As Ross Chastain was heading to victory lane after the Coca-Cola 600 a fan reached into the cockpit and stole his hate
On Sunday, NASCAR raced at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In the closing laps, Ross Chastain made a pass on William Byron to grab the Coca-Cola 600 win.
The win has locked Chastain into the 2025 playoffs. It’s also his first crown jewel victory.
And on the way to victory lane, a rowdy fan approached the driver’s window of Ross Chastain. He then reached in and snatched the hat of Chastain’s head.
Chastain yelled, “Hey, give it back! Stop!”
The engine was shut off. Chastain continued to yell and grabbed the attention of NASCAR security.
He added, “Hey, hey! Give me that hat back! Give me that (expletive) hate back.”
Security retrieved the hat for the race winner.
Coca-Cola 600 results from Charlotte: May 25, 2025 (NASCAR)
Ross Chastain comments on the attempted theft
“I did [get it back],” Ross Chastain stated from the media center after the race.
“That was unfortunate. A guy was on pit road, he was super excited. He reached in, I highfived him. I didn’t know him.”
“He just grabbed my head. I thought, ‘Oh, he’s just saying good job.’ “
“Then, he just pulled the hat. Then, he did this little dance and said, ‘I got your hat.’ “
“I was like, ‘Give it back!’ And he ran away. I just shut the car off and pointed. NASCAR security was there and I was like, ‘That’s my winning hat.’ “
“Every racecar I ever drive, I have to have a hat with a hole in it so I can set it on the shifter. It rides on the transmission, every race.”
“And, I’ll put that on the shelf. It means a lot to me. I’m not going to give that away.”
“I was a little brutal with the words I was saying. But, I wanted the hat back and he was running away. He knew what he was doing.”
“He grabbed it off my head and I didn’t like that.”
