Coca-Cola 600
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The Coca-Cola 600 (formerly World 600) is a six hundred mile stock car race held annually at Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) in Charlotte, North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend. It is the longest NASCAR Nextel Cup (formerly Winston Cup) race and in fact is the longest regularly-scheduled motor race conducted over an oval circuit anywhere in the world.
The event was begun as an attempt by NASCAR to stage a Memorial Day weekend event that would rival the open-wheel Indianapolis 500 in fan interest and it has succeeded to a large degree, gaining larger TV ratings that the Indianapolis race since 2002. In recent years the event has begun in the early evening, with the nighttime portion of the race lit with a system that uses parabolic reflectors so that dangerous glare that would otherwise be in the drivers' eyes is minimized. The move of the race to the early evening made it possible for drivers to participate in both events by flying from Indianapolis to Charlotte as soon as the Indianapolis race was over. Experts disagree over whether, for health and safety reasons, anyone should be allowed to race 1100 miles in one day, but no regulation has been passed yet by any governing body to prevent it. Beginning with the 2005 races, the issue may be moot anyway as the start time for Indianapolis 500 was moved back one hour to in an effort to gain higher TV ratings. This resulted in only about a one hour span between the end of the Indianapolis race and the start of the Charlotte race.
See also: List of current NASCAR races
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Past Races
On Sunday, May 29, 2005, a new record for the most cautions of any NASCAR race was set at 22 cautions. In addition, there was one red flag.
Past Winners
Coca-Cola 600
- 2005: Jimmie Johnson
- 2004: Jimmie Johnson
- 2003: Jimmie Johnson
- 2002: Mark Martin
- 2001: Jeff Burton
- 2000: Matt Kenseth
- 1999: Jeff Burton
- 1998: Jeff Gordon
- 1997: Jeff Gordon
- 1996: Dale Jarrett
- 1995: Bobby Labonte
- 1994: Jeff Gordon
- 1993: Dale Earnhardt
- 1992: Dale Earnhardt
- 1991: Davey Allison
- 1990: Rusty Wallace
- 1989: Darrell Waltrip
- 1988: Darrell Waltrip
- 1987: Kyle Petty
- 1986: Dale Earnhardt
World 600
- 1985: Darrell Waltrip
- 1984: Bobby Allison
- 1983: Neil Bonnett
- 1982: Neil Bonnett
- 1981: Bobby Allison
- 1980: Benny Parsons
- 1979: Darrell Waltrip
- 1978: Darrell Waltrip
- 1977: Richard Petty
- 1976: David Pearson
- 1975: Richard Petty
- 1974: David Pearson
- 1973: Buddy Baker
- 1972: Buddy Baker
- 1971: Bobby Allison
- 1970: Donnie Allison
- 1969: LeeRoy Yarbrough
- 1968: Buddy Baker
- 1967: Jim Paschal
- 1966: Marvin Panch
- 1965: Fred Lorenzen
- 1964: Jim Paschal
- 1963: Fred Lorenzen
- 1962: Nelson Stacy
- 1961: David Pearson
- 1960: Joe Lee Johnson
| Preceded by: Nextel All-Star Challenge | Current NASCAR Races | Followed by: MBNA 400 "A Salute to Heroes" |