Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual 600-mile (970 km) NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first one held at the new Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is the longest race on NASCAR's schedule at 600 miles (970 km).[1] It is unique for having track conditions that change throughout the race. It starts around 6:20 PM and the track is bathed in sunlight for the first third of the race. The second third happens at dusk, and the final third under the lights.
The race is run later on the same day as the Indianapolis 500 of IndyCar, with several drivers having performed Double Duty, competing in both races.
Brad Keselowski is the defending champion of the Coca-Cola 600.
In the spring of 1959, Curtis Turner returned to Charlotte, North Carolina, after viewing Bill France Sr.'s Daytona International Speedway and had an idea of building a race track in the surrounding area. Turner thought he could borrow enough money to build a $750,000 track with 45,000 permanent seats on his property in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. Afterward, he learned that a group led by Bruton Smith had a similar idea to build a track near Pineville.[2]
Smith and Turner formed an alliance to build the track, and they signed a contract with NASCAR to run a 600-mile event on Memorial Day. Once the construction crew broke ground, they found a layer of granite under the topsoil, making the construction costly. The area for the first turn alone used $70,000 worth of dynamite, ballooning Turner's $750,000 construction plan to nearly two million dollars. In the spring of 1960, Turner begged for a six-week postponement of the race after a snow storm delayed the concrete pouring.[2]
With two weeks remaining until the inaugural race, the paving subcontractor threatened to quit the job due to lack of payment. To keep him there, Turner and one of his friends threatened the subcontractor with a shotgun and a revolver to ensure the track's backstretch would be completed.[2] The first event at the newly completed Charlotte Motor Speedway was held on June 19, 1960.
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