This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Charlotte
Motor Speedway for the longest race of the year. Coverage of the Coca-Cola 600 starts with NASCAR RaceDay at 4:30 p.m. on FOX Sports 1. The show moves to FOX at 5:30, with race coverage starting at 6 p.m. The green flag flies around 6:15. The race can be heard on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel
90).
Records and
facts
Last year's Coca-Cola 600 saw Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman dominate much of the race, leading a race-high 164 laps. However, he dropped back and eventually finished
19th.
Chase Elliott was in position to win until a caution came out for William Byron spinning out due to a cut left rear tire. Since there had been a long run prior to the yellow, nearly everyone pitted prior to the
Green-White-Checker restart. Brad Keselowski chose not to and inherited the lead.
On the restart, Keselowski was able to hold off Jimmie Johnson to win the 600-mile classic. As for Johnson, he was disqualified from his second-place finish after his car flunked inspection. That moved
Elliott up to second. Ryan Blaney was third, then Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.
Among active drivers, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. each have three career victories on the quad-oval. Brad Keselowski has two career wins and five others have one
each.
Jimmie Johnson's eight career victories is the best all-time on the 1.5-mile quad-oval. Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison both have six while Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt have five
apiece.
Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 1.5-mile quad-oval, 400 laps (600 miles)
Banking: 24 degrees
Frontstretch: 1,952.8 ft., banked 5 degrees
Backstretch: 1,360 ft., banked 5
degrees
Grandstand Seating: 89,000
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 55 mph
Opened: 1960
Website: http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlottemotorspeedway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CLTMotorSpdwy
Pre-Race
Schedule:
Practice: Friday, May 28, 7 - 7:50 p.m. on FOX Sports 1
Qualifying: Saturday, May 29, 11 a.m. on FOX Sports 1
Say What?
"Charlotte is always a challenge every year. 600 miles is a long time in the car, but honestly enough the race doesn’t really seem
that much different. I know it’s a long race to watch and it is a long race, but behind the steering wheel it really does not, or so far, it does not feel that much different. I don’t know that my preparation will be much different, but obviously it is a huge race. It’s a race we all want to win. It’s a race you want to end your career and say that you have won so hopefully we can knock that off the list this weekend." - Chase
Elliott
"It’s probably the No. 1 race on my list of races to win. I’ve been a Coke driver for 16 years, so it would be big to win the
Coca-Cola 600. It’s just an elite event that you want on your resume. I’ve finished everywhere in the top five but, for various reasons, have never been able to get the win." - Denny Hamlin
"As a human being you try and perform at 100 percent the entire time, but when you’re running a marathon, you’re not going to be
as strong in the last 30 minutes. That’s normal. Fatigue is setting in, your muscles are tired, you’re running out of fluid, and you’re hungry. Racing is the same way, especially in the Coca-Cola 600. We start running out of energy and your mind gets tired after four hours of racing. But I look to this race as a marathon and you have to be on top of your game for the last part of this race. So, I always try to keep that in my mind when I’m in the car. This isn’t a sprint, it’s a
marathon.
"It’s a combination of things [that hurt]. Your neck is tired, your lower back is tired, legs
are tired and you’re just fatigued. You definitely feel it the next morning after a 600-mile race. You feel like you worked out a lot the day before, and you did inside the car. Two-and-a-half of these 600-mile races and I could be home in Monterrey, Mexico. It’s crazy to think of it that way." - Daniel
Suarez
