Ross Chastain finished second in Friday night's NASCAR Truck race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and when the Cup cars went out on the track for Coca-Cola 600 practice, he was again very fast.
Timing in ninth overall on the time sheets, Chastain was showing impressive long-run speed in the No. 1 Chevrolet. He led all drivers in the 10-lap, 15-lap, and 20-lap averages. Unfortunately, after 20 laps on track, disaster struck as he cut a left-rear tire going down the backstretch. The car spun out in Turn 3 and Chastain hit the outside wall with the driver-side door. The car came to a rest on the apron and was towed back to the pit lane. While a cause has yet to be officially determined, being aggressive with extremely low air pressures has caused previous tire issues for other teams this year.
Trouble strikes in practice for @RossChastain! pic.twitter.com/4EDJnAAYjN
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 24, 2025
"Just down the backstretch, all of the air came out of it at once," said Chastain after being released from the infield care center. "I tried to just keep it straight and braked as hard as I could in a straight line. But it was too late. I was okay until I got into the banking and then the whole car got on the ground and around it went."
Trouble for Kyle Busch
While Chastain was the only driver to suffer an on-track incident during the practice session, another Chevrolet driver never even got on track to begin with. Kyle Busch, who announced a contract extension with Richard Childress Racing on Saturday morning, was the only driver not to run any laps. Busch reported a steering issue and the team scrambled to replace the power steering pump.
Busch was able to get out on track for qualifying, but will likely have to start from the rear of the field due to the changes. Chastain did not and will start 40th (last) for NASCAR's longest race.
Carson Hocevar led the way in single-lap speeds, driving the No. 77 Spire Motorsport Chevrolet, followed by the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Ty Gibbs and the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger.
| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Interval | Mph | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C. HocevarSpire Motorsports | 77 | Chevrolet | 34 |
29.926 |
180.445 | ||
| 2 | T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing | 54 | Toyota | 37 |
+0.013 29.939 |
0.013 | 180.367 | |
| 3 | A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing | 16 | Chevrolet | 31 |
+0.189 30.115 |
0.176 | 179.313 | |
| 4 | D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Toyota | 41 |
+0.252 30.178 |
0.063 | 178.938 | |
| 5 | T. Reddick23XI Racing | 45 | Toyota | 34 |
+0.259 30.185 |
0.007 | 178.897 | |
| 6 | E. JonesLegacy Motor Club | 43 | Toyota | 28 |
+0.265 30.191 |
0.006 | 178.861 | |
| 7 | B. Wallace23XI Racing | 23 | Toyota | 37 |
+0.266 30.192 |
0.001 | 178.855 | |
| 8 | W. ByronHendrick Motorsports | 24 | Chevrolet | 34 |
+0.294 30.220 |
0.028 | 178.690 | |
| 9 | R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing | 1 | Chevrolet | 20 |
+0.317 30.243 |
0.023 | 178.554 | |
| 10 | M. McDowellSpire Motorsports | 71 | Chevrolet | 26 |
+0.363 30.289 |
0.046 | 178.283 | |
| 11 | R. Stenhouse JrHyak Motorsports | 47 | Chevrolet | 26 |
+0.369 30.295 |
0.006 | 178.247 | |
| 12 | C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports | 9 | Chevrolet | 43 |
+0.384 30.310 |
0.015 | 178.159 | |
| 13 | B. KeselowskiRFK Racing | 6 | Ford | 30 |
+0.413 30.339 |
0.029 | 177.989 | |
| 14 | S. van GisbergenTrackHouse Racing | 88 | Chevrolet | 34 |
+0.442 30.368 |
0.029 | 177.819 | |
| 15 | D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing | 99 | Chevrolet | 41 |
+0.444 30.370 |
0.002 | 177.807 | |
| 16 | N. GragsonFront Row Motorsports | 4 | Ford | 29 |
+0.444 30.370 |
0.000 | 177.807 | |
| 17 | J. HaleySpire Motorsports | 7 | Chevrolet | 45 |
+0.455 30.381 |
0.011 | 177.743 | |
| 18 | A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports | 48 | Chevrolet | 30 |
+0.463 30.389 |
0.008 | 177.696 | |
| 19 | R. BlaneyTeam Penske | 12 | Ford | 37 |
+0.488 30.414 |
0.025 | 177.550 | |
| 20 | A. CindricTeam Penske | 2 | Ford | 32 |
+0.511 30.437 |
0.023 | 177.416 | |
| 21 | K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports | 5 | Chevrolet | 31 |
+0.551 30.477 |
0.040 | 177.183 | |
| 22 | A. DillonRichard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevrolet | 30 |
+0.586 30.512 |
0.035 | 176.980 | |
| 23 | C. BriscoeJoe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Toyota | 35 |
+0.603 30.529 |
0.017 | 176.881 | |
| 24 | J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club | 42 | Toyota | 32 |
+0.617 30.543 |
0.014 | 176.800 | |
| 25 | R. Herbst23XI Racing | 35 | Toyota | 32 |
+0.621 30.547 |
0.004 | 176.777 | |
| 26 | C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Toyota | 34 |
+0.627 30.553 |
0.006 | 176.742 | |
| 27 | J. JohnsonLegacy Motor Club | 84 | Toyota | 30 |
+0.631 30.557 |
0.004 | 176.719 | |
| 28 | C. CusterHaas Factory Team | 41 | Ford | 24 |
+0.634 30.560 |
0.003 | 176.702 | |
| 29 | J. LoganoTeam Penske | 22 | Ford | 33 |
+0.636 30.562 |
0.002 | 176.690 | |
| 30 | R. PreeceRFK Racing | 60 | Ford | 36 |
+0.639 30.565 |
0.003 | 176.673 | |
| 31 |
J. BerryWood Brothers Racing
|
21 | Ford | 23 |
+0.643 30.569 |
0.004 | 176.650 | |
| 32 | C. BuescherRFK Racing | 17 | Ford | 31 |
+0.665 30.591 |
0.022 | 176.523 | |
| 33 | T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports | 34 | Ford | 31 |
+0.688 30.614 |
0.023 | 176.390 | |
| 34 | T. DillonKaulig Racing | 10 | Chevrolet | 31 |
+0.707 30.633 |
0.019 | 176.280 | |
| 35 |
C. ZilischTrackHouse Racing
|
87 | Chevrolet | 40 |
+0.723 30.649 |
0.016 | 176.188 | |
| 36 | Z. SmithFront Row Motorsports | 38 | Ford | 38 |
+0.739 30.665 |
0.016 | 176.097 | |
| 37 | C. WareRick Ware Racing | 51 | Ford | 23 |
+0.997 30.923 |
0.258 | 174.627 | |
| 38 | D. KrausNY Racing Team | 44 | Chevrolet | 22 |
+1.756 31.682 |
0.759 | 170.444 | |
| 39 | J. BilickiGarage 66 | 66 | Ford | 15 |
+2.687 32.613 |
0.931 | 165.578 | |
| 40 | K. BuschRichard Childress Racing | 8 | Chevrolet | 0 |
|
