Concord, North Carolina, is home to one of the most iconic tracks in stock car racing. The 1.5-mile quad-oval asphalt track at Charlotte Motor Speedway is located 12 miles northeast of Charlotte, and it has been hosting race events since opening in 1960. CMS is home to three annual NASCAR Cup events: the NASCAR All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 in the spring, and the Bank of America Roval 400. In addition, CMS holds two NASCAR XFINITY Series races, the Alsco 300 and the Drive for the Cure 250, as well as the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. The speedway has a current seating capacity of 85,000, and in addition to the main course, the grounds feature a drag strip, a road course (the "Roval"), and a quarter-mile dirt track. From 1999 to 2009, CMS was also known as Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Charlotte Motor Speedway History

In the late 1950s, NASCAR driver Curtis Turner and racing promoter Bruton Smith teamed up to build Charlotte Motor Speedway after both made attempts to build a modern racecourse just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Joe Lee Johnson won the first race at the track, the World 600 on June 19, 1960. The first National 400 took place that fall and still takes place on the road course as the Bank of America Roval 400. In 1976 at Charlotte, Janet Guthrie became the first female competitor in a NASCAR Cup superspeedway race, finishing 15th in the World 500. In 1985, the inaugural The Winston took place, eventually evolving into the modern NASCAR All-Star Race.

Forty condominiums were built at CMS in 1984, making it the first sports facility in the United States to include this feature. A dozen additional condos were built in 1991, and lights were installed on the track the following year, making Charlotte Motor Speedway the first major course to allow for night races. The 2019 NASCAR Cup season was especially notable for CMS, with Kyle Larson taking the NASCAR All-Star Race, Martin Truex Jr. winning the Coca-Cola 600, and Chase Elliott claiming victory in the Bank of America Roval 400.