U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to serve as grand marshal for Coca-Cola 600

Next week, for the Coca-Cola 600, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will serve as grand marshal on Memorial Day Weekend. A NASCAR race centered around honoring the military, the top man in the defense department, will have a part in it.

Secretary Hegseth will give the command to start engines for the Coca-Cola 600. Last year, President Donald Trump, running for office at the time, attended the 600 in a rain-shortened event.

Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic reported on the news. Hegseth served in the Army National Guard. He served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and at Guantanamo Bay during his time in the military before spending a decade at FOX News as a contributor and then as a host.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to serve as grand marshal at the Coca-Cola 600.

— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) May 16, 2025

Kyle Larson takes Cup point lead ahead of Coca-Cola 600

Kyle Larson is going to go into the Coca-Cola 600 as the points leader in the NASCAR Cup Series. His overwhelming win at Kansas last week secured him the lead over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron.

“I think it’s good for our team, I think it’s good for our sport,” Larson said after his Kansas win. He reflected more on the honor.

“I think it’s good for racing that the Cup Series points leader is competing in the Indy 500 for the second year in a row. I would say last year was a goal of mine. This year, I didn’t really think about it. But I do think it puts even more of a spotlight on us and our sport.

“I do think it’s really cool, and yeah, we had a great day, so great points day. Yeah, I look forward to the next couple weeks and then actually getting to race the 600 and hopefully having the point lead after that one, too.”

This season, Kyle Larson already has three wins after just 12 races, a career-best through that many races. He has 8 stage wins, no one else has more than 3. Larson has led 817 laps. He also has 128 stage points. What more do you want?

Everyone says that the Next Gen car can’t produce superstars. It doesn’t encourage the best of the best to succeed. Well, the best driver in the series is the points leader and is tied for most wins this year. The other guy with three wins is third in points, Christopher Bell.

We didn’t see it end in an epic clash. But Larson and Bell were once again 1-2 in this race. From dirt to NASCAR, they can’t seem to get away from one another. The ingredients are there, but NASCAR has to get the recipe right.