The 2025 Coca-Cola 600 felt like a turning point in the NASCAR season after a string of lackluster races and boring winners. 

From a fresh and exciting broadcast to a first-time winner, one of the Cup schedule’s crown jewels did not disappoint. We’d like to cover some takeaways from the final act on the greatest day in motorsports. 

Primed and Ready

The Coke 600 marked the start of Prime Video’s NASCAR coverage in 2025

The first weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway ended FOX’s TV coverage and the start of the five-race run on Prime Video, NASCAR’s first big shift from cable TV to a streaming service. After another reign of terror from FOX, Prime’s heightened coverage and serious demeanor are a welcome breath of fresh air for fans. 

The graphics package is sleek and feels legitimate, while even the ads feel a bit more polished and serious than their FOX counterparts. Maybe it’s just me, but it seemed that way. I personally love the NASCAR logo style font for the track name at the top of the ticker. 

The commentary trio of Dale Jr, Steve Letarte and Adam Alexander felt fresh and energetic compared to what we used to get, but I think they’ll need some more time to settle in. It’s great to hear Alexander call a Cup race, he’s always been very underrated to me. 

How can we sing Prime’s praises without mentioning the sound mixing? That was some of the best-sounding NASCAR I’ve heard through my TV in a long time. Bravo, it’s a good start for the streaming era of the sport. 

Twice the Pride, Double the Fall

Kyle Larson’s second attempt at the Indy 500/Coke 600 double fell apart fast Sunday evening, unforgivingly

It was the sequel for Kyle Larson’s storied attempt at both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, a feat only four other drivers can say they’ve attempted. Unfortunately for the Cup veteran, things fell apart rather quickly. 

He started his Indy 500 bid with a bad pit stop due to dropping the clutch too soon coming out of the pit lane. The miscue was capped off as Larson dropped gears coming through turn three, causing him to spin out and end his day. At least he had plenty of time to make it to Charlotte, I guess. 

Upon making it to the Coke 600, it started to seem that an angry Larson was exactly what the field didn’t want to see. He commanded the lead from HMS teammate William Byron, and they started to look fast, before the track would eat him alive, seeing him spin twice. 

It was a hard go for Larson, who constantly gets put under the pressure of being one of the best. In a season of highs and lows, maybe what the Elk Grove native needs is a bit of a summer dirt detox. 

Back on Track 

2025 has felt like a season of slow cars and horrible luck for Justin Marks’ Chevrolet team, until the comeback of the season took place. 

If there’s one thing that the longstanding Kubota sponsorship with Trackhouse has in common with the team, it’s that they both specialized in tractors before Sunday. 

The 2025 Cup season has felt like purgatory for the once sleek, fresh new team on the block with winning speed. Nobody feels that more than the driver of the #1 Jockey Chevrolet, Ross Chastain. 

The Florida native has been the one “bright spot” for the team all year, wheeling his car to a top 10 now and again while teammates Daniel Suarez and Shane Van Gisbergen suffer in the low 20s. 

Chastain finally changed fate as he took his Chevy from dead last after a spin in qualifying to victory lane for his first-ever Coca-Cola 600 win. It was a win that Justin Marks and the entire garage needed desperately, and as the schedule heats up into summer, Chastain can slowly build up his spot in the playoff standings. 

As for Suarez and SVG, maybe the Melon Man’s newfound success can help revive those teams, as they’ve suffered on almost every track type and every location this season. 

A Breath of Fresh Air

On a lackluster Motorsports Christmas, NASCAR delivered an absolute gem

As Cam alluded to in the intro, the Cup Series needed this race. It’s been frustrating to tune into the series week in and week out, only to be greeted by action that could be better described as visual Nyquil than racing.

Lucky for us, if the last couple of weeks have been sleep aids, that race was more akin to mid-2000s caffeine-filled Four Loko. It reminded me why I fell in love with the sport, and watching alongside non-motorsports fans, it had them on the edge of their seats.

I can comfortably say Chastain made racing fans tonight, which in and of itself should be appreciated. Especially after an electric nap of a Monaco Grand Prix and an Indy 500 so drunk it’s more akin to a current Four Loko, for the wrong reasons. 

NASCAR and its volatile Next Gen car delivered presents when it looked like every motorsports fan was getting coal.