Nearly four months after having his plans of competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day spoiled due to Mother Nature, Kyle Larson returns to Memorial Day weekend in May 2025 with “unfinished business” as he will make a second attempt at “The Double” between two motorsports’ regions in two iconic racing venues.
In a press conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Tuesday, September 10, Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow McLaren will join forces to support Larson’s double-duty effort for a second consecutive season in 2025. The conference featured Larson, Hendrick Motorsports’ owner Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Motorsports’ vice chairman Jeff Gordon, McLaren Racing’s CEO Zak Brown and Arrow McLaren’s sporting director Tony Kanaan.
The news comes as Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, who first announced his double-duty plans in January 2023 for the 2024 season, attempted to become the fifth competitor to pull off motorsports’ iconic double this past May. With on-track precipitation delaying the start of Larson’s first double-duty leg at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500, Larson opted to remain at Indianapolis, which resulted in him missing the start of the Coca-Cola 600. Once the Indy 500 commenced amid the delay, he proceeded to finish in 18th place despite getting penalized for speeding on pit road in the closing stages.
At the conclusion of the Indy 500, Larson hopped on a plane and was flown to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where the Coke 600 had commenced as Xfinity Series veteran Justin Allgaier was piloting Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry as a fill-in competitor. By the time Larson arrived at Charlotte, however, the event was placed in a red flag period on Lap 249 of 400 due to on-track precipitation. Following an extensive rain delay period, the event was made official. As a result, Allgaier, who was credited with starting the Coke 600 and methodically carved his way up the leaderboard from the rear of the field, was awarded a 13th-place result while Larson was unable to turn in a single lap for his second leg of “The Double.”
Despite being named the 2024 Indy 500 Rookie-of-the-Year recipient and being praised by many for his attempted double-duty efforts, Larson has since evoked a goal to plot a second attempt at “The Double” and compete in both events spanning a total of 1,100 miles in a single day.
“I really enjoyed the Month of May in Indy and racing with Arrow McLaren, but I was really disappointed with missing the Coca-Cola 600 with the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team,” Larson said in a released statement. “I appreciate the second opportunity because we have unfinished business. I really want to complete all 1,100 miles, and I think we have the opportunity to battle for the win in both events.”
Since the Indy-Charlotte double attempt, Larson did achieve a little redemption of his own at Indianapolis this past July when he won the Brickyard 400 for the first time in his career while sporting the exact blue, orange and white scheme to his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet entry that he was initially set to sport during the Coke 600. After celebrating in the frontstretch, Larson hinted at a potential return to the 2025 Indy 500 to the delight of the Indianapolis fans, which is now official and set for next season.
Like this season, Larson’s NTT IndyCar Series and Cup Series entries will carry sponsorship support from HendrickCars.com. The Californian will also sport the No. 17 on his Arrow McLaren Dallara-Chevrolet IndyCar entry at Indianapolis for a second consecutive season before he travels back to Charlotte and climbs aboard his No. 5 Chevrolet entry in the Cup circuit.
“Kyle had a great month of May and showed what a gifted race car driver he is,” Rick Hendrick, a 14-time Cup Series championship owner, said. “From a sponsorship perspective, we saw an incredible lift for HendrickCars.com and measured a three-to-one return on our investment. It was a monumental effort by all involved, but we didn’t have the opportunity to see it through [because of inclement weather]. Everyone learned a great deal that we’ll take into next year. Now that we’ve experienced it once, we know what to expect, which can only make us better and more prepared. Zak [Brown] and the team at Arrow McLaren are tremendous partners, and we’re looking forward to finishing the job together in 2025.”
Currently, Larson is one of 16 competitors vying for the 2024 Cup Series championship in the Playoffs. Having earned four victories throughout the 2024 regular-season stretch, he is ranked in 10th place in the Playoff standings and is 15 points above the top-12 cutline to advance from the Round of 16 to 12, with the first Playoff’s round set to conclude less than two weeks from now at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 21.
The 2025 season is set to mark the 12th time overall where a competitor will attempt to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, a motorsports’ challenge that started when the late John Andretti achieved the first feat in 1994. In addition, Larson is set to become the first competitor to attempt “The Double” for a second time since Robby Gordon made his fourth attempt in 2004 and had Jaques Lazier fill in for him for the remainder of the Indy 500 due to a rain delay period as he competed in the Coke 600 with Richard Childress Racing.
To date, Kurt Busch, the 2004 Cup Series champion, is the latest competitor to achieve “The Double” in 2014 despite having his hopes of completing the double’s 1,100 miles spoiled due to a late engine failure during the Coke 600. Tony Stewart, a three-time Cup Series champion, is the only competitor to complete all 1,100 miles of both races on the same day, finishing sixth at Indy before notching a third-place effort at Charlotte.
For the 2025 Indianapolis 500, Larson will be a teammate to Arrow McLaren’s NTT IndyCar Series driver lineup that consists of Pato O’Ward, Nolan Siegel and Christian Lundgaard, the latter of whom will be joining the organization next season. It will also mark the third consecutive season that Arrow McLaren will attempt to field four entries in the Indy 500 as the organization attempts to return the iconic McLaren name to Victory Lane at Indianapolis since Johnny Rutherford made the last accomplishment in 1976.
Photo by Chris Jones | IMS Photo.
“Kyle showed us all what he was capable of this past May, and given a second chance with better weather conditions, I think we’ll all be excited to see him fight for a win at the Indy 500 and then another one in Charlotte,” Zak Brown added. “He’s one of the most talented racing drivers out there, and it’s a privilege to do this again with Mr. Hendrick and Jeff Gordon, who are both world-class. We can’t wait for May.”
*Note: Compared to this season, Rick Hendrick mentioned that the 2025 Coca-Cola 600 race will be Larson’s priority in the event that Mother Nature hinders the Californian’s double-duty effort for a second time. In an event of this nature, Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 champion and the 2004 NTT IndyCar Series champion with 17 victories who coached Larson during his attempted double, will pilot Larson’s No. 17 Chevrolet entry.
With his Memorial Day weekend plans for next season set, Kyle Larson’s 2025 “The Double” campaign is scheduled to occur on May 25. The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is slated to air at 11 a.m. ET on FOX before the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway will follow suit later in the day. While the Coke 600 will be aired on Amazon Prime Video, a start time remains to be determined.
1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished fifth in the Coca-Cola 600.
“The weather really prevented what was sure to be an exciting finish in the 600,” Hamlin said. “It was the very definition of anticlimactic. Anticlimactic could also be used to describe a fight that starts with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. punching Kyle Busch in the face and ends with Busch punching Stenhouse’s father in the face.”
2. Christopher Bell: Bell won Stage 2 at Charlotte and outgunned Brad Keselowski on the final restart before the race was stopped and eventually called official due to weather.
“I was fortunate enough to be in the lead when the race was stopped for weather,” Bell said. “Some may call it luck; I call it ‘storming’ to the front at just the right time.”
3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished second at Charlotte, his third runner-up finish of the year.
“I can certainly relate to both Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch,” Keselowski said. “Like Stenhouse, I’ve always wanted to punch Kyle, and like Kyle, I’ve been cursed with an extremely punchable face.”
4. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished seventh at Charlotte.
“My No. 9 Chevrolet featured the blacked-out NAPA paint scheme,” Elliott said. “Given the amount of alcohol my fans consume during a race, there’s a good chance they won’t even remember that paint scheme because they themselves have blacked out.”
5. Ty Gibbs: Gibbs started on the pole and finished seventh in the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600.
“NASCAR’s $75,000 fine of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. indicates that they don’t condone fighting,” Gibbs said. “Their social media promotion of it says otherwise. I think I speak for all drivers when I say that I don’t mind having a black eye on the sport, but only if you define ‘sport’ as ‘Kyle Busch’s face.’”
6. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex struggled with handling issues at Charlotte and finished 12th.
“Congratulations to my Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell,” Truex said. “He was in the right place at the right time. Similarly, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s right fist was in the right place at the left place, Kyle Busch’s cheek.”
7. William Byron: Byron won Stage 1 at Charlotte on his way to a third-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600.
“If not for a drive-through penalty at Indianapolis,” Byron said, “my HMS teammate Kyle Larson would have likely scored a top-10 finish in the 500. As it was though, he was a lot like Jerry Falwell watching his wife and the pool boy, because he ‘held his own.’”
8. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished ninth at Charlotte, posting his ninth top-10 of the season.
“Jimmie Johnson was at the Indianapolis 500 earlier on Sunday doing some commentating for NBC,” Bowman said, “and still made it to Charlotte to race in the 600. Jimmie’s still fast at getting from one point to another; now…just not getting from the starting line to the finish line.”
9. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished eight in the Coca-Cola 600.
“The Coca-Cola 600 is the longest single-day race in motor racing,” Chastain said. “It doesn’t quite last forever, although it may feel that way if you’re watching it.”
10. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 18th in the Indianapolis 500 earlier on Sunday then made his way to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he arrived just as weather stopped the race and eventually ended it.
“There was also a weather delay at Indy,” Larson said, “so I really had to leave there in a hurry to even have a chance of driving in the Coco-Cola 600. So, while I didn’t get to ‘kiss the bricks,’ I did have to ‘hit the bricks.’”
CONCORD, N.C. – A lightning delay that turned into a heavy rainstorm made a winner of Christopher Bell in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Not that Bell didn’t deserve the victory in the rain-shortened race, which NASCAR was forced to call after 249 of 400 laps were complete. The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota started third, led a race-high 90 laps and won the second stage of the 14th NASCAR Cup Series race of the season.
NASCAR attempted to dry the track when the rain subsided but heavy humidity derailed their efforts. The victory signaled a shift in momentum for Bell, who has finished outside the top 10 in five of his previous six races.
“It feels so good,” Bell said. “And, really, the last two Coca-Cola 600s I felt like we had the potential to go to Victory Lane and both times we haven’t been able to do it. We’ve really been in a slump the last couple weeks so to come out here and have a banner day at such a high-profile, prestigious event is really big for us. Obviously, it’s a great thing to get stage points and the Playoff points that come with that. It’s a good day, for sure.
“You could feel the intensity of the race pick up (as Stage 3 began) and people were very aggressive for how early we were in a 600-mile event. I think it’s because everyone knew we were racing to the rain. I’m just very, very proud of this No. 20 group. I’ve been working really hard to get us back to where we need to be and today was a great step in the right direction.
“Man, it feels so good – to win or lose – just to have a great race to go off of,” Bell said. “A race where we led laps. We were able to pass cars. We lost the lead at times and were able to drive back to the lead.
“We had great pit stops. It was a team effort, and it was amazing to have a good race. Hopefully, this is something we can build on and get back to being more consistent.”
The turning point of the Coca-Cola 600 came when Bell held off Darlington winner Brad Keselowski during a 10-lap run after a caution for Corey LaJoie’s spin in Turn 2 on Lap 229.
Keselowski scored his third runner-up finish of the season in the No. 6 RFK Ford and was left wondering if he could have overtaken Bell if the race had not been shortened.
“We had a car that could win the race,” he said. We ran down (Bell) twice, but we didn’t get to see it play out. It slipped through our fingers there. All in all, I’m really happy with our performance.”
Stage 1 winner William Byron finished third behind Bell and Keselowski as Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five. Pole winner Ty Gibbs, Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman and Josh Berry completed the top 10.
Kyle Larson, who finished 18th in his Indy 500 debut, arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway to take over driving duties in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. But, because of the weather delay and resultant race stoppage, he was denied the opportunity. Justin Allgaier, who was subbing for Larson in his absence, finished 13th.
Next Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300 race at 3:30 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast on FS1 with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
NOTES: NASCAR officials completed post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage with no issues and confirmed Bell’s victory.
Chase Elliott led the final 18 laps in the NASCAR Xfinity Series BetMGM 300 Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway to claim his sixth career win in the series. It was his first victory at Charlotte, his first Xfinity win since February 2016 and the second time the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro has been to Victory Lane this season.
After a lackluster qualifying effort, Elliott started the race in 30th place but quickly advanced, gaining 11 spots by Lap 7. He continued to methodically make his way toward the front but the turning point of the race occurred when Ryan Ellis spun, bringing out the caution flag late in the race. Most of the teams elected to pit on Lap 171 but Elliott’s team was one of a few who had a full set of new tires.
Elliott quickly passed Ellis with 17 laps remaining and took the lead. There was one more pivotal restart and a battle with Brandon Jones for the lead but Elliott prevailed, winning the race by a margin of 0.500 seconds.
“My team did a really good job. Greg (Ives, crew chief) made a good call on the tires, and I think ultimately that was what won us the race,” Elliott said after the race.”
“Hats off to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports,” he added. “It’s super-special to win with the No. 17 on the car for the boss (Rick Hendrick) and Linda. Obviously, a great honor with the Ricky Hendrick scheme. It means a lot to all of us to be a part of this.”
Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top 5 as Kyle Busch, Ryan Sieg, Josh Williams, Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson completed the top 10.
Brandon Jones capped off a roller coaster afternoon that resulted in him rallying from early brake issues that dropped him to the rear of the field to post a strong runner-up result in the BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 25, despite falling short of the victory to Chase Elliott
The 27-year-old Jones from Atlanta, Georgia, commenced his run in NASCAR’s backyard at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 10th place. He would then methodically navigate his way into the top five as he was up into fifth place by the Lap 15. Running as high as fourth place during the proceeding laps, Jones lost two spots on pit road during the first caution period on Lap 32 but would make up the two spots on the track during the following restart period on Lap 36 as he would proceed to settle in fourth place when the first stage period concluded on Lap 45. By then, he had collected seven stage points.
Lining up in fourth place for the start of the second stage period on Lap 52, Jones would slowly slip out of both the top five and top 10 on the track. Being scored in 19th place by the Lap 70 mark, three laps before Parker Kligerman drew a caution for spinning in Turn 4, Jones would pit even as pit road was closed following Kligerman’s incident to have a brake issue to his No. 9 Menards/CharBroil Chevrolet Camaro addressed. Amid multiple pit stops, the Atlanta native was able to continue and ended up in 25th place when the second stage period concluded on Lap 90.
As the final stage period commenced with 103 laps remaining, Jones, who was still mired outside the top 20 but had a fast car to march back to the front, would return to the top 20 mark with 93 laps remaining. After returning to the top-10 mark with 77 laps remaining, he cycled his way up to fourth place with nearly 40 laps remaining and following a late round of green flag pit stops. Through three additional caution periods and restarts, where top names including series-points leader Austin Hill, Cole Custer and Jones’ teammate Justin Allgaier were being eliminated due to late-race incidents, Jones, who restarted in the second row with 12 laps remaining, overtook Kyle Busch to move into second place as he set his sights on Chase Elliott for the lead.
Trailing Elliott by a second with 10 laps remaining, Jones began to methodically shave off Elliott’s steady advantage for the proceeding laps through the turns and straightaways as he trailed Elliott by seven-tenths of a second with five laps remaining. Despite scraping the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2 with three laps remaining, he kept his foot on the throttle and still had Elliott close within his sights. Despite narrowing the gap to four-tenths of a second on the final lap, Jones, who tried to mount a final lap charge on Elliott, ran out of time to narrow the gap even closer as he crossed the finish line half a second behind in the runner-up spot behind race winner Elliott.
Amid the disappointment of coming up one spot short of his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in two years, Jones emerged with a smile across his face and as the highest-finishing JR Motorsports competitor on the track as he finished ahead of teammates Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer, both of whom capped off strong runs in third and fourth place, respectively.
“Talk about an up-and-down day and coming back from [the brake issues],” Jones said on FS1. “That was really fun to come from the back to the front, I think, three or four times right there. Really, really fast Camaro right there. We probably needed some track position. I’d like to have been a little bit better on that restart to take advantage of just getting some clean air on the nose. I think that’s really what [Elliott] just had at the end.”
Jones’ runner-up result marks the 10th time he has finished in second place in an Xfinity event as he achieved his first top-five result of the 2024 season and his first since finishing second behind John Hunter Nemechek at Kansas Speedway last September. Jones’ previous best season result was seventh at Phoenix Raceway in March.
With the result, Jones, who has now garnered five top-10 results through the first 12 events of the 2024 Xfinity Series schedule and came into the event in 11th place in the driver’s standings, gained one position to 10th place as he trails the regular-season points leader Austin Hill by 150 points. The good news for Jones is that he is 15 points above the top-12 cutline to make the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs with 14 regular-season events remaining on the schedule until the 2024 Xfinity Playoffs commence.
Currently campaigning in his second season driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, Jones has yet to achieve his first victory or his first Playoff berth as a JRM competitor. He last achieved both during the 2022 season while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, with a victory at Martinsville Speedway in April 2022.
“All in all, a really, really fun day,” Jones added. “I love these hot slick races you gotta prepare for. Wished we could’ve won, but we’re really, really close right now. This team’s kind of have some up and downs all year. We just continue to fight. Looking forward to the rest of the races here. We’re gonna get this thing in the Playoffs soon.”
Brandon Jones’ next start of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ third annual event to Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon, for the Pacific Office Automation 147. The event is scheduled for next Saturday, June 1, and will air at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
On a night where the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series division achieved a milestone feat in series’ history, Nick Sanchez has 50,000 reasons to celebrate after storming to a late victory in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, May 24.
The 2022 ARCA Menards Series champion from Miami, Florida, led the final nine of 134 scheduled laps in an event where he started 16th and spent the first half of the event mired outside the top 10 and trying to manage his way to the front. Initially poised for a top-10 run when the event was placed in a late caution period with 15 laps remaining, Sanchez was one of multiple competitors who opted to pit for fresh tires. Then after restarting in the fourth lane with nine laps remaining, Sanchez quickly bolted his way to the front as he overtook Christian Eckes for the lead through the frontstretch. From there, he fended off a late charge from Corey Heim to score his second Truck Series career victory in the series’ 700th event in history and cash in the first of three $50,000 bonuses as part of this year’s Triple Truck Challenge.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Tanner Gray notched his first Truck Series pole position of the 2024 season and the second of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 178.241 mph in 30.296 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Corey Heim, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 177.795 mph in 30.372 seconds.
Prior to the event, the following names that included Lawless Alan, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Christian Eckes and Tyler Ankrum dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Tanner Gray gained the early advantage from the inside lane as he muscled his No. 15 Dead on Tools Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead from teammate Corey Heim through Turns 1 and 2. As the field behind jostled for early spots, Gray proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of a side-by-side battle between Heim and Ty Majeski while Rajah Caruth, rookie Layne Riggs, Jack Wood and Chase Purdy followed suit.
Three laps later, Heim zipped his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro past teammate Tanner Gray to assume the lead from the backstretch through Turns 3 and 4. Heim would proceed to lead by nearly three-tenths of a second over Gray as Majeski, Caruth and Riggs followed suit in the top five through the first five scheduled laps. Behind, Wood retained sixth ahead of Purdy as Connor Mosack, Kaden Honeycutt and Ben Rhodes trailed in the top 10.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Heim was leading by nine-tenths of a second over teammate Tanner Gray followed by Majeski, Caruth and Riggs while Honeycutt, Purdy, Mosack, Wood and Rhodes continued to race in the top 10. Behind, Dean Thompson occupied 11th place ahead of Taylor Gray, Bayley Currey, Stewart Friesen and Ty Dillon while Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger, Matt Mills, Christian Eckes and Nick Sanchez followed suit in the top 20. Notably, Brett Moffitt was in 22nd, Tyler Ankrum was mired in 25th ahead of Connor Jones and Jeffrey Earnhardt was down in 34th.
Ten laps later, Heim extended his advantage to more than three seconds over teammate Tanner Gray as Majeski, Caruth and Honeycutt were in the top five. Behind, Riggs dropped to sixth while Purdy, Rhodes, Thompson and Mosack were in the top 10.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Heim, winner of last weekend’s Truck Series event at North Wilkesboro Speedway, captured his fifth stage victory of the 2024 season. Honeycutt, who overtook Tanner Gray for the runner-up spot three laps earlier, settled in second ahead of Gray, Caruth and Majeski while Riggs, Purdy, Thompson, Rhodes and Mosack were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, the field led by Heim pitted for a first round of service. Following the pit stops, Tanner Gray reassumed the lead after exiting first ahead of Heim while Honeycutt, Purdy, Majeski, Caruth, Riggs, Taylor Gray, Thompson and Mosack followed suit. During the pit stop sequence, Caruth was forced into the grass amid a side-by-side contact with Majeski, who was trying to avoid Riggs as Riggs was exiting his pit stall. In addition, Stewart Friesen returned to pit road for his first service of the night after missing his pit stall during the first sequence with the field. Soon after, Caruth also pitted again to address a tire rub from the damage with Majeski’s contact.
The second stage period started on Lap 37 as teammates Tanner Gray and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Gray and Heim battled dead even in front of two stacked lanes while Honeycutt, who restarted in the second lane, made a move to the outside lane in an attempted three-wide battle towards the front. With the field behind also fanning out to nearly three lanes through the backstretch, Tanner Gray barely managed to muscle ahead of Heim to retain the lead while returning back to the frontstretch. Behind, a series of battles ensued as Purdy and Majeski battled for third place, Thompson battled Honeycutt for fifth place, Riggs and Mosack battled for fifth place and Taylor Gray battled Jack Wood for 10th place.
On Lap 40, Heim, who kept teammate Tanner Gray within close distance over the previous four laps, drew his Toyota alongside Gray’s through Turns 3 and 4 and back to the frontstretch. Heim would then muscle ahead of Gray from the inside lane and through Turns 1 and 2 as he reassumed the lead.
At the Lap 45 mark, Heim was leading by three-tenths of a second over teammate Tanner Gray followed by Purdy, Majeski and Thompson while Riggs, Honeycutt, Mosack, Taylor Gray and Wood were in the top 10. Behind, Nick Sanchez trailed in 11th ahead of Daniel Dye, Dillon, Rhodes and Grant Enfinger while Caruth, Matt Mills, Eckes, Moffitt and Crafton were in the top 20.
By Lap 50, Heim slightly extended his advantage as he was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Gray followed by Purdy, Thompson and Majeski while Honeycutt, Riggs, Mosack, Gray and Sanchez trailed in the top 10.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Heim swept both stage periods of the night while also claiming his sixth Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate Tanner Gray settled in second ahead of Purdy, Honeycutt and Thompson while Majeski, Riggs, Mosack, Sanchez and Daniel Dye were scored in the top 10.
During the stage break, the field led by Heim returned to pit road for another round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Heim retained the lead after exiting first ahead of Tanner Gray, Majeski, Mosack and Purdy as Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Riggs, Thompson and Honeycutt followed suit in top 10. Amid the pit stops, however, Honeycutt was penalized for dragging his gas can out of his pit stall.
Towards the halfway mark of the event, the final stage commenced as teammates Heim and Tanner Gray occupied the front row once again. As Heim retained the lead, the caution quickly returned for a multi-truck wreck that erupted just past the backstretch when contact from Moffitt got Ankrum loose as he spun his No. 18 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado RST below the apron in Turn 3 before his truck went right back towards the outside wall and was T-boned on the right side by Thad Moffitt as Keith McGee and Jeffrey Earnhardt were also involved while trying to avoid the wreckage.
During the following restart with 58 laps remaining. Heim gained the advantage from the inside lane and muscled ahead to retain the lead while Connor Mosack challenged Tanner Gray for the runner-up spot. As Gray and Mosack continued to battle for second in front of Taylor Gray, Majeski and Purdy, Heim led the field back to the frontstretch.
Four laps later, however, the caution returned after Matt Crafton lost a tire and slapped his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 hard against the outside wall in Turn 3. During the caution period, the following names that included Purdy, Mason Massey, Stefan Parsons, Friesen, Connor Jones, Boyd, Eckes and Currey remained on the track while the rest led by Heim pitted. During the pit stops, Heim’s dominant run hit a braking zone after a slow pit stop due to a broken jack while his No. 11 team was trying to change the right-side tires plummeted to 28th place.
As the event restarted with 47 laps remaining, Purdy muscled ahead with a slight advantage over Eckes before Eckes made his move beneath Purdy and assumed the lead in his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST exiting the backstretch and through Turns 3 and 4. As Eckes led Purdy, Stefan Parsons was in third place as he was racing in front of Connor Jones, Stewart Friesen and Ben Rhodes while Grant Enfinger was in seventh. With more battles ensuing within the field, Eckes, who was dealing with voltage issues earlier in the race, retained the lead with 45 laps remaining.
With 40 laps remaining, Eckes was leading by nearly a second over Purdy as they were being followed by Parsons, Friesen, Rhodes, Honeycutt and Sanchez. Meanwhile, Heim, who restarted 27th following his pit stop miscue, had muscled his way all the way up to eighth place while Jones and Moffitt trailed in the top 10 ahead of Majeski, Caruth, Enfinger, Dillon and Mosack.
Ten laps later, Eckes retained the lead by nearly seven-tenths of a second over Purdy while Parsons, Honeycutt and Friesen were scored in the top five. Behind, Heim was in sixth place and trailing the lead by more than three seconds while Sanchez, Rhodes, Moffitt and Majeski were in the top 10. By then, Tanner Gray was mired in 12th behind Caruth, Thompson was back in 16th behind Dillon and Mosack was battling Matt Mills for 17th along with Taylor Gray and Dye.
Another three laps later, the battle for the lead ignited as Purdy made a move beneath Eckes for the lead in Turn 1. Despite assuming the top spot, however, Purdy went wide, which allowed Eckes to pull a crossover move entering the backstretch as both he and Purdy battled dead even for the lead through Turns 3 and 4. Then as Eckes slid in front of Purdy entering the frontstretch, Purdy pulled a crossover move on Eckes through the frontstretch as they dueled for the lead again. Purdy then slid up the track in Turn 1 for a second time, which allowed Eckes to muscle ahead and maintain a reasonable advantage over a hard-charging Purdy. Amid the battle between Eckes and Purdy, third-place Honeycutt started to close in in his No. 45 R.C.D. Shoe Company Chevrolet Silverado RST while Heim was in fifth place and trailing the lead by more than two seconds.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Eckes, who was beginning to be mired in lapped traffic, retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Purdy while Honeycutt made it a three-truck battle for the lead as he trailed by half a second. Behind, Heim trailed by more than three seconds in fourth place while Parsons was in fifth.
Four laps later, Purdy scrubbed the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2, which stalled his late momentum and his challenge on Eckes for the lead. Despite scraping the wall, Purdy remained on the track, but he would lose the runner-up spot to Honeycutt as Eckes continued to lead. A lap later, however, Purdy’s strong run went sour after he scrubbed the outside wall for a second time through Turns 1 and 2, which was enough for the event to be placed in a late caution period as Purdy, who lost a tire in the process, nursed his damaged No. 77 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado RST back to pit road. The caution also erased Eckes’ six-second advantage over Honeycutt as Heim was up to third place.
During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Honeycutt and Heim pitted while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Honeycutt and Heim both lost a bevy of spots after both endured slow pit services. For Honeycut, a broken air gun resulted in his tire changer having issues changing the right-rear tire. For Heim, the issue stemmed from his rear tire changer struggling to get the lug nuts tightened on the left-rear tire as Heim started to spin his tires, which left his No. 11 team uncertain if the lug nuts on the truck were tightened as Heim lined up in 11th place.
Down to the final nine laps, the event restarted under green as Eckes and Parsons occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Eckes rocketed away with the lead followed by Caruth and Sanchez while Parsons was struggling to launch. Then through the frontstretch to complete the following lap, Sanchez, who pitted during the latest caution period and passed Caruth for the runner-up spot, overtook Eckes for the lead as Heim, who was charging to the front for a second time since the restart, bolted past Eckes through Turns 3 and 4 to move into third place. Heim would then overtake Friesen for the runner-up spot during the following lap as he set his sights on Sanchez for the lead and potential victory.
With five laps remaining, Sanchez maintained the lead by nearly three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Heim while Friesen trailed in third place by eight-tenths of a second. As the field behind jostled for late spots, pole-sitter Tanner Gray spun sideways towards the apron in Turns 1 and 2, but the event remained under green flag conditions as Heim was trying to gain a run on Sanchez for the lead.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Sanchez, who had managed to keep his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST in front of Heim’s Toyota, remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Heim. Through Turns 1 and 2, Heim ran his truck close towards the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2 in an effort to gain a run, but Sanchez maintained his advantage through the backstretch. With Heim unable to mount a final lap rally for two final turns, Sanchez was able to cycle back to the frontstretch victorious as he claimed the checkered flag to win by half a second over Heim.
With the victory, Sanchez, who notched his first career win at Daytona International Speedway in February, became the 82nd competitor overall to achieve multiple victories in the Truck Series and the 13th to win a Truck event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
With Sanchez winning the series’ 700th event in recorded history, the Miami native joins an exclusive club of competitors to win during a milestone event for the series. Ron Hornaday Jr., a four-time champion of the series, won the 100th recorded Truck Series event in history at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington, in 1999 before winning the 300th series event at Dover Motor Speedway eight years later. Ted Musgrave, the 2005 champion, won the series’ 200th race at Memphis Motorsports Park in 2003, Clint Bowyer won the series’ 400th event at Kansas Speedway in 2011 and Austin Dillon won the series’ 500th event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2015. Recently, Kyle Busch won the series’ 600th event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2020.
As an added bonus, Sanchez, who recorded the 284th Truck victory for the Chevrolet nameplate and the second overall for Rev Racing, claimed the first of three Triple Truck Challenge bonuses and a $50,000 check.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“It’s awesome,” Sanchez said on FS1. “What can I say more about this team? We started off bad. We knew it. [We] Did not let it affect us. We went to work. We put ourselves in position when it mattered most. It’s great to get [win] number two. [I’ll] Probably put the [$50,000 bonus] in the savings. I totally forgot about that, so yeah, added bonus. Sweet.”
Sanchez’s Charlotte victory was the most meaningful for Chris Showalter, the truck chief for both Sanchez and Rev Racing as he has been working through all 700 recorded events in the Truck Series since the first event at Phoenix Raceway in February 1995.
“[This race] just probably popped to number one [favorite],” Showalter, who fought tears of joy, said. “It’s a long battle. This is about people and I love this group of people. I’ll do anything for this group of people.”
Heim, who led a race-high 72 laps and swept both stages, settled in second place for his seventh top-three result of the 2024 season as he fell short of winning at Charlotte Motor Speedway for a second consecutive season.
“Obviously, an eventful day for us,” Heim said. “[I] Just felt like it got away from us on separate occasions there. We had control of the race and as soon as you don’t, you’re just victim to the leader and they can control the air. Nick [Sanchez] did a great job at just blocking my air the best he could. I felt like we had the best truck by a long shot. When you’re behind the leader, you can’t do much, but I feel like we were able to get through traffic so well. Glad I could make it entertaining at least, but it doesn’t really matter for us. We finished second.”
Shortly after, however, Heim was disqualified from the runner-up result due to his truck having three lug nuts not safely secured following his recent pit service. As a result, Stewart Friesen, who missed his pit stall and was running in the middle of the pack earlier in the day, was promoted to second place as Grant Enfinger, Matt Mills and Ben Rhodes ended up in the top five.
Finishing in the top 10 were Jake Garcia, Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Mosack, Dean Thompson and Christian Eckes. Notably, Chase Purdy ended up 13th behind Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth fell back to 16th behind Brett Moffitt, pole-sitter Tanner Gray ended up 17th, Ty Majeski slid to 23rd and Stefan Parsons ended up 25th.
There were eight lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 31 laps.
Following the 11th event of the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season, Christian Eckes leads the regular-season standings by 30 points over Corey Heim, 50 over Nick Sanchez, 64 over Ty Majeski and 99 over Taylor Gray.
Results.
1. Nick Sanchez, nine laps led
2. Stewart Friesen
3. Grant Enfinger
4. Matt Mills
5. Ben Rhodes
6. Jake Garcia
7. Kaden Honeycutt
8. Connor Mosack
9. Dean Thompson
10. Christian Eckes, 37 laps led
11. Connor Jones
12. Taylor Gray
13. Chase Purdy, five laps led
14. Bret Holmes
15. Brett Moffitt
16. Rajah Caruth
17. Tanner Gray, 11 laps led
18. Mason Massey
19. Daniel Dye
20. Spencer Boyd
21. Jack Wood
22. Timmy Hill
23. Ty Majeski
24. Ty Dillon
25. Stefan Parsons
26. Bayley Currey
27. Mason Maggio
28. Layne Riggs, one lap down
29. Memphis Villarreal, three laps down
30. Lawless Alan – OUT, Brakes
31. Matt Crafton, 15 laps down
32. Tyler Ankrum – OUT, Accident
33. Thad Moffitt – OUT, Accident
34. Keigh McGee – OUT, Accident
35. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Accident
36. Corey Heim – Disqualified 72 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner
Next on the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is the series’ annual visit to Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, for the Toyota 200. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, June 1, and air at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Tanner Gray won the ARCA Menards Series General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday evening after rebounding from a flat tire and going a lap down.
He started strong, earning his second career pole and his second at Charlotte, in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. However, on Lap 34 he had to make an unscheduled pit stop due to a flat right-rear tire and went a lap down.
With 20 laps to go, Carson Kvapil had a two-second lead while Gray had methodically made his way back to the lead lap. Gray caught a break after a crash involving Con Nicolopoulos and Mitch Gibson as most of the lead-lap cars pit with 15 laps remaining in the race.
When the race resumed, Gray, who had stayed on the track during the caution and was now in the lead, held off Kvapil and won by a margin of 0.939 seconds.
Andres Perez finished third followed by Will Kimmel in fourth and Lavar Scott in fifth.
“To be able to come here and rebound the way we did is really cool,” Gray said. “We fought a little adversity in the beginning, cutting the right-rear (tire) down and going a lap down. To be able to execute a solid race and finish off those last few laps is really cool.
*Note: Gray finished 18th in Friday night’s Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200.
Race results:
Pos.
Car No.
Driver
Sponsor, OEM
Laps
Diff.
1
18
Tanner Gray
JGR Toyota
100
–
2
82
Carson Kvapil*
Chevrolet Performace Chevrolet
100
0.939
3
2
Andres Perez
Max Siegal Inc Chevrolet
100
2.355
4
69
Will Kimmel
Weddington Custom Homes-Accel Hydraulics
100
5.192
5
6
Lavar Scott*
Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet
100
5.343
6
55
Gus Dean
DRIVEN Trackside
100
7.275
7
20
Dean Thompson
Thompson Pipe Group Toyota
100
7.423
8
33
Lawless Alan*
Auto Parkit Ford
100
7.817
9
97
Jason Kitzmiller
A.L.L Construction Chevrolet
100
8.342
10
9
Sebastian Arias
Brady IFS Chevrolet
100
11.265
11
35
Greg Van Alst
CB Fabricating Ford
100
11.273
12
25
Toni Breidinger
Celsius Toyota
100
12.836
13
10
Cody Dennison*
Timcast.com Toyota
100
16.986
14
73
Andy Jankowiak
Acacia Energy Toyota
100
27.118
15
22
Amber Balcaen
ICON Toyota
99
1 Lap
16
12
Ryan Roulette*
Bellator Recruiting Academy/VFW Ford
98
2 Laps
17
27
Tim Richmond
Immigration Law Center Toyota
98
2 Laps
18
15
Kris Wright
FNB Corporation Toyota
97
3 Laps
19
88
A.J. Moyer
Rivers’s Edge Cottages & RV Park/Ampere EV Chevrolet
96
4 Laps
20
99
Michael Maples*
Don Ray Petroleum LLC/Maples Motorsports Chevrolet
Ty Gibbs will lead the field to the green flag in Saturday’s Xfinity Series BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway after winning the pole Friday with a lap of 177.194 mph in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
“I’m very thankful to run two races and I really have a good time out here,” Gibbs said. “Doing another race this weekend is fun. I always love racing so I always look forward to doing stuff like this.”
Kyle Busch (176.482 mph) will join Gibbs on the front row as Chandler Smith (176.246), Jesse Love (175.873) and Jeb Burton (175.496) rounded out the top five in the qualifying session.
Cole Custer will start sixth (175.433), followed by Sheldon Creed (175.433), Austin Hill (175.365 mph), Justin Allgaier (175.160) and Brandon Jones (176.103) to complete the top-10.
The BetMGM 300 will be broadcast on FOX Saturday afternoon with the green flag set for 1:19 p.m. ET with radio coverage provided by PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Tanner Gray won Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He topped NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying with a 178.241 mph lap in the No. 15 Toyota for TRICON Garage to earn his first pole this season and his second consecutive Truck Series pole at Charlotte.
Gray’s teammate, Corey Heim, will start beside him on the front row. Ty Majeski qualified third followed by Rajah Caruth and Layne Riggs to complete the top five.
Chase Purdy, Connor Mosack, Jack Wood, Kaden Honeycutt and Bayley Currey rounded out the top 10 in qualifying.
Truck Series points leader, Christian Eckes, will start at the rear of the field after damage during practice.
Justin Carroll and Jennifer Jo Cobb did not qualify for the race.
The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 is scheduled for Friday at 8:30 p.m. on FS1 with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
NASCAR is set to race Memorial Day Weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway headlined by the 65th running of the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night. Once again NASCAR will pay tribute to the Armed Forces with the NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola program.
As part of the program, every NASCAR Cup Series car participating in the Coca-Cola 600 will feature the name of a fallen service member on the windshield and Goodyear tires will feature a special “Honor and Remember” sidewall design. NASCAR and Coca-Cola will also host Gold Star Families who have lost family members as a result of serving.
Team Penske driver, Ryan Blaney, is the defending race winner.
The ARCA Menards Series and the Craftsman Truck Series will compete Friday night as the Xfinity Series takes to the track Saturday afternoon.
Friday, May 24 11:40 a.m.: ARCA Menards Series Practice (Al Entries) Race Center 12:40 p.m.: ARCA Menard Series Qualifying (Impound, Timed, All Entries) Race Center
1:35 p.m.: Truck Series Practice (Timed, All Entries, 20 Minutes) FS1 2:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Impound, All Entries, Single Vehicle -1 Lap) FS1
3:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (Timed, All Entries, 20 Minutes) FS1 4:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound, All Entries, Single Vehicle – 1 Lap) FS1
6 p.m.: ARCA General Tire 150 (100 Laps-150 Miles) FS1/MRN
8:30 p.m.: Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200 Stages 30/60/134 Laps = 201 Miles – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM Purse: $782,014 NASCAR Press Pass: Post Race
Saturday, May 25 1 p.m.: Xfinity Series BetMGM 300 Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 300 Miles – FOX/PRN/SiriusXM Purse: $1,383,384 NASCAR Press Pass: Post Race
5:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (Groups A & B, 20 Minutes each) FS1/PRN/SiriusXM 5:50 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound, Groups A & B, Single Vehicle – 1 Lap/2 Rounds) FS1/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Press Pass: Post Qualifying
Sunday, May 26 6 p.m.: Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 Stages 100/200/300/400 Laps = 600 Miles FOX/PRN/SiriusXM Purse: $9,874,821 NASCAR Press Pass: Post Race
