Following Christopher Bell's late pass to get around Joey Logano and win the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to points-paying competition with the running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night.
The 600-miler is the longest race on the Cup Series schedule, testing drivers and crews as it begins in the daylight and ends under the lights around four hours later. With a pre-race show unlike any other as the sport pays tribute and honors the military on Memorial Day Weekend, plus the 600 Miles of Remembrance, which features the name of a fallen service member on the windshield of each car, the tributes and ceremonies are unmatched during one of NASCAR's crown jewel events.
While Bell comes into the weekend with all the momentum and the $1 million from his All-Star win, most drivers are eager to return to the track, not to mention in NASCAR's backyard at Charlotte. The race is one of the most grueling on the schedule, but represents a lot of opportunity for drivers to right the ship and score some valuable points with an extra stage this weekend due to the length of the race.
As the Cup Series stays home for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, these three drivers are in search of a rebound performance following the All-Star Race.
Kyle Larson, No. 5 (Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
First of all, it is rare for Larson to come away from a race weekend with a lackluster finish. That is exactly what happened at North Wilkesboro, finishing 21st out of the 23-car field. With him balancing commitments between qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 and competing in the All-Star Race, Larson was unable to practice or qualify his Cup car and had to start the exhibition event from the rear. After driving his way up to seventh, a two-tire call on Lap 178 got him out front shortly before wall contact with 36 laps to go eliminated him from contention.
Despite missing out on the $1 million, it was an exhibition race and a small hiccup for Larson this season. As a winner at two 1.5-mile tracks this season (Homestead, Kansas), Larson should be the one to beat this weekend, considering he just led 221 of the 267 laps in the most recent 1.5-mile race at Kansas. While he only has one win (2021) in the Coca-Cola 600, Larson swept all four stages and led 327 of the 400 laps from the pole in a dominant showing, proving how dominant he can be at Charlotte when he has the right car under him.
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 (Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet)
It has not been a good season for the two-time Cup Series winner so far and that was the case again in the All-Star Race. Suarez blew a right front tire and hit the wall while running 16th on Lap 57, ultimately finishing last in the 23-car field. That was the continuation of what has been a rocky 2025 season for Suarez. He has three top 10s, three DNFs and an average finish of 20.9. On the bright side, two of his three top 10s came at 1.5-mile tracks, so not all is lost entering the weekend.
As for the Coca-Cola 600, it has been a rough go for Suarez. While he did lead 36 laps and won Stage 2 in the 2022 race, that was one of three straight finishes outside the top 20 at the track. After Sunday night, the Cup Series will be halfway through its 26-race regular season schedule. There is no better time than in NASCAR's backyard for Suarez to establish some momentum and get things turned around.
Ryan Preece, No. 60 (Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford)
There has not been many positive happenings in the RFK camp of late and All-Star Weekend was no different for Preece. NASCAR gives teams the ability to choose which lane they want on a restart, which is indicated by an orange v on the track. Instead of going inside or outside of it, Preece mistakenly ran over it and was issued a choose violation in Sunday's All-Star Open. Unable to recover, Preece finished 11th and had to watch the All-Star Race Sunday night.
This will be Preece's first Coca-Cola 600 with RFK Racing, but he does have three top 10s on 1.5-mile tracks this season (Las Vegas, Homestead, Kansas) and finished seventh at the most recent one two weeks ago at Kansas. There is only room for improvement in the Coca-Cola 600 for Preece, who has never finished better than 13th (2023) in six starts. Recent 1.5-mile results, though, suggest a career-best finish in NASCAR's longest race could be in store if Preece is around for the finish.