Coca-Cola 600

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Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
Venue: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Main sponsor: Coke
First race: 1960
Distance: 600 miles (966 km)
Number of laps: 400
Former names: World 600 (1960-1984)

Coca-Cola World 600 (1985)

The Coca-Cola 600 (until 1984 World 600 ) is a 600 mile race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup . The race will take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway near Charlotte , North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend, the last weekend in May. With a race length of the equivalent of 966 km, it is the longest race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the longest regular race on an oval race track and only 34 km shorter than the usual distance of 1000 km in long-distance races.

The race was originally introduced in 1960 to compete with the Indianapolis 500 . In the years from 2002 to 2004 it achieved higher ratings than that one. Up until 1974, the two events took place on different days before they were both set to take place on Sunday. Both before and after the merge, there were drivers who competed in both the Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500, with the number decreasing after the merge.

When floodlights were installed on the speedway in 1992 , fans turned to the track management to start the race later that day to avoid the heat and high humidity of North Carolina. The race should end under floodlights towards evening, as the temperatures towards evening are much more pleasant for the spectators. In the 1990s, the start was repeatedly postponed before it was set at 5:30 p.m. local time in 2001. This time was chosen to end the race at around 10 p.m., so that the stations of the FOX network can broadcast their local news at this time.

The change in start time resulted in a new challenge. Not only do the teams still have to struggle with the high temperatures at the start of the race, they also have to adjust to completely different track conditions as night falls. In the dark, the racetrack is illuminated with a floodlight system that uses parabolic mirrors to minimize the glare of the drivers.

With the postponement of the starting time it became possible for drivers to compete again in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 by flying to Charlotte after the end of the race in Indianapolis. Whether this procedure, with two races in one day with a distance of 1100 miles, is good for your health and poses a safety risk is controversial among experts. At least there is no legal regulation that prohibits this approach. The discussion became superfluous, however, when the start of the Indianapolis 500 was postponed by an hour in 2005 in order to achieve higher ratings. This leaves just under an hour for the transfer from Indianapolis to Charlotte.

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