Right here’s what’s taking place in NASCAR with the 2025 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway within the rearview and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Solar., 6 p.m. ET, Prime Video) up subsequent.
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1. Will Hendrick keep 2025 tempo in stretch run to NASCAR Playoffs?
Hendrick Motorsports has had a stranglehold on the entrance of the sector via the primary portion of the 2025 season. Will it final? Will another group discover its equal share of dominance?
Hendrick Motorsports has “solely” received 4 of the season‘s first dozen factors races. A driver for a special group received three straight at one level (and the All-Star Race!) and but it feels Hendrick’s championship group is smothering the sector.
All 4 drivers within the secure appear to have established a agency top-10 residency whereas compiling a lap-leading tempo not seen in many years. There seem like no indicators of slowing, both, with the one query, actually, being if the four-car powerhouse will handle to stick with it the remainder of the way in which.
The numbers are arduous to disregard and strongly point out that it’s going to.
Hendrick has led 41.6% of all laps raced this season. Take into consideration that for a second — practically each different lap, each week, the race has been led by Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott or Kyle Larson. It‘s the group‘s highest proportion via 12 races since 1996 (44.1%), when it featured a three-driver lineup consisting of two championship-winning future Corridor of Famers together with one of the vital revered drivers within the sport’s historical past.
Larson? That pressure of nature driving the No. 5 automobile? He’s led practically 1 / 4 of the 2025 laps run himself (24.5%), probably the most any single driver has led since Kevin Harvick paced 26.4% of the season‘s first 12 races in 2015.
They‘re not simply attending to the entrance, although; they‘re staying there. The foursome has already racked up 29 top-10 finishes — a group file via 12 races — and a minimum of one in all them has landed within the prime 5 in each single occasion. For context, no different group has had a automobile end within the prime 10 in each race.
The factor is, although … no person has been this dominant, for this lengthy, throughout the Subsequent Gen period. Hendrick is Hendrick, in fact, and any type of precipitous drop-off shouldn’t be anticipated; however is that this present tempo sustainable? Whereas the numbers are gaudy, the remainder of the sector isn‘t precisely rolling over for them.
Group Penske, after what‘s changing into an annual sluggish begin (that tends to complete with a Invoice France Cup, thoughts you), has rattled off 4 top-five finishes and two wins within the final three races. Joe Gibbs Racing, whereas quieter on the 1.5-milers this yr than we‘re used to, is at all times lurking and has seen its share of dominance this season as effectively, and is driving the momentum of a raucous All-Star Race victory by way of Christopher Bell. These two groups have been, and can seemingly proceed to be, the most important hurdles for Hendrick, however it‘s not all sunshine for the game‘s different previous heavyweights.
Richard Childress Racing is having arguably its slowest begin in years, and 23XI Racing is trying to find consistency. Even playoff regulars like RFK Racing‘s Brad Keselowski are feeling the warmth and working out of time to chill the temp; the 2012 champ has had a depressing begin, with three straight DNFs and never a single prime 10 via the primary 12 races. The opposite two RFK drivers, Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece, have additionally seen how rapidly issues can unravel; every finds themselves in a factors deficit after technical points with their automobiles resulted in penalties in separate weeks after trying like playoff contenders. (Observe: RFK is interesting the penalty to Buescher‘s No. 17 Ford.)
There‘s loads of racing left, nevertheless. The chance of none of these groups figuring it out is, effectively, not going in any respect.
Historical past tells us that this degree of management is uncommon, even for NASCAR‘s winningest group in historical past, and infrequently lasts all the way in which to Phoenix. The grind of the summer time, the stress of the playoff trim-down and an In-Season Problem that would pressure a level of chaos make the following few months really feel like anyone‘s recreation, actually.
Hendrick‘s numbers are historic, however the highway forward is plagued by potential spoilers and hungry rivals.
2. Drink it in: What second will the 2025 Coca-Cola 600 see?
NASCAR’s marathon race has a historical past of bringing the massive moments, being a streak-snapper and establishing the winner for a possible championship run. Don’t count on something totally different come Sunday.
NASCAR‘s longest night time is almost right here, and if historical past is any information, the Coca-Cola 600 is about to ship one other unforgettable chapter.
Charlotte Motor Speedway‘s annual Memorial Day Weekend crown jewel isn‘t only a take a look at of velocity or stamina; it‘s a race that at all times appears to conjure up the surprising, the dramatic and, at occasions, the downright unbelievable.
Although it‘s been the case in previous many years with sure groups dominating for years at a time, current seasons have confirmed that the 600 is no person‘s private playground anymore. In reality, the final eight runnings of this race have every been received by a special driver, with solely Martin Truex Jr. — now retired — managing to double up within the final 13 years. Dominance does matter, as 5 of the final seven winners have additionally led probably the most laps, however it‘s removed from a assure that leads to a visit to Victory Lane. That stated, the polesitter has transformed on a victory twice within the final three runnings of the race that had qualifying, indicating that beginning up entrance does have a tendency to assist.
One factor the Coca-Cola 600 is legendary for, among the many many, is breaking droughts. With a number of big-name drivers sporting notable winless streaks, if one in all them (maybe one of many handful of former champions in determined want of a win) is ready to make the magic occur, this would definitely qualify as a “second.”
Seven occasions a driver has snapped a winless streak of 30 or extra races on this occasion, most lately Ryan Blaney in 2023 to propel his championship run, and this race has a knack for serving as a launching pad. Within the playoff period, it‘s even supplied hope for these on the skin trying in: Each Denny Hamlin (2022) and Austin Dillon (2017) received the 600 whereas sitting beneath the playoff elimination line, proving {that a} single night time in Charlotte can rewrite a complete season.
So who‘s poised to grab the second in 2025? Nicely, sadly for the sector, it does seem to form up on paper as one which closely favors Hendrick drivers. Larson owns a glowing 3.75 common on intermediate tracks this yr and, actually, any of the 4 might stroll out of Charlotte Motor Speedway and sleep in their very own mattress subsequent to a Coca-Cola 600 trophy. (Although Larson’s the one one that would accumulate two trophies that day.)
Byron, particularly, is the title to circle. He‘s completed fourth or higher in three of the final 4 Coca-Cola 600s and was runner-up a yr in the past. He‘s logged prime 10s in 10 of his final 14 races on 1.5-mile tracks and has led laps in 5 straight Charlotte oval occasions. The 2-time defending Daytona 500 winner has been persistently glorious your complete yr and will break via for win No. 2 of the season sooner relatively than later, and fairly probably on Sunday.
Regardless of the group‘s lack of current consistency, although, 23XI Racing‘s Tyler Reddick is one other driver to observe; he‘s completed within the prime 10 in all 5 of his Coke 600 begins, with a mean end of 6.4 to guide all energetic drivers. Consistency like that’s uncommon in a race this grueling.
However don‘t overlook the sleepers. Hyak Motorsports driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has quietly put collectively a robust Charlotte resume, ending seventh in two of the final three Coca-Cola 600s and notching prime 15s in seven of his final 9 begins there. He‘s additionally lurking within the prime 15 within the standings and will flip the playoff image on its head if he had been in a position to safe his spot Sunday night time.
On the flip aspect, some huge names have struggled to unravel the 600 puzzle. 23XI‘s Bubba Wallace has only one prime 10 in eight Charlotte oval begins and has been hampered by penalties in practically each try. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain‘s common end on this race is a distant twenty third, with just one end result higher than fifteenth, however he‘s additionally been closing in on a win recently — will he buck the development of his spotty previous right here?
Drivers‘ endurance and groups‘ means to adapt as circumstances change will definitely take a look at the sector this weekend, significantly given the final full working of the race was two years in the past. It‘s a race the place technique, persistence and just a little little bit of luck are as necessary as uncooked velocity and, again and again, it‘s been the location of dramatic finishes, first-time winners and season-defining moments.
Because the engines fireplace and the laps start to mount, followers and groups alike ought to savor each minute, as a result of on the Coca-Cola 600, something can — and infrequently does — occur.
Drink it in, everybody. The subsequent nice NASCAR reminiscence is simply 600 miles away.
3. Bell on All-Star aggression: ‘If something, I used to be on the nicer aspect’
Christopher Bell particulars his side-by-side battle with Joey Logano from Sunday night time’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
4. Longest winless streaks ended within the Coca-Cola 600
From Kyle Busch to Chase Elliott to Brad Keselowski and past, a number of big-name drivers are driving prolonged winless streaks. The Coca-Cola 600 has a behavior of being a streak-snapper, so will one in all them get again within the win column Sunday? (Credit score: Racing Insights)
DriverDateStreakMark Martin5/26/0273Ryan Blaney5/29/2359Kasey Kahne5/25/0852Kyle Petty5/24/8736Martin Truex Jr.5/29/1634Carl Edwards5/24/1531Brad Keselowski5/24/2030Neil Bonnett5/29/83245. Catch the pack — information and notes from across the storage
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