NASCAR drivers are preparing to compete in the annual Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 24, 2026, under a cloud of tragedy following the sudden death of racing legend Kyle Busch on Thursday.
The 600-mile event in Concord, North Carolina, stands as the longest race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
It features a $13,855,363 purse across 400 laps divided into four equal 100-lap stages.
Defending race winner Ross Chastain expressed the garage's collective determination to proceed with the event despite the emotional weight of losing the two-time Cup Series champion.
"Knowing Kyle, that's what he would want to do," said Chastain, driver for Trackhouse Racing.
Chastain emphasized the mindset of the competitors as they prepared to return to the 1.5-mile asphalt oval under somber circumstances.
"No question about driving down here to the track, no questions in my mind about coming in and going to work and going to race," he said.
He noted that pushing forward remains the primary focus for the field during this challenging weekend.
"It's what we do," said Chastain.
In response to the tragedy, Richard Childress Racing announced plans to temporarily retire Busch's No. 8 Chevrolet until his 11-year-old son, Brexton, is old enough to drive it.
The team will switch to the No. 33 Chevrolet driven by Austin Hill.
The race field also features Katherine Legge, who aims to complete the historic motor sports "Double" by flying via helicopter and private plane to race in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Inclement weather forced the cancellation of Cup qualifying on Saturday afternoon, causing officials to set the starting grid according to the rule book.
This placed points leader Tyler Reddick on the pole.
The National Weather Service has issued a challenging forecast for Sunday evening, projecting a 70 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms.
These conditions could disrupt the broadcast scheduled to stream live on Amazon Prime Video.
The complete starting lineup determined by the NASCAR rule book features 39 entrants scheduled to take the green flag.
Coca-Cola 600 Starting Lineup
- 1. Tyler Reddick (45)
- 2. Ty Gibbs (54)
- 3. Shane van Gisbergen (97)
- 4. Michael McDowell (71)
- 5. Chase Briscoe (19)
- 6. Ryan Blaney (12)
- 7. Chris Buescher (17)
- 8. Austin Cindric (2)
- 9. Austin Dillon (3)
- 10. AJ Allmendinger (16)
- 11. Denny Hamlin (11)
- 12. Ryan Preece (60)
- 13. Austin Hill (33)
- 14. Daniel Suarez (7)
- 15. John Hunter Nemechek (42)
- 16. Chase Elliott (9)
- 17. Christopher Bell (20)
- 18. Kyle Larson (5)
- 19. Zane Smith (38)
- 20. Todd Gilliland (34)
- 21. Erik Jones (43)
- 22. Cole Custer (41)
- 23. Carson Hocevar (77)
- 24. Bubba Wallace (23)
- 25. Connor Zilisch (88)
- 26. Brad Keselowski (6)
- 27. Ross Chastain (1)
- 28. Noah Gragson (4)
- 29. Alex Bowman (48)
- 30. Riley Herbst (35)
- 31. William Byron (24)
- 32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47)
- 33. Joey Logano (22)
- 34. Josh Berry (21)
- 35. Ty Dillon (10)
- 36. Timmy Hill (66)
- 37. Katherine Legge (78)
- 38. Cody Ware (51)
- 39. Corey Heim (67)
