By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net
The annual Memorial Day Weekend tradition continues this year as NASCAR’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600, headlines the stock car calendar at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series kicks off the action on Friday night in a race that Ben Rhodes won in 2023 and concludes with the Cup Series on Sunday night in an event that has seen Ford drivers Brad Keselowski (2020) and Ryan Blaney (2023) go to Victory Lane in recent years.   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 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.  RFK TRIO IN CHASE POSITIONS When Sunday’s scheduled Coca-Cola 600 ends, it will mark the halfway point of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series regular season. The RFK Racing trio of Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece all find themselves in Chase positions at the moment. Buescher, on the strength of six top-10 finishes, is fifth in the overall standings while Keselowski is ninth and Preece, winner of the Clash at Bowman Gray, is 13th. That makes them the only multi-car organization to have all of its drivers currently in the field.  CINDRIC RUNNING TOP 10Austin Cindric goes into Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 with a great deal of momentum that included being Ford Racing’s top finisher in each of the last two races. Cindric finished sixth in last weekend’s All-Star Race after running ninth the previous week at Watkins Glen International. Overall, Cindric has two top-10 finishes in the last three series points races, which has allowed him to go from 17th to 15th in the standings.  SITTING ON 749The next Ford win will be its 750th all-time in NASCAR’s top series. Ned Jarrett is Ford’s win leader with 43 while Bill Elliott is second with 40. Shirtless Jimmy Florian scored the Blue Oval’s first series victory when he upset the likes of Lee Petty, Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly at Dayton Speedway on June 25, 1950. Florian earned his nickname after getting out of his 1950 flathead Ford without a shirt. Overall, 91 drivers have won at least one series race with Ford, including notable drivers Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, A.J. Foyt, Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt. |
| Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway:In June 1960, Charlotte Motor Speedway welcomed NASCAR for the first time with the inaugural World 600 – kickstarting a 127-race and counting tenure for the sport’s top division. Within that time span, Chevrolet has built a legacy at “America’s Home for Racing” that features a series-leading 48 all-time Cup Series wins with 26 of those triumphs coming in the Coca-Cola 600. One year ago, it was Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain that earned the victory and his first career crown jewel event at NASCAR’s highest level. The Alva, Florida, native is one of just eight active Coca-Cola 600 winners with the elite list also featuring Kyle Larson’s crown in his first championship-earning season (2021); Austin Dillon’s win in 2017 that made him a first-time Cup Series winner; and Kyle Busch’s win in 2018. |
 DILLON, NO. 3 TEAM HEADING HOME WITH CONFIDENCE Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team put together the ultimate rebound at Dover Motor Speedway to lead the Bowtie brigade with a fourth-place finish in last weekend’s NASCAR All-Star Race. The result marked Dillon’s second-consecutive top-six finish of the season, giving the North Carolina native a welcomed boost of confidence he will carry into the Charlotte race weekend. While it’s a true hometown race for the veteran driver, “America’s Home for Racing” has made a lasting impression in his NASCAR career. In his fourth full-time Cup Series season, Dillon conquered the sport’s most challenging crown jewel event, the Coca-Cola 600, to earn his first career win in NASCAR’s premier series. The feat made Dillon the 10th, and most recent, driver in history to become a first-time Cup Series winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Dillon’s resume at his home track also features two O’Reilly Series wins, which were earned during a 2015 season sweep. |
 RACKING UP THE MILES Just two drivers will attempt to log 1,101 miles around Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend, both of which come from the Chevrolet camp. The reigning Coca-Cola 600 winner, Ross Chastain, will look to not only defend his title in the 67th running of the crown jewel event but reunite with JR Motorsports and Niece Motorsports to run his third-straight triple duty weekend. One year ago, Chastain and the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team executed the ultimate rebound, going from backup car and a last-place starting position to becoming first-time crown jewel winners in NASCAR’s premier series. Chastain’s tripleheader weekend will kick off behind the wheel of the No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet in Friday’s Truck Series event – a pairing that already owns one trip to victory lane at the track (2022). On Saturday, Chastain will return to the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team for their third outing together of the season. The pair is coming off their best qualifying effort this season, capturing the pole position at Dover Motor Speedway last weekend. |
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NOAPS/NCTSS
Toyota seeks another Coca-Cola 600 triumph … Team Toyota enters this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 in search of its eighth victory in the Crown Jewel event. Christopher Bell was the most recent winner in a Toyota Camry in 2024. Martin Truex Jr. has the most Coke 600 wins for Toyota with two – 2016 and 2019.
Hamlin looks to continue 600 success … Denny Hamlin has a knack for putting up strong finishes in the Coca-Cola 600. Sunday night will be his 21st start in the Crown Jewel event, where he has top-10 finishes in three of the last five Coca-Cola 600s, including his win in 2022. In 34 starts on the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval – which includes the fall race which was last run in 2017 – Hamlin has 12 top-fives and 21 top-10s, as well as poles in the 2013 Coca-Cola 600 and the 2017 fall race.
Heim returns to the No. 67 … 23XI Racing’s Corey Heim is back behind the wheel of the No. 67 Toyota Camry XSE this weekend in the Coca-Cola 600. Should he qualify for the event, Heim would make his 11th career Cup Series start and fourth of the 2026 season. In his last start at Texas Motor Speedway earlier in the month, Heim led 69 laps before an incident resulted in a 31st-place finish. Heim returns to Charlotte after sweeping both Truck Series races there last year on the oval and the ROVAL – enroute to his Truck Series title.
Thompson returns to favorable Charlotte … Charlotte Motor Speedway has become one of the better tracks for Sam Hunt Racing’s Dean Thompson. The driver of the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra earned his best career O’Reilly Series finish in last season’s race at Charlotte, coming home fifth in his second start at the track. In his time in the Truck Series, Thompson earned two top-10s in three starts on the 1.5-mile North Carolina oval, which includes a third-place result in 2023.
Jones continues strong run … With his sixth-place finish last weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, Brandon Jones now has five consecutive top-10 finishes in the O’Reilly Series dating back to Kansas Speedway in April. In total, Jones has eight top-10s, and three top-fives, in 14 races so far this season. Jones currently sits fifth in the driver’s point standings entering this weekend in Charlotte, which will be his 350th career O’Reilly Series start.
Honeycutt continues strong 2026 start … Kaden Honeycutt extended his strong start to the 2026 Truck Series season with a fourth-place finish last weekend at Dover. Honeycutt now has seven top-10s and six top-fives in nine Truck Series races this season, and remains in the points lead, 38 points atop the standings. He makes his third career start on the Charlotte oval this weekend, where he’s finished inside the top-10 in both previous starts – seventh in 2024 and third in 2025.
Jones, Sawalich again do double duty … Jones and William Sawalich will again take on double duty, this time at Charlotte this weekend. Jones, who will drive the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage on Friday, makes his third Trucks start this season after a sixth-place finish at Dover last weekend. Jones also finished fourth at Texas. Sawalich, who will pilot the No. 5 Tundra TRD PRO for TRICON, makes his fourth Trucks start of 2026. He’s coming off a 14th-place finish in the Dover race and makes his Truck Series debut at Charlotte this weekend.
