Charlotte Motor Speedway

Charlotte Motor Speedway is the home track of NASCAR, the 1.5-mile quad-oval in Concord, North Carolina where nearly every Cup team has its shop within a stone's throw of the front gate. Built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner, Charlotte has been at the center of stock car racing's universe for over six decades. The Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend is the longest race on the schedule — 600 miles that begin in afternoon sunlight and end under the glow of the massive light banks, a grueling test of endurance, strategy, and concentration that separates the great from the merely good. The October race arrives during the Chase, when championship pressure transforms every restart into a high-stakes chess match. Charlotte has hosted more innovations than any other track — the first Cup night race in 1992, the first All-Star Race, countless format experiments. The 24-degree banking and quad-oval shape produce intermediate racing at its finest, rewarding teams with superior aerodynamic packages and drivers with the fitness to maintain precision over punishing distances. This is where NASCAR lives, and the racing reflects that gravity.

Written by Richard R. Glover, NASCAR Reference