Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain stunned the crowds at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday by pulling a daring move to win the Coca-Cola 600 in the final laps. He split the gap between Denny Hamlin and William Byron to snatch the lead with only six laps left in the race. But the bigger shock of the day awaited him on pit road a little later.
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Just as he was rumbling his No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro down pit road, an enthusiastic fan approached him. He high-fived the driver and then, out of nowhere, he reached into the car and pulled off Chastain’s hat. The driver was clearly not pleased and instructed the NASCAR security to get his hat back from the fan, who had run away by then.
Chastain finally got the hat back and explained in the post-race press conference with humor. He said, “He just pulled the hat and he did this little dance and he said, ‘I got your hat. I got your hat.’ I was like, ‘Okay, now give it back.’ He ran away.”
Chastain had no choice but to ask the security to intervene on his behalf. But what made the hat so special?
He continued, “It’s my winning hat. It rode in the car. Every week, every race I ever drive, I set the hat… with a hole in it, so that I can set it on the shifter and it rides on the transmission tunnel every week.
“That’s the hat. I will put that on the shelf and it means a lot to me. I am not going to give that away.” While he admitted that he was a bit harsh with his words, the consensus was that he was right in being so tough.
A fan stole @RossChastain’s hat while he was driving to victory lane earlier tonight.
Ross stopped the car and told security to get his hat back. His winning hats mean something to him and the fan was taunting him about it.
Wild story. Take a listen to Ross explain. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/ZTcibwmC3t
— Noah Lewis (@Noah_Lewis1) May 26, 2025
The ‘Melon Man’ was equally thrilled to have earned his first Cup win since Kansas last fall — if not more. And he did it from the 40th and dead last on the grid.
Chastain’s excitement at winning the Coca-Cola 600
Winning a crown jewel race is an incredible achievement for any driver. And for it to be his first win of the season added more juice to the moment for Chastain.
He said about what the win means to him, “I don’t know yet. I really don’t. I mean, it’s sinking in that we won the 600. But what that means for the team, me, and everything else… I don’t know what it means yet. I am excited to find out though.”
Chastain had crashed his car during practice the day before the race. He led a total of eight laps on Sunday after his crew worked on a new car until 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, then returned to complete the work at 5:30 a.m. He was largely grateful for the dedication that his team members displayed. The result he delivered was a fitting reward for their efforts.
