Coca-Cola 600

Lore & Background

The event began as an attempt by NASCAR to stage a Memorial Day weekend event to compete with the open-wheel Indianapolis 500. It was not until 1974, however, that both races competed head-to-head on the same day, due to Indianapolis' policy of not racing on Sundays prior to that. Before 1974, the two races were held on different days of the week, and on a few occasions, some drivers drove in both. They continued even after the Coca-Cola 600 was moved to the same day, albeit to a lesser degree.

The first World 600 was held on June 16 due to construction delays of the completion of Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 2009 race, postponed by rain from its original May 24 date, was the first race to occur on Memorial Day itself. After the installation of lights in 1992, fans asked circuit management to start the race later in the day because of the notorious North Carolina heat and humidity. They wanted to follow The Winston's popularity the previous week and switch the race to a nighttime finish to create cooler temperatures for spectators.

The start time was moved back several times throughout the 1990s and finally settled at 5:30 pm in 2001, to attempt to have the race finished by 10 pm ET, in time for local news on Fox affiliates. With the new starting time came new challenges. Not only do race teams have to deal with the blistering Carolina heat, but the considerable temperature drop at night affects track conditions. The nighttime portion of the race is lit with a system that uses parabolic reflectors so that dangerous glare that would otherwise be in the drivers' eyes is minimized.

The move of the race to the early evening made it possible for drivers to do Double Duty – run the Indianapolis 500, then immediately fly from Indianapolis to Charlotte, and participate in the Coca-Cola 600. Experts disagreed over whether, for health and safety reasons, anyone should be allowed to race 1100 miles in one day, but no regulation has been set by any governing body to prevent it. From 2005 to 2010, the issue became moot when the state of Indiana finally decided to implement daylight saving time.

This resulted in only an approximately one-hour interval between the end of the Indianapolis 500 and the start of the Coca-Cola 600.

Reader's Guide

The race is run later on the same day as the Indianapolis 500 of the IndyCar Series, with multiple drivers having performed or attempted Double Duty, competing in both races. No driver has ever won both races, either on the same day or across their career. The NASCAR event is held on the last weekend of May (also known as "the greatest day/weekend in motorsports" due to it being one of the largest weekends in auto racing). The NASCAR race occurs last on the same Sunday after Formula One's Canadian Grand Prix (formerly the Monaco Grand Prix) and the IndyCar Series' Indianapolis 500. Daniel Suárez is the defending winner of the Coca-Cola 600.

Origins and Construction Challenges

In the spring of 1959, Curtis Turner returned to Charlotte after viewing Daytona International Speedway and had an idea of building a track. He thought he could borrow enough money to build a $750,000 track with 45,000 permanent seats. He learned that a group led by Bruton Smith had a similar idea. They formed an alliance and signed a contract with NASCAR to run a 600-mile event on Memorial Day.

When construction crews broke ground, they found a layer of granite under the topsoil, raising costs. The first turn alone used $70,000 worth of dynamite, ballooning Turner's $750,000 plan to nearly two million dollars. In the spring of 1960, Turner begged for a six-week postponement after a snowstorm delayed concrete pouring. With two weeks remaining, the paving subcontractor threatened to quit due to lack of payment.

Turner and a friend threatened the subcontractor with a shotgun and a revolver to ensure the backstretch would be completed. The first event was held on June 19, 1960.

Modern Format and Scoring

Beginning in 2017, NASCAR adopted the stage-racing format. Originally, the 600 was going to have stages 1 & 2 be 115 laps in length, with the third and final stage encompassing the remaining 170 laps. Just a few weeks before the race, the stage format was changed with the addition of a fourth stage, and the race is divided into four uniform stages of 100 laps each. This makes it the only race on the schedule with four stages instead of three. If the weather interferes, NASCAR's rule that a race becomes official after the conclusion of the second stage still applies. It also makes the Coca-Cola 600 the highest scoring race in terms of points a driver can collect. Usually, if a driver sweeps all the stages and passes inspection they score 60 points, but with 4 stages the maximum is 70. Kyle Busch accomplished this in 2018 and Kyle Larson accomplished it in 2021.