CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600, the annual crown-jewel Charlotte race on the Cup Series schedule, isn’t going anywhere. As Speedway Motorsports president and CEO Marcus Smith put it, “Moving the Coke 600 would be like taking the Masters out of Augusta.”
“You just don’t do it,” said Smith, whose father Bruton Smith brought the race to the Charlotte area in 1960. “It is a special event. It’s a historic event.”
But NASCAR’s schedule in the last two years has undergone radical changes. What was once sacrosanct no longer necessarily is in the name of innovation. Bristol Motor Speedway was covered in dirt for points races for the second straight year. The Clash exhibition race — held every year in its history at Daytona International Speedway until this season — was moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where a purpose-built half-mile oval was constructed atop the football field. The All-Star Race, which was regularly hosted at Charlotte before 2020, ran for the second consecutive year at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend and was met with criticism by fans and pundits.
Given the recent breaks from tradition, it seems fair to raise the question of the future of the Coke 600, which is set to run Sunday, May 29 at 6 p.m. It’s the longest race on NASCAR’s schedule that over the last five years has averaged a time of more than four hours to complete, giving it the reputation of being both unique and tedious.
But Smith, whose Speedway Motorsports operates Bristol, Texas, and other facilities NASCAR visits, in addition to Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval, indicated that the 600 will remain unchanged.
“This event, I like to say, it’s not growing old. It’s growing more legendary,” Smith said. “It’s just one of those things now that for generations — we’re on a fourth generation of fans that are coming to the Coca-Cola 600. What a special thing.”
The race format is likely to stick around in the long term, as well. Humpy Wheeler, the former longtime general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, said last year that he thought the Coca-Cola 600 should feature an earlier start time and 10- or 20-lap heat races rather that its evening start (which prevents it from overlapping with the Indy 500) and four-stage race.
“Why not?” said Wheeler, who promoted 35 Coke 600 races during his career. “You start off with those heat races, and once you get that over, then you run the so-called ‘main event.’ Maybe the main event is two races of 150 miles apiece, and then you’ve got a show.”
Wheeler was also partial to the suggestion of a mid-race intermission, which was a feature of this year’s Clash at the Coliseum in which rapper Ice Cube performed during the break, but according to Charlotte Motor Speedway’s current general manager Greg Walter, those changes likely won’t happen at the 600.
“I don’t foresee us changing the race and the competition,” Walter said. “But never say never. If there was talk about that at some point, I guess we could, but what we’re hearing, I don’t foresee that happening any time in the near future.”
Still, there are new elements infused into this year’s event aimed at drawing a crowd beyond the racing. Circle K Speed Street, a musical festival typically held in uptown Charlotte, relocated to the speedway in Concord this year as the track aims to boost attendance that was impacted by COVID-19 restrictions the previous two years.
“Fans are super excited. That’s one of the things where you’re rethinking, ‘How do we continue to make this a compelling even to come to each and every year?’ ” Walter said of Speed Street.
Last year, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper lifted coronavirus gathering limits two weeks before the 600 weekend, allowing the speedway to operate at full capacity, but with limited time to sell tickets ahead of the race, which in 2020 ran without any fans in attendance due to the pandemic. This year, the speedway is on pace for a sellout, according to Walter. Last year, leading up to the race, he said that Charlotte Motor Speedway was expecting to host a crowd of around 50,000. (NASCAR and the tracks do not disclose attendance figures.) He called this year’s ticket sales pacing “impressive,” and estimated that 2022 Coca-Cola 600 attendance would reach close to the speedway’s capacity of roughly 95,000 people, including in general admission areas.
“When you think about storied events, you think about the Kentucky Derby. You think about the Indy 500, events that have been in the same place for decades,” Walter said. “The fact (is) that we have this culture of being constructively discontent. We can’t do the same thing each and every time, even though we will have a hugely successful race this coming weekend for Memorial Day weekend.”
Walter said that the speedway worked with promoter and production groups for Speed Street, like the 600 Festival Association and CSM Production, to relocate the music festival. The concert lineup includes performances by Flo Rida, Steve Miller Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd, who will perform throughout the weekend. Those shows are intermixed with other activities around the venue, such as a ferris wheel and stunt shows with the Globe of Death motorcycle riders, extreme pogoing and BMX, as well as driver appearances in fan areas. The track will be as busy as the fan zones, with activity from Friday through Sunday with ARCA, Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series practice, qualifying and races ongoing. A number of team race shops in the surrounding Concord and greater Charlotte area will also be open to visitors.
“We just decided to make it easier to make it like one-stop shopping for those who come here for the great weekend of racing,” Walter said. “We’ve actually painted streets … all the streets kind of angle toward the back where you’re gonna have this huge stage and almost this musical town that’s gonna be there. A lot of activity. We programmed it very heavily for the fans.”
Walter also highlighted the pre-race traditions that honor the military, such as special performances of “Taps” and the national anthem, as fan favorites. Cup Series driver Austin Dillon, a North Carolina native who won the 2017 Coca-Cola 600, said that those traditions were part of what makes the race special to him.
“It’s an iconic weekend, being Memorial Day weekend, seeing all the different military branches, the men and women that protect this country out there,” Dillon said. “I always get excited for that race, the national anthem and the show that goes on before, and really paying homage to all of those that have fought for this country. … It’s a very special race and I hope it never goes away.”
By Tuesday, Walter said his team will be evaluating the success of this year’s race, and chances to tweak it for future years. The speedway recently received a $13 million grant from the state as part of its Motorsports Relief Fund aimed at boosting tourism recovery. The money is required to be used for infrastructure improvements, such as upgrades to grandstands, pedestrian walkways, bathrooms and “a variety of other facility needs,” although a specific application of the money hasn’t yet been outlined. The upcoming 600 could further help SMI identify appropriate uses for those funds. Strong attendance could also help Charlotte Motor Speedway’s push to win back the All-Star Race that once was long held there.
In 2020, the exhibition race featuring NASCAR’s top drivers was moved from Charlotte to Bristol Motor Speedway amid an increase of COVID-19 cases in North Carolina before shifting to Texas the following year. At the finish of last Sunday’s All-Star Race, NASCAR deemed that a late caution came before the checkered flag, forcing an overtime race. Eventual winner Ryan Blaney took his window net down thinking he won before the final restart, then rode around struggling to get it back up, eliciting widespread criticism of the officiating and venue of the All-Star event, which many feel has become stale in recent years.
Walter said that Charlotte wants the race back on its schedule.
“I think that the All-Star Race returning to where it started back to Charlotte Motor Speedway is certainly possible,” Walter said. “We will continue to make a compelling case for us to host it again.”
“It’s something that’s a great economic engine, if you will, for our region and our community,” he continued. “So we’ll continue to work towards whatever we can to bring it back to Charlotte.”
A successful Coca-Cola 600 could help its case for hosting an event that’s marketed as more than the race, especially if it can hit the right mix of innovation and tradition.
