Prior to this past Sunday, part of what made the Indy-Charlotte Double on Memorial Day Weekend so appealing and so viable was that there was no worst-case scenario or cautionary tale attached to it. Thanks to the experience of Kyle Larson, that has now all changed.
The tenor of Larson’s much-anticipated bid to become the fifth driver to ever compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day completely changed Sunday morning, when it became clear that the weather at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would not cooperate in a way that would allow Larson to both race in the Indy 500 and make it to Charlotte Motor Speedway in time for the Coke 600.
Larson finished 18th at Indy as reserve driver Justin Allgaier started his Cup car and finally made it to Charlotte past the halfway point, only for the rain to follow him and bring a premature end to his day of racing — with disastrous consequences for him in NASCAR.
Thanks to his not being able to turn a single lap of the Coke 600 (Allgaier drove Larson’s car to a 13th-place finish), Larson is now at the mercy of NASCAR as to whether he will remain playoff eligible given that he missed a race.
He also lost his lead in the Cup Series regular championship standings, dropping from 30 points behind Martin Truex Jr. to third, six points behind, and he suffered a major setback in the CBS Sports NASCAR Power Rankings, dropping from third to just outside the top 15.
Here’s a look at CBS Sports’ updated NASCAR Power Rankings following the Coca-Cola 600:
RANK
DRIVER
CHANGE
COMMENT
1
Denny Hamlin
—
COMMENT:
After taking a tour of the newly-completed Airspeed, I must say that there are a lot of elements of Denny Hamlin’s vision that I think are enormously smart and appreciable. It’d be nice to see a place like Airspeed become the new standard for NASCAR team headquarters and race shops.
2
Brad Keselowski
COMMENT:
Brad Keselowski kept his post-Darlington momentum at Charlotte, running second and just missing out on his second Coke 600 win. Keselowski has one Gateway win in Xfinity Series competition, which came in the fall of 2010.
3
Chase Elliott
COMMENT:
Chase Elliott was fairly critical of the $75,000 fine levied by NASCAR to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for his fight at North Wilkesboro, offering that it was odd for the sanctioning body to punish Stenhouse while simultaneously using the fight for promotion and publicity. That, combined with a weekend that saw Elliott win the Xfinity race and finish seventh in the Coke 600, is the sort of thing that helps NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver move the needle.
4
Tyler Reddick
COMMENT:
This might surprise you, but Tyler Reddick’s fourth-place finish in the Coke 600 actually marked his first top-five finish since winning last month at Talladega. In fact, it was also his first top-10 finish outright.
5
Ross Chastain
COMMENT:
We’re still waiting for Trackhouse Racing to show consistent winning speed again, but Ross Chastain’s run in the Coke 600 felt more like what we got used to seeing out of this group in 2022 and 2023. Chastain led 10 laps and finished eighth.
6
Chris Buescher
COMMENT:
Part of what made the Coke 600 getting called early due to rain such a bummer was that it left several storylines that had unfolded during the course of the race unresolved. Namely the issues that Denny Hamlin was having with Chris Buescher on pit road, which at one point sent Hamlin into a tirade on his radio.
7
Ty Gibbs
Ty Gibbs led 74 laps in the Coke 600 from the first pole of his Cup career, but I also noticed him talking with Joe Gibbs Racing ARCA driver Tanner Gray on the grid before that race. Gibbs said his message to Gray was “go win” — and Gray did so, earning his first career ARCA win.
8
Martin Truex Jr.
—
June presents a massive opportunity for Martin Truex Jr. to put his stamp on a playoff spot, as we’re coming up on two of his best racetracks. The Cup Series races at Sonoma and New Hampshire in a three-week span, and Truex is the defending race winner at both tracks.
9
William Byron
William Byron wowed everyone with a daring three-wide pass where he went through the astroturf in the Charlotte quad-oval, offering another illustration of why the decision to put turf instead of natural grass there was a terrific decision. Erik Jones tried a similar move in the 2017 All-Star Open, but it ripped the nose of his car to pieces instead — thankfully, that wouldn’t happen now.
10
Bubba Wallace
There were certain portions of Airspeed that I could not photograph, which included some of the office space, specifically Bootie Barker’s desk and the several bottles of whiskey perched on it. I appreciate Bubba Wallace saying his spot next to his crew chief’s desk is his favorite spot at Airspeed during his media session so I could let the people know.
11
Josh Berry
Things have started to click for Josh Berry in the past month, as he now has two top-10 finishes in a row and has finished 16th or better in every race since Talladega. Berry is proving that he is a Cup-caliber driver at just the right time to be doing so.
12
Christopher Bell
To me, it’s tiresome when people try to discredit a driver like Christopher Bell for winning a race that gets shortened by rain. If you’re going to be mad at anyone, be mad that your favorite driver wasn’t leading when it started raining or that his team wasn’t bold enough to get him there and take a chance on the skies opening up.
13
Alex Bowman
Alex Bowman continues to piece together a rock solid season from a statistical standpoint. His four top fives already match his 2022 and 2023 totals, his top 10 count (9) is just one off of all of 2023 (10), and he only needs three more top 10s to match his output from 2022 (12).
14
Noah Gragson
With all Stewart-Haas Racing drivers now on the market, I think any team out there would be foolish to not make Gragson the most sought-after of the bunch. Someone is going to hire Gragson for their Cup team in 2025 and is going to be really glad they did.
15
Joey Logano
After winning $1 million in the All-Star Race, Joey Logano went and got his CDL, a nice personal milestone given that he grew up with his family owning a trucking company. The Coke 600 showed that Logano’s team still has a bit of work to do on their downforce program compared to their short track program, as the No. 22 started 28th and finished 14th.
16
Michael McDowell
—
It’s worth wondering what the domino effect of Stewart-Haas shutting down will be as it pertains to Front Row potentially buying one of their charters and having not one, but two seats open for 2025. FRM could end up with their pick of the litter, especially if Stewart-Haas’ drivers remain tied to Ford Performance.
17
Kyle Larson
This is my opinion: NASCAR is in a tough position as far as giving Kyle Larson a playoff waiver goes, because if they choose not to, I think it squashes any future Indy-Charlotte Double attempts as team owners won’t want to risk their drivers’ playoff eligibility if something goes wrong. That’s not good for NASCAR, and it’s especially not good for IndyCar, which clearly benefited from the extra publicity Larson’s Indy 500 run gave them.
18
Todd Gilliland
—
A crash at Dover notwithstanding, the month of May turned out to be a good one for Todd Gilliland. In his last three races, he’s had two top-15 finishes and three finishes of 17th or better.
19
Chase Briscoe
What happens to Chase Briscoe after the dissolution of Stewart-Haas is the biggest question mark I have from the affair. Briscoe got his break in NASCAR and got brought up to Cup through SHR, more or less serving as a spiritual successor to Tony Stewart himself as a young driver from Indiana.
20
Justin Haley
Gateway is a track that has been very kind to Justin Haley over the years. He picked up his very first Truck Series win there in 2018, and he’s since had finishes of 14th and 16th in two Cup races in St. Louis so far.
21
Kyle Busch
Come Sunday at Gateway, it will have been a full year since the last time Kyle Busch won a Cup Series race. We’re entering the throes of strange and unfamiliar territory for Busch, who’s barely endured long dry spells without winning races since he picked up his first Cup win in 2005.
22
Ryan Blaney
Gateway presents a good bounce-back opportunity for Ryan Blaney after a right front wheel failure put him out of the Coke 600. In the two Cup races held at Gateway, Blaney has had finishes of fourth and sixth.
23
Austin Cindric
Austin Cindric earned his second-straight 20th-place finish at Charlotte, but the big winner of the day wound up being his father. Though he is serving a suspension for his involvement in the push-to-pass scandal that embroiled Penske’s IndyCar team, Penske team president Tim Cindric saw his driver Josef Newgarden earn vindication for the company with his second-straight Indy 500 win.
24
Daniel Suarez
Talk about bad timing: Daniel Suarez had a solid run going in the Coke 600, but he dropped out of the top 15 due to a pit road penalty that happened just before it began raining. A 24th for Suarez did not reflect the way he ran.
25
Carson Hocevar
The highlight of Carson Hocevar’s weekend ended up being FS1’s Drivers Only broadcast of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, as Hocevar made his debut as a pit reporter to rave reviews. He would back it up by finishing 21st in his first Coke 600.
26
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
The fight at North Wilkesboro has distracted somewhat from the fact that Ricky Stenhouse, who won the Daytona 500 and made the playoffs in 2023, hasn’t been running well. He has just one top five and two top 10s so far, and he finished the Coke 600 deep in the field back in 31st.
27
Corey LaJoie
It’s been a full year of wondering what could have been. Corey LaJoie got his biggest opportunity ever a year ago when he served as the substitute driver for Chase Elliott at Gateway, but things didn’t work out as LaJoie finished 21st.
28
Daniel Hemric
Daniel Hemric is back in the Power Rankings after he earned an 18th-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600. A solid home showing for the driver from nearby Kannapolis, N.C.
29
Erik Jones
Erik Jones has done a good job building his baseline back up since returning from his Talladega injury at Darlington. Jones has finished 19th the last two races in a row since his accident.
30
Ryan Preece
I feel as bad for Ryan Preece as I do anyone caught up in SHR’s decline and shuttering. Here’s a driver who earned his way into a powerhouse Cup team on his talent — and it turns out to be a dysfunctional situation he has not been able to succeed in.
