Charlotte Motor Speedway

Charlotte Motor Speedway, formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway, is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles (21 km) from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, the Sprint All-Star Race, and the Bank of America 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.

The 2,000 acres (810 ha) complex also features a state-of-the-art quarter mile (0.40 km) drag racing strip, ZMAX Dragway. It is the only all-concrete, four-lane drag strip in the United States and hosts NHRA events. Alongside the drag strip is a state-of-the-art clay oval that hosts dirt racing including the World of Outlaws finals among other popular racing events.

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte /ˈʃɑːrlət/ is the largest city in the state of North Carolina, in the United States. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County and the second largest city in the Southeastern United States, just behind Jacksonville, Florida. Charlotte is the third fastest growing major city in the United States. In 2014, the estimated population of Charlotte according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 809,958, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area ranks 22nd largest in the US and had a 2014 population of 2,380,314. The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of a sixteen-county market region or combined statistical area with a 2014 U.S. Census population estimate of 2,537,990. Residents of Charlotte are referred to as "Charlotteans". It is listed as a "gamma-plus" global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

Charlotte is home to the corporate headquarters of Bank of America and the east coast operations of Wells Fargo, which among other financial operations makes it the second largest banking center in the United States. Among Charlotte's many notable attractions, some of the most popular include the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL), the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), two NASCAR Sprint Cup races and the NASCAR All-Star Race, the Wells Fargo Championship, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Carowinds amusement park, and the U.S. National Whitewater Center. Charlotte Douglas International Airport is a major international hub, and was ranked the 23rd busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic in 2013.

Speedway

Speedway may refer to:

In racing

Other uses

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke (a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company in the United States since March 27, 1944). Originally intended as a patent medicine when it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton, Coca-Cola was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coke to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century. The name refers to two of its original ingredients: kola nuts, a source of caffeine, and coca leaves. The current formula of Coca-Cola remains a trade secret, although a variety of reported recipes and experimental recreations have been published.

The company produces concentrate, which is then sold to licensed Coca-Cola bottlers throughout the world. The bottlers, who hold exclusive territory contracts with the company, produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute and merchandise Coca-Cola to retail stores, restaurants and vending machines. The Coca-Cola Company also sells concentrate for soda fountains to major restaurants and food service distributors.

Coca-Cola 600

The Coca-Cola 600 is an annual 600-mile (970 km) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina during Memorial Day weekend. The event, when first held in 1960, became the first race to be held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Run since 1960, it is the longest race on NASCAR's schedule at 600 miles (970 km). It is also unique for the fact that the race changes drastically from start to finish. 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, In 2016, with Memorial Day being on May 30, the race will be held on May 29, with the Sprint Showdown and the Sprint All-Star Race moving up, and the FedEx 400 will move from the last week in May to the third weekend in May before All-Star Weekend.

Race origins

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.