5/27/2025
Postman 68
Superb competition at Charlotte makes a case for a championship race
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
The historical high temperature in Concord, North Carolina, in early November is 66 degrees.
Why is that statistic relevant to stock car racing?
NASCAR is considering possible venues for its season-ending Championship weekend, which will start to move in rotation next year with a return to Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Phoenix Raceway, which has hosted Championship races in all three of NASCAR’s national series for the past five years, will remain in the mix.
With weather clearly a major consideration in the placement of the title races, Las Vegas is another city that immediately comes to mind. The average high temperature in November in Sin City is 66 degrees.
In determining the rotation for the Championship 4 races, weather clearly is a major consideration, but it isn’t the only one. The quality of the product on the track also should be an important element in the selection.
And if what fans saw in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 is an indication, Charlotte Motor Speedway deserves a place in the championship lineup.
After William Byron dominated the first two stages of the race in fading daylight, the track changed, as it always does. Denny Hamlin arrived at the front of the field to challenge Byron, who had won the second stage by more than seven seconds.
Over the last 300 miles of NASCAR’s longest race, Byron and Hamlin battled back and forth, swapping the lead 14 times—nine times in the third stage alone.
Hamlin would attack. Byron would defend. Hamlin would edge ahead at the start/finish line by thousandths of a second. Byron would charge through the first two corners and regain the top spot.
It was sustained, close competition at the highest level.
And then, seemingly out of nowhere, crew chief Phil Surgen made an adjustment to Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet that brought the car to life for the final run.
With Hamlin out of fuel and out of the picture after an unscheduled pit stop, Chastain was relentless in his pursuit of Byron, who led 283 of the 400 laps. On Lap 394, Byron’s car tightened up in Turns 3 and 4.
Seizing the opportunity, Chastain carried his momentum into Turns 1 and 2, dived to the inside and cleared Byron’s Chevrolet off the corner. Chastain went on to win one of the most memorable races of the last four years.
Notably, the Coca-Cola 600 produced some of the most compelling racing of the Gen 7 era, and it happened in front of a packed house.
Let’s hope Charlotte Motor Speedway gets the consideration it deserves when NASCAR decides which venues are worthy of the championship races.
Photo: Jared C. Tilton -- Getty Images for NASCAR
Submitted By: Steve Post
