Lowes Motor Speedway

Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) is a superspeedway in Concord, North Carolina, a few miles north of Charlotte.

First NASCAR Night Race

It features a 1.5 mile long quad-oval track that seats 167,000 people, with room for 50,000 more spectators in the infield. Constructed in 1959, it was the first speedway to host nighttime racing (in 1992) and to offer year-round residences (in 1984) with 52 condominiums now available over turn one. It is presently owned by, and is the main facility of, Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

The Center Of NASCAR

The speedway is considered the center of NASCAR, with 90% of NASCAR teams being based within 50 miles.

Along with the main oval, the speedway also has a 2.25 mile road course in the infield, an 0.6 mile kart course in the infield, a quarter-mile oval using part of the front stretch and pit road, and an 0.2 mile oval outside turn three. Also, across U.S. Highway 29 from the speedway is a 0.4 mile dirt track, opened in May 2000.

Levigation

The surface of the circuit had started to wear from its last paving in mid-1994, resulting in the track's treatment in a diamond-grinding process to smooth out bumps in 2005 and caused major tire problems during both NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events there, with a record 22 cautions at the showcase Coca-Cola 600, making it the first Nextel Cup Series event to go more than five hours (excluding red flags) in 25 years. Speed increases were also a result of the repaving. After the problem with the tires, speedway officials promptly announced that they plan to repave with a new generation asphalt.

Lowes Motor Speedway The Busiest Venue

The facility is considered one of the busiest sports venues in the country, with typically over 380 events a year. Along with many races, the speedway also hosts the Food Lion Auto Fair twice a year, one of the nation's largest car shows. Movies and commercials are filmed there, like Days of Thunder, and it is a popular tourist stop and testing grounds.

In February 1999, Lowe's bought the naming rights to the speedway, making it the first race track in the country with a corporate sponsor.

Tragedy At Lowes Motor Speedway

Two Indy Racing League races were held at the circuit in 1997 and 1998, with Buddy Lazier and Kenny Brack winning the mid-summer Saturday night 500k (208 lap) races on the circuit. A third, which was held in 1999, moved to the Saturday before the start of the Indianapolis 500 meet, was aborted shortly before halfway when a crash led to a car losing a tire, which was then propelled into the stands by another car. Three spectators were killed and eight others were injured in the incident.

That incident, and a previous incident in July 1998 in a Champ Car race at Michigan International Speedway which also killed three spectators (but that race was run to its finish), led to new rules requiring cars to have tethers attached to wheel hubs in an effort to prevent such incidents from happening again, and also different types of catch fencing, curved so debris could not sail into the grandstands.

Following the accident, a short series of bombings took place in Lowe's home improvement stores in North Carolina, injuring three, and prompting some to think there may be a link with a relative of one of the victims. When George Rocha was arrested for the bombings, he claimed that he was angry about the crash at the speedway, but he later confessed that it was retribution for being caught shoplifting and an attempt at extortion.

Don't Have A Cow Man

In 2000, an episode of The Simpsons drew the ire of track management because it parodied the incident. On May 26, 2006, the Pixar movie Cars premiered at the speedway, on several monster screens.

During a "Race Week", Concord can balloon by over 200,000 people, temporarily making it the third largest city in North Carolina.

Tragedy Strikes Again

The ARCA RE/MAX Series races here, and for several years, an ARCA racer died in either a race or practice. The last person to die at Lowe's Motor Speedway was Eric Martin from Hixson, Tennessee, on October 9, 2002. Martin lost control of the car and Deborah Renshaw plowed into Martin's car at 160 MPH killing him instantly. As a result of this, spotters must be spotting in all practice sessions.

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Trivia

June 19, 1960: Unheralded Joe Lee Johnson gallops to a four-lap victory in the inaugural World 600 at the new Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jack Smith, who had built a five-lap lead, sees his hopes dashed when a piece of debris slices a hole in his fuel tank. Six drivers, including Lee and Richard Petty, are disqualified for a variety of unapproved pit procedures.

May 28, 1961: Sophomore driver David Pearson scores his first career win in the second annual World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Pearson crosses the finish line on three wheels after blowing a tire with just over a lap to go. Pearson's victory comes in his first start with crew chief Ray Fox.

May 27, 1962: Nelson Stacy, driving a Ford, overtakes David Pearson with eight laps to go and scores a big victory in the third annual World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Pearson is headed for his second straight 600 win when the engine blows in the final laps.

June 2, 1963: Fred Lorenzen takes the lead with four laps to go and wins the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Junior Johnson's bid for victory is foiled when he blows a tire while holding a narrow lead over Lorenzen.

May 24, 1964: Jim Paschal wins Charlotte's World 600 to post his first career superspeedway victory. The event is tragic, however, as NASCAR great Fireball Roberts is near death after a fiery pile-up on the eight lap.

May 22, 1966: Marvin Panch quits the Ford camp and drives a Petty Engineering Plymouth to victory in Charlotte's World 600. Only 11 cars in the field of 44 finish the race.

May 30, 1971: Bobby and Donnie Allison finish first and second, respectively, in the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in a pair of Mercury's. Charlie Glotzbach wins the pole in a Chevrolet built by Junior Johnson but crashes on the 234th lap.

May 26, 1974: David Pearson racks up his 80th career Winston Cup victory in a thrilling World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Pearson takes the lead with nine laps remaining and beats Richard Petty by a car length.

May 25, 1975: Richard Petty scores his first victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway since winning a 100-mile qualifying race in 1961 with a resounding win in the World 600. Dale Earnhardt makes his first NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National start, finishing 22nd in a Dodge owned by Ed Negre.

May 30, 1976: David Pearson weaves his way through a crash with three laps to go and captures the World 600 for his fifth win of the season. Janet Guthrie makes her NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National debut, finishing 15th.

May 15, 1978: Willy T. Ribbs, America's leading African American race driver, fails to appear for the two special practice sessions in preparation for the upcoming World 600 at Charlotte. Team owner Will Cronkrite, irked by Ribbs' absence, replaces him with a relatively unknown short-track racer Dale Earnhardt.

May 30, 1982: Neil Bonnett races around Bill Elliott with 13 laps remaining and scores a narrow victory in Charlotte Motor Speedway's World 600. It is Bonnett's 11th career NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National win.

May 25, 1985: Darrell Waltrip passes Harry Gant with two laps to go and wins the inaugural The Winston NASCAR all-star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

October 5, 1986: Dale Earnhardt romps to victory in Charlotte's Oakwood Homes 500. Tire problems force Earnhardt to make two unscheduled pit stops early, dropping him two laps and more than four miles behind the leaders. Timely caution flags help Earnhardt make up the laps and sprint to the win.

May 24, 1987: Kyle Petty survives a day of heavy attrition and captures Charlotte's Coca-Cola 600 for his first speedway win. Driving the Wood Brothers Ford, Petty gives the Stuart, Virginia team its 70th speedway win.

October 8, 1989: Ken Schrader runs down Mark Martin in the final laps to win the All Pro Auto Part 500 at Charlotte as Rusty Wallace take the points lead with an 8th place finish. A broken crankshaft on the 13th lap relegates Dale Earnhardt to a last-place finish and causes him to lose the points lead.

May 24, 1992: Dale Earnhardt avoids the watchful eye of NASCAR officials as he exceeds the 55-mph speed limit down pit road for his final stop, then outruns Ernie Irvan to win the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Earnhardt trails by more than three seconds entering the pit stop, but returns to the track 1.27 seconds ahead of his closest rival. Other contenders howl in protest after the race.

May 30, 1993: Dale Earnhardt overcomes three penalties, one for rough driving, to win the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Earnhardt takes a 129-point lead in the championship chase over Rusty Wallace, who races despite injuries suffered at Talladega.

May 29, 1994: Youthful Jeff Gordon hustles past Ricky Rudd with nine laps to go and goes on to win the Coca-Cola 600. It is the first career NASCAR Winston Cup win for the 22-year-old.

May 28, 1995: Bobby Labonte motors to his first career win in Charlotte's Coca-Cola 600. Terry Labonte finishes second, marking the first time brothers have finished 1-2 in a NASCAR Winston Cup race since 1971, when Bobby and Donnie Allison did it at Charlotte.

May 26, 1996: Dale Jarrett starts deep in the field but runs away for an easy triumph in Charlotte's Coca-Cola 600.

May 24, 1998: Jeff Gordon runs down Rusty Wallace with 10 laps to go and hustles to victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. With his late-race pass, Gordon denies Wallace a shot at the Winston No Bull 5 $1 million bonus. Gordon also takes the points lead for the first time in the 1988 campaign.

May 30, 1999: Jeff Burton rallies past Bobby Labonte in the final 17 laps and wins the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart makes history, finishing ninth in the Indianapolis 500 and fourth in the NASCAR 600-miler on the same day.

May 28, 2000: Rookie driver Matt Kenseth outruns Dale Earnhardt Jr., in the final laps and wins the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Kenseth, who leads the final 26 laps, is the 11th different winner in the first 12 races on the 2000 calendar.

May 27, 2001: Jeff Burton ends a personal slump with a big victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart finishes third after his sixth-place effort in the Indianapolis 500 on the same day. Stewart completes all 1100 miles of racing in a heroic doubleheader effort.

May 26, 2002: Mark Martin slices his way through lapped traffic and holds off teammate Matt Kenseth in a stirring finish to win the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Martin's victory ends a 25-month famine in NASCAR Winston Cup competition.

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