No, Ross Chastain isn’t getting married but his right hand is a little heavier this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway due to the diamonds securely attached to his ring finger.
It’s Coca-Cola 600 ring and it’s one of the symbols of his biggest resume achievement to date. And make no mistake, winning one of the NASCAR Cup Series crown jewels at Charlotte Motor Speedway is very much a big deal and one he celebrated all week with very little rest to this point.
“Yeah, we celebrated,” Chastain said during a press conference on Saturday at Nashville. “We took Sunday night, took our sweet time in Victory Lane and just really soaked it in.It’s so rewarding when you get there because it’s so hard to accomplish it, and to do it at the Coca-Cola 600 was just something that I wanted to just enjoy.
“Then we stayed up all night and they took me out at the Charlotte Airport in the morning and sent me off to Milwaukee. We already had an appearance booked for the Moose. So I got up there and just to see their excitement — they were celebrating from the night before and we had a good time with them Monday and Tuesday.
“Then caught a flight back and got to celebrate with the team Tuesday afternoon. Part of Tuesday and Wednesday was all about prep for here, and then I was off Wednesday night back here to Nashville to start appearances Thursday morning and I’ve been here ever since.”
Chastain says he celebrates so mightily because winning at the highest level is really hard to come by and he says he effectively didn’t want to leave anything on the table.
So what is going to come of that ring that he very clearly can’t fit within a firesuit?
“Lauren Emling (Trackhouse PR) is going to take it when I get in the car,” Chastain said. “We’ve already talked about it because we did lose my cool shirt last week in the chaos of the post-race.
“I had it on for all victory lane, and then we went over to the Prime desk, and I took it off where when we did the cheers down there with Dale (Earnhardt Jr.), Carl (Edwards), Cory LaJoie, Danielle (Trotta) and Justin (Marks). I took it off right before I went on air, and then it’s gone.
“It might still show up, but it’s somewhere. I don’t understand how. It’s a very unique shirt with hoses on it. It seems like somebody knows where it’s at, but we haven’t found it. So I know we left it. It was our fault. But yes, Lauren’s going to take it. I think once I get in this Xfinity car for practice, that’s going to be it. I’m good. But I wanted to wear it all the way until I got in the car next. I take it off to wash my hands, that’s about it.”
It’s worth noting that Chastain also had his winning hat briefly stolen from him after winning the race on Sunday too.
Baby Watch
Ryan Truex is on standby for Denny Hamlin this weekend and would race the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 on Sunday if Jordan Fish is set to deliver the couple’s third child on Sunday.
Sunday would mark his 700th start at the highest level but seeing the birth of his first son behind two daughters is the priority.
“I can’t miss it,” Hamlin said as recorded by NBC Sports. “I certainly have to be there for her and that’s the biggest priority. “I wish she would hang on just a little bit longer.”
If Hamlin cannot take the green flag, he would receive a playoff waiver from NASCAR but lose out on valuable championship points and the chance to add to his playoff point total at the halfway point of the regular season.
Of note, Brad Keselowski will eventually be on baby watch too, but not quite yet.
“Our baby is due in August,” Keselowski said. “We have two months, which is not what my wife wants to hear. It will be around the corner which is all the more reason that a win this weekend would be great.”
Of Larson and McLaughlin
Kyle Larson felt that he owed Scott McLaughlin an apology for a sarcastic thumbs up he delivered during a disaster of a pace lap in the Indianapolis 500 last weekend and did just that.
McLaughlin broke traction on the final warm-up lap before coming to the green and Larson, frustrated that it would delay the rain-delayed start of the race even further, gestured at him as he drove by.
For the Aussie Penske IndyCar contender, it was one of the most gut-wrenching moments of his career, crashing out of the biggest race of the year before it even began.
“He texted me. We’re all good,” McLaughlin told FOX Sports on Thursday. “I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for Kyle.
“I just love poking shit at everyone, too. So my tweet was a bit of making fun of that whole conversation because that’s been such a big piece. But also, I wasn’t going to let him off the hook with that either. That’s the type of person I am.”
Guess im out of the best driver in the world talks. 🤷♂️ https://t.co/CEg0IktCle
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin93) May 26, 2025
Larson was at risk of being pulled from the car before the finish to make it to Charlotte Motor Speedway in time for the Coca-Cola 600 if the race continued to be run under caution.
And at that moment, the race began under caution, meaning he couldn’t even relinquish the ride to backup driver Tony Kanaan to start for him.
“I felt really bad even before I knew that it hit the internet,” Larson told a media scrum when asked about it at Nashville. “I was frustrated because the rain was so light and the delay of the track drying when it was already dry — it took whatever it was, 45 minutes. And then we’re coming to get lights out to go green and I see somebody crash. Then I just reacted with more frustration. And yeah, I shouldn’t have done that.
“As all of us, everybody in life, wishes they could go back and not do something or do something differently. That’s one of those moments for me. I feel like I’m usually pretty good about not keying up or not doing gestures and stuff, but yeah, just let my frustration get the best of me there.
“So was a bit embarrassing and I felt bad. You never want to see anybody crash out of the biggest race in the world before the green and (McLaughlin is) somebody who has always been super respectful to me and really nice to me. I didn’t even realize it was him until I was close to alongside of him. So just wish I could have taken that back.”
Larson later crashed out of the 500 on Lap 92 himself.
Starting lineup
- Chase Briscoe
- Denny Hamlin
- William Byron
- Tyler Reddick
- Ross Chastain
- Brad Keselowski
- Christopher Bell
- Michael McDowell
- Joey Logano
- Chris Buescher
- Chase Elliott
- Bubba Wallace
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Erik JonesRyan Blaney
- Austin Cindric
- AJ Allmendinger
- Justin Haley
- Ryan Preece
- Josh Berry
- Austin Dillon
- Ty Gibbs
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Alex Bowman
- Kyle Busch
- Carson Hocevar
- Zane Smith
- Kyle Larson
- Cole Custer
- Noah Gragson
- Ty Dillon
- Daniel Suarez
- Corey Heim
- Cody Ware
- Todd Gilliland
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Riley Herbst
- JJ Yeley
- Chad Finchum
