyear. They get a lot of grief sometimes, but it’s a hard job that they do trying to figure out what is the right mixture of everything. They don’t get a lot of tire tests and they just present it at the racetrack and they just cross their fingers and they hope that it’s a good race and tires don’t blow out and it’s what we asked for. That’s a hard job. It’s neat to work with those folks trying to figure out what is the best way, but it is important to continue to work down as soft as we can get, just tire wear, fall off. That’s just a big thing and they’ve done a good job. They’ve been working hard and being on the teams and drivers of what we think and listening to feedback, so I applaud them for that and hopefully we can continue down that path that we’re on. I think it’s a good path.”

WHAT IS THE TOUGHEST PART OF THE 600 FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT? “The physical side, I think, is tough. It’s a long time being in there. It takes it out of you. It’s usually fairly warm this time of year. The mental side is I think just as tough of staying in the game for 600 miles, trying to stay focused for that long. I always just try to look towards the future of that race because I know it’s so long, so I think just mentally staying in it is really, really tough. It’s a fast racetrack. You’re really putting your body through it each corner, but the physical said – I wouldn’t say it was easy, but I’ve always found that to be – I train for these situations and I do it every single week to make sure that I can physically be as good as I can, and then it’s just mentally how do you train to keep your mind in the right spot for that long and how to stay locked in for that long. I think just trying to combine those two things is a pretty difficult thing to do, but the guys who can do it the best end up succeeding and that’s one of the biggest rewards of that thing. If you can put in a long 600-mile night’s work in and if it pays off for you, my gosh, it’s so rewarding when you can do that and hopefully we can pull it off again.”

NASHVILLE FOLLOWS CHARLOTTE AND IT’S THE ONLY CONCRETE INTERMEDIATE TRACK. HOW DOES THAT MAKE IT DIFFERENT TO A TYPICAL ASPHALT SURFACE? “Multiple things. It takes rubber differently. I always think it’s fascinating that I tell people to look for at a concrete place like that is to watch the progression level of rubber as we get on it. The track starts off pretty white and then it just gets darker and darker as we get rubber down and you can really see lanes and where the top of the groove is and things like that. Sometimes on asphalt it’s hard to tell because the asphalt is dark already and rubber laying it down it’s hard to see the edge of grip, so it’s easy to point out where the edge is there, and then I think another tough thing from the driving side is, unlike asphalt, they pave concrete in sections. It’s like these blocks that they lay, just like driving. You get to a concrete section on the highway and you hear that noise. That’s what we go through in the race car, but we’re just going really fast and that’s amplified, so trying to get over those humps every 20-30 feet is pretty tough and it makes for a handful for the drivers. The different tire compounds. Goodyear builds a little bit different compound for a concrete track as opposed to asphalt just as a driver trying to find the grip level from pavement to concrete is definitely a tough one.”

THIS IS A BIG RACE WEEKEND AROUND THE WORLD. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT ALL OF THAT AND CAN YOU EXPAND ON THE MENTAL SIDE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER? “It’s the biggest weekend in motorsports. I get up Sunday morning and watch Monaco, and then I get ready for Indy. I usually watch Monaco from my house, at least the first part, and I catch the end of it at the bus, and then I watch Indy at the racetrack, and then I get ready to go, so it’s just a fun day for me too, to watch and then participate in one of the races. Mentally, I think it’s a great example of what you said. People might be walking by the TV screen, take a glance, get distracted by something else and go do something else. I can’t do that. I’m locked in. I can’t get out of this thing. If you break concentration once, your race is over. You’re wrecking or things like that, so how do you operate with 100 percent of focus for four-plus hours, for 600 miles. That’s a pretty difficult task for sure, so we work really hard at that. It’s really tough to keep your concentration for that long and especially in the tense sport of what we’re doing. How do you stay calm in those situations for that long as well? So, attention spans are hard. I’m not very good with my attention span with most other things, but racing I can stay locked in because I care about it a lot and it’s my job, but it’s tough. When you’re in it, it’s easier if that makes sense. When you’re doing it, it’s easier to be locked in than if you’re just watching it. I’m not as locked in as these guys running the Indy 500 because I’m not racing in the Indy 500, but I am locked in when I’m doing my job and you’re in your sport. It just kind of varies. It’s hard to be in people’s shoes for sure, but it’s just something we train really hard for and that’s every week. It’s the same every week, but this one is just a little bit longer.”

DO YOU PREPARE DIFFERENTLY FOR A PLACE LIKE CHARLOTTE, WHERE YOUR RESULTS HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THE SPECTRUM, AND COULD THIS WEEKEND BE A TURNING POINT GOING INTO THE SUMMER? “I hope so. I hope it’s a good weekend. I feel like the big thing that I try to work on all the time is how do you deal with highs and lows? I always call it riding the wave. You’re gonna be up and down and it’s just how do you get over that and if you’re on the down side how do you mentally breakthrough to try to not be in a mental slump? How do you stay confident in yourself and your team and then kind of rise to the occasion. I’ve had all of the above at Charlotte, from a bunch of success there to don’t finish the races and that’s just kind of the way it goes in this sport. That’s just the way it is, but I work really hard on trying to just be always looking positive and forward no matter how good or bad it’s going. I always try to look at what we can do next. How can we continue working and just be better as a group week to week? Luckily, I have a great group of people around me that have that same mentality, no matter if we don’t finish the weekend before, if we win the weekend before, it’s the same type of hunger and drive to just be better altogether the next weekend. I think that’s now we’ve cultured ourselves in the 12 camp and that’s a cool group to be around. When everyone’s mindset is aligned like that, you’ll have this common thinking.”

TEAM PENSKE HAS BEEN LOCKED IN ON INTERMEDIATES ALL YEAR. HOW FAR AHEAD DO YOU FEEL PENSKE IS COMPARED TO THE LAST COUPLE OF YEAR? “I think we’re way ahead. I’ve been really excited with the start of the year that Team Penske as a whole has had. Obviously, I would have liked to have won already, but we’ve been in contention and some of the things that have shown that we’ve had bad finishes, we haven’t really done anything wrong. We’ve had a couple engine issues that we resolved, getting in a wreck early at Talladega and finishing last, and then getting in a wreck at Vegas with a fast car. Our cars have been really, really fast and I think at the end of the day it just comes down to preparation and people and understanding where we need to be better. Last year, in the beginning of the year we had a new car, a new Mustang nose, so I think trying to get in a happy spot aerodynamically with that was a challenge for us and all of the Ford teams to try to figure out, ‘OK, what is the right combination,’ because it was different than the year before in ‘22. It took us a little bit to get our arms wrapped around it, but once we did I think we’ve really taken off and we just haven’t let up. The success that we had from the summer to the end of last year has just carried over. It’s just people figuring it out and trying to find ways to be better. It’s been nice. I’m really proud of the effort of all our folks at Team Penske for putting the effort in and Ford and everybody understanding where we need to be and then applying it. Hopefully, we can continue to build off the speed we’ve had early and keep it through the summer and into the fall.”

• In 12 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Spire Motorsports has logged two top-20 finishes. Corey LaJoie posted a team-best 17th-place result in the 2023 Coca-Cola 600. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet ZL1s in the Cup Series for Justin Haley, Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
• The Coca-Cola 600 will be streamed live on Amazon Prime, Sunday, May 25 beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 13th of 36 points-paying races on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Justin Haley – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

• Justin Haley will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
• Haley and the No. 7 team will honor Army Staff Sgt. Bobby Franklin in Sunday’s 400-lap race. Franklin was killed in Baghdad, Iraq, on August 20, 2003, at 38 years of age when his vehicle struck an IED hidden in roadside debris. Franklin was assigned to the North Carolina National Guard’s 210th Military Police Company.
• Spire Motorsports partnered with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and the N.C. National Guard this past December for the 2024 CMPD Explorer’s Christmas Project. The team sponsored last year’s program and facilitated the donation of 15 pallets of racing memorabilia. Haley and crew chief Ryan Sparks helped CMPD officers sort and load donations for deployment by the NC National Guard into Western N.C. communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.
• The 26-year old has recorded four Cup Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has logged a 22.0 average start, a 23.0 average finish and earned one top-15 showing.
• On Monday, May 30, 2023, Haley set the record for most miles completed in NASCAR national touring series events in one day. The then 24-year-old driver competed in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 and the Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 after the events were pushed to Memorial Day due to weather. Haley started the day with a 15th-place finish in NASCAR’s only 600-mile event and was on track for a top-10 showing in the Xfinity Series before he was forced to pit late in the event for fuel. He finished the day’s undercard one lap behind the leaders. In total, Haley racked up 898.5 miled, topping the previous record of 851.2 held by both Clint Bowyer and NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kevin Harvick.
• The Winamac, Ind., native earned his best NASCAR Xfinity Series finish at Charlotte in May 2019, a fifth-place result in this first of four starts at the 1.5-mile oval. He logged a 13.8 average start, a 16.3 average finish with just one finish outside the top 20.
• In his previous starts on intermediate tracks this season, Haley has a 10th-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway and top-15 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
• Founded in 2018, Gainbridge® is an insurtech subsidiary of Group 1001 that empowers consumers to take control of their financial future with solutions that are accessible to everyone, no matter their budget or financial knowledge. Its platform provides access to financial products that are simple, intuitive, and backed by smart technology with no complexity or hidden fees. Gainbridge® is headquartered in Zionsville, Ind. For more information, visit www.gainbridge.io or follow and connect with us on X and LinkedIn.
• Last week at North Wilkesboro Speedway Haley finished seventh in the All-Star Open. It was his fifth appearance in the precursor to the All-Star Race.

With the Coca-Cola 600 being the longest race of the season, how do you and your team prepare mentally and physically for such a demanding night?
“The Coca-Cola 600 at home in Charlotte is always a favorite. Two years ago, I did the Xfinity race and the Cup race on the same day, which was quite eventful and something I’ll never be able to top. But knowing I’ve come close to completing 900 miles on the same track in one day makes the 600-mile Cup race seem a little less demanding. We’ve had so much speed in our 1.5-mile program and I’m excited to get a handle on it Saturday evening. This is the longest race of the year and where we can score the most points. The biggest thing we need to work on is getting in a better position to execute on restarts and we’ll have a couple of shots at that with four stages in Sunday’s race. This race is always an important one for teams and for the families of the military members that we are honoring.”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Ryan Sparks

• Ryan Sparks, Spire Motorsports competition director and crew chief for driver Justin Haley, has called six Coca-Cola 600s with a best finish of 17th with Corey LaJoie in the 2023 edition of “NASCAR’S Longest Night.”
• As an engineer at Richard Childress Racing, the 41-year-old helped Austin Dillon earn his first-career NASCAR Cup Series victory in the 2016 Coca-Cola 600. Dillon managed a fuel load across a 67-lap run to the checkers to secure the first win for the historic No. 3 Chevrolet since Dale Earnhardt, Sr., at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October 2000.
• The Winston Salem, N.C., native has called 178 NASCAR Cup Series races where he’s earned three top-five and nine top-10 finishes. He was first paired with Haley at Bristol Motor Speedway in September 2024.

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

• Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Delaware Life/Veterans 1001 Chevrolet ZL1 in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• The No. 71 Chevrolet will carry a patriotic Delaware Life/Veterans 1001 paint scheme this weekend, proudly displaying the names of Group 1001 employees who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces on the hood.
• As part of the 600 Miles of Remembrance, McDowell will carry the name of Specialist James Waters on the windshield of the No. 71 Chevrolet. Waters was a 2008 graduate of Whiteland High School in Whiteland, Ind., where he participated in football and wrestling. He loved camping with friends and spending time with others. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as an infantry gunner stationed at Fort Drum. Just four months into deployment, Waters was tragically killed in an IED attack in Afghanistan. His legacy lives on through his three brothers—two of whom also became infantrymen, and one who serves as a medic.
• McDowell will also honor Lt. Col. Orlando Bandeira and Staff Sgt. Chester J. McBride, whose names will be featured on the passenger-side name rail during Sunday’s Memorial Day Weekend tribute.
• The No. 71 team heads into the 600-mile classic fresh off a $100,000 payday and a trip to Victory Lane after winning Friday’s Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The crew’s blazing 12.587-second stop topped both all entries for the All-Star Open and All-Star Race, earning the title of fastest team on pit road.
• With NASCAR’s longest race on deck, McDowell looks to build on his season-best intermediate finish of 16th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 40-year-old veteran returns to Charlotte with added confidence after leading 13 laps at Texas Motor Speedway in April. His promising run there ended just two laps short of the finish following contact with the turn two wall, resulting in a 23rd-place effort.
• Through the first 12 races of the 2025 campaign, the Glendale, Ariz., native owns an average starting position of 13.9, including four starts inside the top 10.
• Delaware Life is an insurance and annuity company that empowers financial professionals with a wide array of customizable solutions. A subsidiary of Group 1001 Insurance Holdings LLC, Delaware Life focuses on delivering a seamless experience for advisors. The company understands how important it is to find the right fit for every client, every situation and every individual need. Delaware Life is passionate about equipping advisors with annuities that give their customers peace of mind and a successful future, allowing them to plan with confidence for whatever’s next.
• VETERANS 1001, Honoring Service. Empowering Veterans. At Group 1001, we recognize the dedication, sacrifice, and unique experiences of our military veterans, service members, and their families. The Veterans 1001 Employee Resource Group (ERG) is a community designed to support, connect, and empower our veteran employees while fostering a workplace culture that values their contributions. We welcome all employees who are veterans, military spouses, veteran family members, and others who are passionate about supporting those who have served.
• McDowell has claimed three Xfinity Fastest Lap awards this season, clocking the fastest lap in the Daytona 500, Phoenix Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. He stands as the only driver in the Cup Series to have secured three bonus points via the program.
• McDowell secured Spire Motorsports’ first Busch Light Pole Award at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. His 28.833-second lap marks the fastest lap in NASCAR’s seventh-generation Cup Series car (2022-present) at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval.

Michael McDowell Quotes:
Is it a little extra preparation for you physically for a race of this length with the heat, and talk about how important the weekend is outside of your physical preparation?
“Yeah, I think it is. I just up my calories as far as my intake goes for the day, but other than that, it’s pretty much business as usual. I think the harder part of that is just the time of when you start the race and the track’s transition from day to night paired with the speed differences. Charlotte is just one of those really temperature-sensitive tracks. Even throughout the years—whether it was a repave or going through this Next Gen car—it’s just super, super sensitive to the temperature change and more track temperature. The sun going down and not beating on the racetrack changes the dynamic of the last half of that race. Making good adjustments and all those things—I feel like that’s the hardest part. You can be decent in the beginning and then really bad at the end, and vice versa. You can be bad at the beginning and get to where you need to be, especially with this car, with the heights being so important.

It’s a fun race, but a hard race. It builds, and you can kind of feel that it builds toward the end. Most weekends, you feel like you don’t have enough time—here at Charlotte, you feel like you have a little bit of time. More than anything, it’s just one of the coolest weekends in racing altogether. I love it. I grew up loving motorsports and watching the Indianapolis 500, watching the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Coca-Cola 600. It’s just a fun weekend as a fan and as a competitor. It’s special, being on Memorial Day and always carrying a fallen soldier on the car. I have Specialist James Waters on the car of the United States Army, and it’s always a privilege and honor to do that. It’s a great reminder of what freedom is and what it’s not. So, it’s a special weekend.”

Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Travis Peterson

• Crew chief Travis Peterson calls the shots for Michael McDowell and the No. 71 team.
• As a race engineer at JR Motorsports, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte graduate helped Chase Elliott to a top 10 in the 2014 Xfinity Series event. Elliott started from the pole position and led 66 laps on the day.

Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

• Carson Hocevar, driver of the Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet ZL1 for Spire Motorsports, will make his second NASCAR Cup Series start in the longest race of the year, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 22-year-old driver finished 21st in his first appearance at the 1.5-mile oval last May.
• In honor of Memorial Day Weekend, the No. 77 team will honor Sargeant First Class Michelle Young of the Arizona Army National Guard. SFC Young joined the military in November 2007 and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2013 and again in 2021. Young served in the 98th Aviation Troop Command and for most of her 16-year military career was an aviation operations noncommissioned officer. She loved being a mother to her daughter Gracie, was passionate about body building and fitness, and spent her time volunteering at the local homeless shelter and a crisis hotline.
• The Coca-Cola 600 is the third and final leg of the Greatest Day in Motorsports which begins with the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo on Sunday morning. The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge fills the afternoon time slot before NASCAR’s premier series takes to the Charlotte oval late into the night.
• When the Cup Series takes the green flag on Sunday, Hocevar will be one-week removed from claiming victory in the 2025 All-Star Open to earn a berth into his first All-Star Race. The Portage, Mich., native qualified second and took the lead at the Lap-50 competition break following a two-tire pit stop. He led the final 46 laps to advance to the main event where he drove to an 11th-place finish.
• The Cup Series’ last two points-paying races were contested on 1.5-mile ovals. On May 4 at Texas Motor Speedway, Hocevar earned his first career Cup Series pole, led 22 laps and was in contention for a top-five finish before a late-race caution caught the No. 77 a lap down to the leaders. More recently on May 11, Hocevar led four laps at Kansas Speedway and was battling for a top-10 finish when a flat tire with less than 20 laps remaining forced the team to pit under green-flag conditions. In both events, the team completed the race but was unable to crack the top 20 by the checkered flag.
• The Spire Motorsports driver has three previous NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Charlotte. Hocevar finished fourth in May 2023, his most recent start at the 1.5-mile oval, but recorded a venue-best finish at Charlotte in May 2021, leading five laps en route to a runner-up result.
• The 2024 Rookie of the Year owns one NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Charlotte. He started 15th in the Alsco Uniforms 300 on May 29, 2023, and finished eighth in just his third start in the series.

Carson Hocevar Quotes
We’ve seen the No. 77 team come to life on the mile-and-a-half tracks as of late. How can the team capitalize on the extra long event to find success?
“Our intermediate track program has come a long way since even the start of the year. As a whole, the organization has won the pole twice on mile-and-a-halfs and we’ve been up front at nearly every race so far. For us, it comes down to having the time to recover from things that happen late in the race. It happened at Texas with a caution that seemed bad but worked out in our favor before we got caught in an incident. Then at Kansas we just ran out of laps with a flat tire coming so late in the game. Hopefully we don’t need to take advantage of having four stages to recover from anything. We have the speed, it’s just about putting all the little pieces together to reach the end goal.”

Last weekend was a big weekend for Spire Motorsports, winning the Pit Crew Challenge with the No. 71 team and advancing to the All-Star Race with the No. 77 team. How does a weekend like that change the environment in the shop?
“It’s more positive for sure. Every week we’ve had something to celebrate, and we kept it going. People outside of this building are noticing the payoff of the effort that everyone is putting in and it’s a lot easier to take the disappointment of an 11th-place finish when there is a win to celebrate. It shows a lot of progress that we can even be disheartened by missing out on a top 10, so I think it changes it a lot in a good way, but just makes everyone that much hungrier for the next win.”

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Luke Lambert

• Crew chief Luke Lambert has called 17 Cup Series races on the Charlotte oval, 10 of those coming in “NASCAR’s Longest Night.” His best finish in the Coca-Cola 600 came was an eighth-place effort with Chris Buescher in 2021. Four of his six top-10 finishes atop the box at Charlotte came in the Coca-Cola 600.
• The Mount Airy, N.C., native has called three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at “America’s Home for Racing,” all resulting in top-10 qualifying efforts and top-five results. He led driver Elliott Sadler to the pole position in the October 2012 Dollar General 300 and called his final Xfinity Series race at the Concord, N.C., oval in May 2022 with Noah Gragson finishing fourth.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on May 10, 2025, when Carson Hocevar took the checkered flag in the Heart of Health Care 200 at Kansas Speedway.

In 2025, Spire Motorsports campaigns the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team also fields the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the No. 77 Chevrolet in the ARCA Menards Series in select events.

EVENT: Cola-Cola 600
DATE: May 25, 2025
RACE: NASCAR Cup Series | Race 13 of 36
TRACK: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C. | 1.5-mile intermediate oval
CLUB MINUTES:

JJ 700: Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is set to mark a significant milestone at the Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) on May 25 with his 700th Cup Series start. It’s a poignant moment for Johnson, returning to the venue where he kickstarted his Cup Series journey back in 2001.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN: Johnson got his first taste of NASCAR Cup Series competition by running three races in 2001 with Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 48 Power of Pride Lowe’s Chevrolet, a car co-owned by Rick Hendrick and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon. Johnson’s first start was Oct. 7, 2001, at Charlotte, followed by races at Homestead and Atlanta that same year. While the results – finishes of 25th, 29th, and 39th – were modest, it marked the beginning of a legendary career.

HOUSE JJ BUILT: Johnson has earned legendary status at Charlotte Motor Speedway with four victories in the Coca-Cola 600 (2003, 2004, 2005, 2014), four in the Bank of America 500 events (2004, 2005, 2009, 2016), and four All-Star Race wins (2003, 2006, 2012, 2013).

OCT. 7, 2001 IN HISTORY: On October 7, 2001, President George W. Bush launched US military operations in Afghanistan, marking the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom as a direct response to the September 11th terrorist attacks. Johnson was just 26 years old at the time.

KENSETH AT CHARLOTTE: Competition advisor Matt Kenseth’s most significant accomplishment at Charlotte Motor Speedway is winning the Coca-Cola 600 in 2000 as a rookie. He remains the only rookie to win that prestigious race. In addition to his 2000 victory, Kenseth also won the pole for the fall 500-mile event race in 2015 and the All-Star Race in 2004. He also finished fourth in the Coca-Cola 600 in 2005.

RICHARD PETTY AT CHARLOTTE: “The King” made 64 starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, beginning with the track’s inaugural race in 1960 and continuing through his retirement in 1992. During that span, he claimed five victories (1961, 1975, 1977, and 1983), earned three pole positions, recorded 23 top-five finishes, 31 top-10s, and led a total of 1,702 laps.

CLUB MEMBERS WHO SERVED: This Memorial Day weekend, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB takes time to honor and recognize those who have served—and continue to serve—in the United States Armed Forces.

Carl Garcia, mechanic for the No. 42 team, served in the U.S. Army. Earl Barban, longtime spotter for Johnson, served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and is a recipient of the Navy Achievement Medal. Zach Casada, mechanic on the No. 43 team, served in the U.S. Army. Shop Foreman Tony Cardamone served in the United States Coast Guard. Additionally, Joshua Horton, a mechanic on the No. 42 team, and Matt Ridgeway, who works in the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB shop, both served in the U.S. Army. Hieu Bui, who is in the IT department, also served in the United States Marine Corps.

NEVER SETTLE: Join ESPN’s Marty Smith and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s co-owner, Johnson for their weekly podcast, “Never Settle”. The podcast airs live on SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90 at 2 p.m. ET every Wednesday and can be downloaded wherever fans source their podcasts. This week’s guest is Seven-time NASCAR Champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty “The King”.

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
ALL-STAR RECAP: Last weekend at North Wilkesboro, Nemechek started eighth in the NASCAR Open, needing a top-two finish to advance to his first NASCAR All-Star Race. Thanks to a valiant effort by everyone on the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team, he was able to secure that spot and make the transfer. Starting deep in the field for the All-Star Race, Nemechek delivered valuable track time that helped the team gain insights and continue developing their short track program.

SEVEN STARS FOR JJ: This week, the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE driven by Nemechek will feature a red, white, and blue scheme. However, there is a subtle nod to LEGACY MC co-owner, Jimmie Johnson, as he makes his 700th start. On the hood and rear bumper of the Toyota Camry XSE, there are seven stars, representing Johnson’s seven championships.

NEMECHEK AT CHARLOTTE: Nemechek has two attempts in the longest race of the year, with his first coming in 2020 when he finished 16th. In 2024, he finished 30th in the rain-shortened race. He is no stranger to Charlotte with multiple starts across the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series, where he won in 2021.

POINT STANDINGS: Nemechek and the No. 42 LEGACY MC team enter Charlotte sitting 18th in the point standings, just 10 points shy of the playoff cut line. In the 12 races this season, Nemechek has one top-five, four top-10 finishes, and has led two laps.

HONORING PFC, WALTER “RAY” THETFORD”: The No. 42 team will honor PFC, Walter “Ray” Thetford from the United States Marine Corps. Thetford was from Copiah County, Mississippi. He served and died at the age of 21 in Iwo Jima in 1945. The unit in which Thetford was serving raised the flag on Iwo Jima. His name will ride along with Nemechek and the No. 42 Dollar Tree team during the Coca-Cola 600.

TMACK AT CHARLOTTE: Mack has been atop the pit box calling races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series for a total of seven events. During the two NXS starts, he recorded two top-10 starts and finishes with driver Michael Annett. In the five NCS starts, he has an average finish of 22.2

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:

“The 600 at Charlotte is always a great weekend – it gives us the opportunity to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. This weekend, we will have PFC Walter “Ray” Thetford riding along with us, who served in the USMC. Our goal is to continue the momentum that we have built up during the last several weeks and bring it into the race this weekend.

“I’m really excited for Jimmie to get his 700th start at Charlotte [Motor Speedway] that’s an amazing career achievement from everything he’s done in the sport, from the seven championships and 83 wins – he’s a super legend, super GOAT.”

TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“I love the Charlotte 600 week, we usually have family in town, people visiting the shop from out of town wanting to see the cars. I don’t think people really realize how long that race is until you experience it. This is one of those races where you get a ring if you win; there are a few races that you get a ring. Luckily I was a part of that during the Jimmie Johnson days.

We’ve been working on our mile-and-a-half program ever since Vegas, we keep evolving and improving on our program. Hopefully we can improve it going into Charlotte – hopefully qualify in the top-15 and run inside the top-15 most of the race and get up there and compete for the top-10, top-fives. That’s where you need to be to back into one of these wins. We have our higher downforce package tuned in compared to our low downforce.”

We have Jimmie back to race this race for us at LEGACY, since we’ve improved the cars, I’m excited to see his feedback as well.”

ERIK JONES
NO. 43 ADVENTHEALTH TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JONES CHARLOTTE STATS: Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 will mark Jones’ 11th NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte. In his 10 previous runs, Jones has one top-10 with his best finish of seventh in his Coca-Cola 600 debut in May 2017. While the challenge of the longest race of the year has proven to be hard, Jones has run finished inside the top-20 for a majority of his races. Outside of the Cup Series, Jones has a total of six starts on the 1.5-mile oval at Charlotte – five in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and one in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He owns two top-fives in the Xfinity Series with his best finish of second in October 2015 after starting third. He has a best finish of second after starting in the same place in the Truck Series.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: In Jones’ first NASCAR start at Charlotte in the Craftsman Truck Series, he made quite the impact and turned heads for the future 2015 Truck Series Champion. After starting second, Jones led 88 of the 139 laps before battling Kasey Kahne in the closing lap to finish just .005 of a second behind Kahne to finish second. The finish is tied for third closest in Craftsman Truck Series history with the 2008 finish between Erik Darnell and Johnny Benson, Jr.

BESHORE AT CHARLOTTE: Beshore has a total of three races on top of the box for the 1.5-mile oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In these three races, he’s scored back-to-back top three finishes in the Coca-Cola 600 in May 2021 and 2022 with Kyle Busch. In last year’s Coca-Cola 600, the team scored a 30th-place result after starting 26th.

MELANOMA AWARENESS INITIATIVE: The Erik Jones Foundation is continuing its longest-standing activation at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend with its distribution of sunscreen samples during the Coca-Cola 600 race weekend. Jones and his team plan to hand out over 5,000 samples of EltaMD products as part of the initiative. Since its first distribution in 2022, the foundation has distributed over 15,000 samples to campers and fans at Charlotte, which equates to approximately $450,000 in product. This is just a small testament to Jones’ commitment to protecting NASCAR and its fans while honoring his personal connection to Melanoma Awareness.

600 MILES OF REMEMBRANCE: As part of NASCAR’s Memorial Day weekend activities, Jones will honor a fallen soldier on his No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE. Riding alongside Jones will be SSG Justin R. Whiting from the United States Army. Born on Sept. 24, 1980, Justin was one of four siblings, most of whom enlisted in the military. Justin’s older sister Amanda joined the military prior to her younger brother’s enlistment in 1999. His younger brother Nathan joined after him and both were deployed to Iraq in 2008 at the same time. SSG Whiting gave his life on Jan. 19, 2008 near the city of Mosul, Iraq.

ERIK JONES QUOTE:

“I’m looking forward to Charlotte and the Coca-Cola 600. It’s honestly such a fun race for a lot of reasons. Obviously being at home is really nice, but also the way that Charlotte Motor Speedway honors our fallen soldiers on Memorial Day weekend. It’s just really special. I’m honored to have U.S. Army SSG Justin Whiting on the car for his family. I’m looking forward to meeting his family over the weekend and really letting them see what this weekend and the Charlotte race are all about. It’s honestly been one of the best mile-and-a-half races over the past few years. I’m ready to put on a show.”

BEN BESHORE QUOTE:

“Honestly, the length of the Coca-Cola 600 doesn’t make our preparation too different from a car setup standpoint. It’s a unique race that you kind of start during the day and then transition to the sunset period and then end at night. You do have to keep that in mind as you’re setting your car up. You’re probably going to run your fastest laps at the end of the race as it cools off. We don’t to put ourselves in a box where you can’t adjust the car and it’s the longest race of the year so you’re never really out of it. You can go a lap down at multiple times during the race and gamble to get your way back on the lead lap. You can fight your way back through after a spin or damage or something. There’s a long time to get back in it, and it tends to get crazy at the end. We just need to keep our head down and keep fighting all night. Coming off of Texas where we had a good run, we’re hoping to carry over some of what we learned there into another intermediate track.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON
NO. 84 CARVANA TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
HONORING 1st LT MATTHEW DAVIS: Matthew Davis was from Drexel Hill, PA and graduated from Pennsylvania State University before joining the United States Marine Corps. Though eligible for a commission, he chose to enlist and served as a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) defense Marine. After completing an overseas deployment and rising to the rank of sergeant, Matt later earned his commission as an infantry officer. As a platoon commander with Boat Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Matt led his Marines through demanding amphibious operations—navigating frigid surf in small rubber craft. He also completed rigorous mountain warfare training and deployed to the western Pacific. Whether among his Marines, his family, or the many others he impacted, Matt consistently brought out the best in those around him.

On the evening of November 7, 1st Lt. Matthew Davis was patrolling near his regimental headquarters at Camp San Mateo on the northern end of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, when he was tragically struck and killed by a drunk driver traveling at high speed. Matt died instantly and did not suffer, and was just 30 years old.

He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, son Logan, and daughter Aubrey, along with his parents, brothers, and family. Matt was honored with a memorial service and a military burial at Quantico National Cemetery. His legacy of service, strength, and selfless leadership lives on in all who knew him.

CARVANA-BASED LIVERY: The tribute extends beyond racing history. As part of NASCAR’s “600 Miles of Remembrance” on Memorial Day weekend, Johnson’s No. 84 will carry the name of 1st Lt. Matthew Robert Davis, USMC, a fallen service member selected in partnership with CarVets, Carvana’s Veteran-focused Employee Resource Group, ensuring every lap is run in honor of a hero’s sacrifice.

LED BY LEGACY, NEON 84: For this milestone start and moving forward, Johnson’s No. 84 Toyota features his signature neon yellow numbers, a nod to his seven-time Championship-winning No. 48 he shared so much success in for the last two decades.

GOAT DRIVE: Before the 600-mile race, Johnson will take a short drive of his own at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with some precious cargo. Johnson and NFL legend Tom Brady will be participating in the “G.O.A.T. Drive” at the Indianapolis 500, leading the field to green in a two-seater INDYCAR before the race. This event, which is being dubbed the “G.O.A.T. Drive,” is a special pre-race ceremony where Johnson and Brady, both considered racing legends, will take a ride in the “Fastest Seat in Sports” live on FOX.

JOHNSON MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Johnson will be available to the media on Saturday, May 24 at 11:45 a.m. in the media center at Charlotte Motor Speedway to talk about his 700th career start and many other topics.

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES:

“To reach my 700th start at the very race and track where my Cup career began makes this moment incredibly special. It’s a full-circle journey, and to share it with fans on Memorial Day weekend while honoring a fallen service member adds even more meaning.”

“This week is going to be very special to me, busy as can be, but I am embracing it and will cherish each moment and interaction. Our LEGACY MC cars were awesome at Texas and Kansas so there is a ton of momentum for our CLUB right now and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the No. 84 Carvana Toyota.”

CLUB APPEARANCES:
JJ ON SIRIUS: Johnson will join the crew for The Morning Drive this week on Friday, May 23 at 9:00 a.m. ET on SIRIUS XM NASCAR Channel 90 live.

JJ IN MEDIA: Johnson joins hosts Mike Forde, Amanda Ellis, and Nate Ryan, for “NASCAR Hauler Talk” where they offer fans a closer look at what happens behind the scenes, from rule changes to officiating decisions, logistics, and broadcasting. Johnson will also join “Rubbin’ is Racing”, a NASCAR podcast hosted by Large and Spider of Barstool Sports. It provides a behind-the-scenes look at the sport, featuring interviews with NASCAR drivers and discussions about the betting aspects of the sport. The podcast is released weekly, typically on Thursdays. Post-race, Johnson will join Steve Letarte for “Inside the Race” after the 600 the week of May 27.

MELIN: On Friday, Nemechek will appear at the new Melin storefront in Birkdale Village (16942 Birkdale Commons Pkwy, Huntersville, NC 28078) from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. to sign some autographs and take some photographs with the No. 42 Pye-Barker Toyota Camry XSE.

TUNE IN:
The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway takes place on Sunday, May 25. The race will start at 6 p.m. EDT and will broadcast on Amazon Prime, MAX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

CHARLOTTE 1

Friday, May 23 — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 8:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Saturday, May 24 — NASCAR Xfinity Series, 4:30 p.m. ET (CW)
Sunday, May 25 — NASCAR Cup Series, 6 p.m. ET (PRIME VIDEO)

Ford teams in all three of NASCAR’s top touring series will be in action as part of the traditional Memorial Day Weekend of racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 is the headliner, an event that has seen Ford drivers Brad Keselowski (2020) and Ryan Blaney (2023) go to Victory Lane in recent years.

BLANEY ON TOP FIVE RUN

Even though Ford’s Ryan Blaney is still searching for his first win of 2025, he has consistently been one of the fastest drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series this season. He heads into this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 not only looking for his second career win in the marquee event, but to continue a streak that has seen him post back-to-back third-place finishes at Texas and Kansas. In addition, he’s been fifth or better in four of the last five events.

MULTIPLE FORD 600 WINNERS

Only two drivers have won the Coca-Cola 600 more than once with Ford, but two current drivers have an opportunity to add their name to that list. NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen was the first driver to win multiple 600 events, doing it in 1963 and 1965 while Jeff Burton joined him after victories in 1999 and 2001. Ryan Blaney (2023) and Brad Keselowski (2020) are the two eligible drivers who can join them on Sunday.

RYAN BLANEY: WHAT TESTS YOU MORE, THE MENTAL OR PHYSICAL SIDE? “The mental side, I think. Yeah, it’s physical. It’s hot. It’s a long race, but you just get comfortable in there and you train for that stuff. Physically, 600 miles is not much tougher than 500. Once you get to that 400 mark you’re kind of like, ‘This is what it is. There’s only a little bit to go.’ Mentally, it’s just that when you get the halfway call at lap 200 and you’ve been running for two and a half hours already you’re like, ‘Oh, man. You better lock in here because the job is only half finished.’ I think mentally it’s super tough to stay in it, but the best guys are able to do it.”

JOSH BERRY: WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES THE COCA-COLA 600 SUCH A COMPETITIVE RACE? “It’s the longest race in our sport and that opens up a lot of opportunities for comers and goers. You obviously have to have a good balance to start the race, but then it cools off and you’ve got to stay up with the track. It’s just a grind. For us, I’m really excited to get there with the speed we’ve had on the intermediates. I finished 10th there last year. Obviously, I would have liked to run the full 600 miles to get the full experience, but I think it’s a fun one. It’s a crown jewel. The prerace is a lot of fun and really special. We’re excited to get there.”

RAINY DAYS AND MONDAYS GOOD FOR BLANEY

Ryan Blaney needed an extra day, but he took full advantage in winning the Coca-Cola 600 in 2023. Blaney took the checkered flag first in an event that was delayed due to rain and snapped a 59-race winless streak in the process. He led a race-high 163 laps, including the final 26 after passing WIlliam Byron on lap 375, and scored top-five points in all four stages. Overall, Ford had a strong race as five drivers combined to lead 201-of-400 laps.

KESELOWSKI ADDS ANOTHER JEWEL

Brad Keselowski became the first Ford driver since Mark Martin in 2002 to win the Coca-Cola 600 when he held off Jimmie Johnson in an overtime finish to take the checkered flag in 2020. The race went five laps past the advertised distance and ended with Keselowski adding another crown jewel victory with Ford to go with his wins in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis (2018) and Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (2018).

MAJOR HAUL FOR JARRETT

Dale Jarrett won his share of major races during a sterling career in the NASCAR Cup Series, but no season may have been better than his first year driving at Robert Yates Racing in 1996. After winning the season-opening Daytona 500, his second of three triumphs in that event, Jarrett came to Charlotte in search of winning the Coca-Cola 600 for the first time. Jarrett, who qualified 15th, wasn’t much of a factor when the race started, but when the sun went down his No. 88 Quality Care Service/Ford Credit Ford Thunderbird came to life. He took the lead for the first time on lap 175 and went on to lead 199 of the final 226 laps for RYR to win going away. Jarrett eventually went on to win the Brickyard 400 a couple of months later to give him three of the sport’s biggest victories in one season.

MAYER KING OF THE CHARLOTTE ROAD

Ford’s Sam Mayer has seven career NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and two of those have come on the Charlotte Roval, including last fall when he passed Parker Kligerman in overtime and advanced into the Round of 8. He’ll be looking for his first oval victory on the 1.5-mile track with the Haas Factory Team, along with trying to move up in the standings. Mayer, who is third overall, is coming off a fifth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway and has been third or better in the standings for nine straight events.

SMITH BACK IN VICTORY LANE

Chandler Smith recorded his second win of the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season last weekend after taking the lead on the final lap at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The victory snapped a three-race stretch that had seen Smith finish outside the top 10 and moved him within 47 points of the overall lead. The Front Row Motorsports driver has made two career series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, finishing sixth and eighth in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

FIRST CHARLOTTE TRUCK SERIES WIN

Ben Rhodes provided Ford with its first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2023 when he passed Carson Hocevar and led the final 25 laps. For Rhodes, it marked the only win during his championship-winning season and seventh of his career. The race was a three-way battle between Rhodes, Hocevar and Corey Heim, who combined to lead all but five of the 134 circuits.

FORD’S COCA-COLA 600 WINNERS

1962 – Nelson Stacy

1963 – Fred Lorenzen

1965 – Fred Lorenzeon

1970 – Donnie Allison

1982 – Neil Bonnett

1987 – Kyle Petty

1991 – Davey Allison

1996 – Dale Jarrett

1999 – Jeff Burton

2000 – Matt Kenseth

2001 – Jeff Burton

2002 – Mark Martin

2020 – Brad Keselowski

2023 – Ryan Blaney

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS

AT CHARLOTTE OVAL

1992 – Jeff Gordon (Sweep)

1993 – Mark Martin (2)

1995 – Chad Little (1) and Mark Martin (2)

1996 – Mark Martin (Sweep)

1998 – Mark Martin (1)

1999 – Mark Martin (1)

2000 – Jeff Burton (1)

2001 – Jeff Green (1) and Greg Biffle (2)

2003 – Matt Kenseth (1)

2006 – Carl Edwards (1)

2011 – Matt Kenseth (1) and Carl Edwards (2)

2014 – Brad Keselowski (2)

2016 – Joey Logano (2)

2017 – Ryan Blaney (1)

2018 – Brad Keselowski

FORD NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT CHARLOTTE OVAL

2023 – Ben Rhodes

The Ford Mustang, celebrating its 61st anniversary in 2025, is the world’s best selling sports car. It is also one of the planet’s most popular race cars. With Mustang-based race cars competing in international sports car competition (GT3 and GT4), NASCAR, NHRA, Formula Drift, in Australian Supercars, at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and in its own bespoke one-make series – Mustang Cup and Mustang Challenge – the platform has an unprecedented global reach. This weekend, 17 Mustang race cars are scheduled to race across all disciplines. Learn more at FordPerformance.com.

Pinnacle to be featured at select NASCAR Cup Series races with Tyler Reddick and the No. 45 team

Nashville, Tenn. (May 20, 2025) – 23XI Racing announced today that Pinnacle has expanded its relationship with the team in a multi-year partnership that makes Pinnacle the official banking sponsor of Tyler Reddick and the No. 45 team. The Nashville-based firm is a leading financial institution located in urban markets across the Southeast. Pinnacle has been an associate partner with Reddick and 23XI since 2023, but this partnership expansion marks the first time Pinnacle will have a featured, brand-focused design on the No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE.

The Pinnacle-branded paint scheme will first compete at Nashville Superspeedway in June and will return during the Playoffs for the Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in September. Additionally, Pinnacle branding will be included on the No. 45 team’s equipment and will continue to be featured on Reddick’s driver uniform.

Pinnacle has long supported Reddick, partnering with him in NASCAR each season since 2018, when he won the first of his two consecutive Xfinity Series championships. While Reddick has raced a Pinnacle-branded car in the Xfinity Series, the Nashville race will mark the first time Pinnacle will be featured with a paint scheme in the Cup Series. In addition to the partnership with 23XI and Reddick, Pinnacle is the official bank of the Memphis Grizzlies, Tennessee Titans and The Pinnacle, a recently opened state-of-the-art premier live music venue located in the heart of Nashville Yards.

“Our team has enjoyed the partnership with Pinnacle since Tyler joined the team, and we’re excited to grow our relationship with Pinnacle to more prominently feature their brand on the No. 45 car,” said team president Steve Lauletta. “Much like 23XI, Pinnacle is driven to be impactful for their clients, their employees and their community, and we look forward to developing more programs and activations with them.”

“The group at Pinnacle has played such an important role in my career, and I’m honored to have the chance to represent them in a greater way through this partnership expansion,” said Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE. “From supporting me earlier in my career to continuing to believe in me and what we’re doing at 23XI, I’m excited to represent all the associates at Pinnacle and look forward to having a great opening race with them in Nashville.”

“Pinnacle and 23XI are such a great match for each other because we both share a vision of being the best,” said Andy Moats, Pinnacle’s director of music, sports and entertainment. “The love for NASCAR and racing runs deep at our firm, and we’ve been with Tyler for a long time. Working alongside him as he’s grown into the racer he is today has been a privilege, and this partnership will bring us even closer to him, his team and the incredible community that surrounds this sport.”

About Pinnacle
Pinnacle Financial Partners provides a full range of banking, investment, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services designed for businesses and their owners and individuals interested in a comprehensive relationship with their financial institution. The firm is the No. 1 bank in the Nashville-Murfreesboro-Franklin MSA, according to 2024 deposit data from the FDIC. Pinnacle is No. 9 on FORTUNE magazine’s 2025 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For® in the U.S., its ninth consecutive appearance and was recognized by American Banker as one of America’s Best Banks to Work For 12 years in a row and No. 1 among banks with more than $10 billion in assets in 2024.

The firm began operations in a single location in downtown Nashville, TN in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $54.3 billion in assets as of March 31, 2025. As the second-largest bank holding company in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in several primarily urban markets across the Southeast.

Additional information concerning Pinnacle, which is included in the Nasdaq Financial-100 Index, can be accessed at www.pnfp.com.

About 23XI Racing
23XI Racing – pronounced twenty-three eleven – was founded by NBA legend Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin in 2020. With rising NASCAR star Bubba Wallace selected to drive the No. 23 Toyota Camry, the team made its NASCAR Cup Series debut in the 2021 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Wallace made history on October 4, 2021, when he captured his first career Cup Series win, becoming just the second African American to win in the Cup Series, and earning 23XI its first-ever victory. 23XI expanded to a two-car organization in 2022 with Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry. With a win at Kansas Speedway in May of 2022, Busch earned 23XI the team’s first-ever playoff berth. In 2024, Tyler Reddick won the Regular Season Championship and raced to a spot in the Championship 4, a first for both the team and Reddick. 23XI currently features the lineup of Bubba Wallace in the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE, Tyler Reddick in the No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE, Riley Herbst in the No. 35 Toyota Camry XSE and Corey Heim as the team’s development driver. The team operates out of Airspeed, a state-of-the-art facility in Huntersville, N.C. that opened in January of 2024.