Coca-Cola 600

In the spring of 1959, Curtis Turner returned to Charlotte, North Carolina, after viewing Bill France Sr.'s Daytona International Speedway and conceived the idea of building a race track on his property in Cabarrus County. Turner initially planned a $750,000 facility with 45,000 permanent seats, but he later formed an alliance with a group led by Bruton Smith, who had a similar plan to build near Pineville. They signed a contract with NASCAR for a 600-mile event on Memorial Day.

Construction costs rose dramatically when crews discovered a layer of granite beneath the topsoil; the first turn alone required $70,000 worth of dynamite, ballooning the budget to nearly two million dollars. A snowstorm forced Turner to request a six-week postponement of the inaugural race. With two weeks remaining, the paving subcontractor threatened to quit due to non-payment; Turner and a friend held the subcontractor at gunpoint with a shotgun and a revolver to ensure the backstretch would be completed. The first event at the newly completed Charlotte Motor Speedway was held on June 19, 1960.

The event was conceived as NASCAR's answer to the open-wheel Indianapolis 500. The two races did not run head-to-head on the same day until 1974, as Indianapolis maintained a policy of not racing on Sundays before that year. The first World 600 was delayed to June 16 due to construction issues at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 2009 race, postponed by rain from its original May 24 date, was the first to occur on Memorial Day itself.

After lights were installed in 1992, the start time was moved later in the day to take advantage of cooler evening temperatures and the popularity of night racing. The start time settled at 5:30 p.m. in 2001. This scheduling made Double Duty possible: drivers could fly from Indianapolis to Charlotte and still compete in the 600. Between 2005 and 2010, Indiana's adoption of daylight saving time compressed the interval between the two races to approximately one hour. Since 2011, only two drivers have attempted the Double Duty, most recently Kyle Larson in 2024, though rain prevented him from competing in the Coca-Cola 600.

In 2017, NASCAR introduced stage racing. The Coca-Cola 600 was originally planned for three stages, but a fourth was added weeks before the race, making it the only NASCAR race with four uniform stages of 100 laps each. This also makes it the highest-scoring race in terms of championship points a driver can collect. Kyle Busch in 2018 and Kyle Larson in 2021 each swept all four stages and won the race, scoring a maximum of 70 points.

As part of the race's annual tribute to the United States military, "Amazing Grace" performed by the Charlotte Fire Department Pipe Band and "Taps" are played prior to the National Anthem in memory of members of the Armed Forces who lost their life in the line of duty.

From 1960 to 1984 the race was known as the World 600. In 1985 it was renamed the Coca-Cola World 600. The name was shortened to the Coca-Cola 600 in 1986. In 2002 it became the Coca-Cola Racing Family 600, and in 2003 the name returned to the Coca-Cola 600.

1960: In the inaugural race, Lenny Page was critically injured in a crash with Don O'Dell's Pontiac. Reporter Chris Economaki was credited with saving Page's life by applying CPR until safety crews arrived.

1961: David Pearson won his first Grand National race after a tire failure on the final lap cost him most of his multi-lap lead.

1964: Fireball Roberts suffered severe burns in a race crash and died on July 2 of complications.

1974: The race was shortened to 540 miles because of the nation's fuel crisis. David Pearson defeated Richard Petty in a race featuring 37 lead changes — the most in the event's history to that point.

1975: Richard Petty earned his first World 600 win by lapping the field. Dale Earnhardt made his Cup Series debut, finishing 21st, one position ahead of his future boss Richard Childress.

1977: Richard Petty won his second World 600 on the same day A. J. Foyt won his fourth Indianapolis 500.

1978: Darrell Waltrip won the first of his record five 600s in a race featuring 43 lead changes — the most competitive to that point.

1979: The race set a record with 59 lead changes — the most in the event's history. Waltrip took the win over Petty and rookie Dale Earnhardt.

1982: Neil Bonnett won his first World 600 driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.

1985: Waltrip won his fourth 600. Bill Elliott, seeking a million-dollar bonus for a "small slam," won the pole and led 81 laps but faded to 18th. Elliott won the Winston Million later that season at Darlington but never won the 600.

1988–1989: Waltrip survived Hoosier tire failures in 1988 to edge Rusty Wallace, becoming the first four-time winner. In 1989, after also winning the Daytona 500, Waltrip set a record with his fifth 600 victory.

1992: Dale Earnhardt won the final 600 run entirely in daylight, his only 1992 victory, amid controversy over alleged pit road speeding.

1993: Earnhardt overcame multiple penalties — including for pit road speeding and aggressive driving — to take his third 600 win. It was the first 600 to finish under the lights.

1994: Second-year driver Jeff Gordon won his first career race after his team gambled on a two-tire final pit stop.

1995: Bobby Labonte won his first Winston Cup victory after passing Dale Earnhardt late in the race.

1999: Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his Winston Cup Series debut in this race.

2000: Matt Kenseth became the first rookie to win the 600, holding off Bobby Labonte over the final laps.

2001: Tony Stewart pulled off the full Double Duty distances on the same day Jeff Burton won the race.

2005: A new NASCAR Cup Series record of 22 cautions was set. Jimmie Johnson became the first driver to win three consecutive Coca-Cola 600s.

2007: Casey Mears won after Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Denny Hamlin all ran out of fuel in the closing laps.

2009: Rain shortened the race to 227 laps after a six-and-a-half-hour marathon. David Reutimann was declared the winner.

2011: Kevin Harvick won a then-record 603-mile race after Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of fuel off the final turn.

2013: The race was red-flagged at Lap 126 when a Skycam cable snapped onto the racing surface, injuring spectators and damaging several cars. Kevin Harvick won.

2014: Jimmie Johnson won his fourth 600. During the race, a 348-gigapixel photograph — the world's largest at the time — was captured of the more than 100,000 fans in attendance.

2016: Martin Truex Jr. led a series-record 392 of 400 laps and 588 of 600 miles, winning at an average speed of 160.655 mph in 3 hours, 44 minutes, and 5 seconds.

2017: Austin Dillon won his first career Cup victory, returning the No. 3 to victory lane for the first time since Dale Earnhardt's final career win at Talladega in 2000. Danica Patrick led 7 laps, becoming the first woman to lead the Coca-Cola 600.

2018: Kyle Busch dominated by sweeping all four stages and leading 377 of 400 laps, winning his first career race at Charlotte.

2020: With fans barred due to COVID-19 restrictions, Brad Keselowski won a rain-interrupted race that finished after midnight. At 405 laps / 607.5 miles, it set a new distance record for a NASCAR race.

2022: The race extended to 619.5 miles via two overtime finishes, setting the current NASCAR distance record, with 18 caution flags and an elapsed time of five hours and 13 minutes.

2025: Ross Chastain won from a backup car, setting the record for the lowest starting position of an eventual winner in the history of the Coca-Cola 600.

The Coca-Cola 600 has been the site of many drivers' first career victories, including David Pearson (1961), Jeff Gordon (1994), Bobby Labonte (1995), Matt Kenseth (2000), Casey Mears (2007), David Reutimann (2009), and Austin Dillon (2017).

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