NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600
Charlotte Motor Speedway Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Sunday, May 24 6 p.m. ET TV: Prime Video, 5 p.m. ET Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90) Distance: 600 miles (400 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 100), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 200), Stage 3 (Ends on Lap 300), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 400) The Purse: $13,855,363
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Charbroil 300
Charlotte Motor Speedway Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Saturday, May 23 5 p.m. ETTV: CW, 4 p.m. ET Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200 The Purse: $1,653,590
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200
Charlotte Motor Speedway Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
Friday, May 22 7:30 p.m. ET Radio: NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134) The Purse: $789,700
Quick Track Facts: Charlotte
- Charlotte Motor Speedway was designed and built in 1959 by Chairman Emeritus and NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee O. Bruton Smith. The late Curtis Turner, one of stock car racing’s earliest stars and another Hall of Fame inductee, served as Smith’s primary business partner.
- In 1984, Charlotte Motor Speedway became the only sports facility in America to offer year-round living accommodations when it built 40 condominiums high above turn one. Twelve additional condominium units were added in 1991.
- Smith Tower, a 135,000-square-foot, seven-story facility connected to the speedway’s grandstands, was erected and opened in 1988. The building houses the speedway’s corporate offices and The Speedway Club, an exclusive dining and entertainment facility.
- In addition to the 1.5-mile quad oval, the Charlotte Motor Speedway complex includes a 2.25-mile road course and a six-tenths-mile karting layout in the speedway’s infield; a quarter-mile asphalt oval utilizing part of the speedway’s frontstretch and pit road; and a one-fifth-mile oval located outside Turn 3 of the superspeedway.
- Did you know? Motion pictures such as “Days of Thunder,” “Speedway,” “Stroker Ace” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” and even music videos like Tracy Lawrence’s “If the Good Die Young” have been filmed at the speedway.
NASCAR Cup Series
UNIQUE 600 CHARACTERISTICS
The last nine Coca-Cola 600s were won by a different driver, Martin Truex Jr. is the only repeat winner in the last 14
The Coca-Cola 600 was the longest race of the season based on time seven of the last nine years (since stage era)
Seven drivers ended a 30+ race winless streak at the Coca-Cola 600, most recently Ryan Blaney in 2023
Race Dynamics in Recent Years
The Coca-Cola 600 averages 12.3 cautions per race in the Next Gen era , the third-most of all tracks despite the rain shortened race in 2024
Two of the four Coca-Cola 600s with the most cautions came in the last four years (18 in 2022, 16 in 2023)
For the first time since 1969, there will be no multi-time 600 winners in the starting lineup
RECENT 600 RACE PATTERNS
Endurance Comparison to Other Sports
How long are other sports: on average
Average time of a MLB game: 2:39 (roughly 18 minutes of action)
Average time of a NFL game: 3:12 (roughly 11 minutes of action)
Average time of a NBA game: 2:15-2:30
Average time for a twosome in the PGA: 3:45
The stage three winner won the race in 5 of the 9 Coca-Cola 600s with stages
The driver leading the most laps won 5 of the last 8 Coca-Cola 600s
The pole winner won 2 of the last 4 Coca-Cola 600s
Ross Chastain’s 8 laps led were the fewest for a Coca-Cola 600 winner since 2017 (Austin Dillon – 2)
Hendrick Motorsports won the first stage in the last six Coca-Cola 600s
WILLIAM BYRON’S 600 DOMINANCE
William Byron’s 283 laps led were the most by a non-winner in the Coca-Cola 600 since 1963 (Junior Johnson – 289)
Won five of the last nine stages in the 600
Led 40% of the laps raced in the 600 in the last three years
Finished top-three in the 600 in each of the last three years
Has 5 stage wins in the Coca-Cola 600, most of all drivers
IMSA Driver Katherine Legge Will Attempt to Make History With Indianapolis 500 & NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 as the first woman to do so.
KYLE LARSON’S 1.5-MILE DOMINANCE VS. CURRENT STRUGGLES
10 wins on 1.5-mile tracks rank fifth among active drivers, all 10 came in his 39 starts on them with Hendrick Motorsports
(25% win percentage on them with Hendrick)
17 stage wins on 1.5-mile tracks in the Next Gen car, no other driver has more than 10
1,920 laps led on 1.5-mile tracks in the Next Gen car, more than double the next closest driver (Denny Hamlin – 913)
Led in 22 of his last 24 starts on 1.5-mile tracks, dating back to Miami in October 2022
Current Struggles
Currently on a
36 race winless streak, his longest since joining
Hendrick Motorsports in the start of 2021
Won every 6 races (16.67%) between the start of 2021 and his last win at Kansas in May 2025
Finished runner-up four times since his last win including Kansas this year
His teammates have six wins since his last win (Chase Elliott-4, William Byron-2)
Larson did not lead at Texas this year, his first 1.5-mile track race without leading since Kansas in September 2024
1.5-MILE TRACK TRENDS IN 2026
The race winner led less than 25 laps in seven of the last 10 races on 1.5-mile tracks since the start of 2025, with four winners leading 10 laps or less
The pass for the win came in the final seven laps in nine of the last 12 1.5-mile races including three last lap passes
Chase Elliott is the only stage winner in the last six races on 1.5-mile tracks to win (Texas – Stage 2)
Five drivers finished in the top-10 in all three races on 1.5 mile tracks in 2026
Nine races on traditional 1.5-mile tracks in 2026 are the most since 2021
Denny Hamlin (two) and Chase Elliott (two) combined won four of the last five races on 1.5 mile tracks
ONES TO WATCH
HOT 🔥
William Byron
Finished top-three in the 600 in each of
the last three years
Led in each of the last five 600s
Led 40% of the laps raced in the 600 in
the last three years
Won five of the last nine stages in the 600
HOT 🔥
Tyler Reddick
Finished top-10 in five of his six starts in
the 600
Led laps in four of his six 600 starts
Top-10 average running position in five of
his six starts in the 600
HOT 🔥
Chase Elliott
Two time runner-up in the 600
Led the 600 each of the last seven years,
the longest active streak
Finished in the top-10 in the 600 in five of
the last seven years
COLD 🥶
Joey Logano
Only one top-10 finish in the 600 in the
last nine years
Led only nine laps in the 600 in the last
five years
Earned stage points in only one of the last
nine stages in the 600
Only five top-10 finish in his 17 total starts
in the 600
COLD 🥶
Ryan Blaney
2023 600 win is his only top-10 finish in
the 600 in the last five years
Only two top-10 finishes in the 600 in 11
starts
Only four lead lap finishes in the 600 in 11
starts
Failed to finish the 600 in three of the last
four years due to accidents
SLEEPER ⏾
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Finished top-10 in the 600 in four of the
last eight years
Only one finish worst than 12th in the 600
in the last five years
Running at the finish in all 14 600 starts
SLEEPER ⏾
Alex Bowman
Finished top-10 in five of his last eight
600 starts
Only one finish worst than 12th in the 600
in the last five years
Running at the finish in all 10 600 starts
KATHERINE LEGGE HISTORIC ATTEMPT
IMSA Driver Katherine Legge Will Attempt to Make History With Indianapolis 500 & NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 as the first woman to do so.
Historic Female Entry
45 years old from Guildford, England
Made Cup Series debut at Phoenix in March 2025
Eight Cup starts with a best finish of 17th (Indianapolis – July 2025)
101 career IMSA starts between 2007-2024, four career class wins and 18 podiums
Moved to USA in 2004 and competed in 2005 Atlantic Championship, won three races and became the first female to win in the series
Raced in Champ Car World Series full-time in 2006 & 2007
Four Indianapolis 500 starts (2012, 2013, 2023, 2024) with a best finish of 22nd in 2012
Inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame in 2024, first female to be inducted Will be the oldest driver, first female and first foreign-born driver to attempt the Indy/Charlotte double next week
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
COREY DAY’S BREAKTHROUGH WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS
Corey Day is the first Hendrick Motorsports driver with multiple wins in a season since Kyle Busch in 2007
Day has never raced on the Charlotte oval
JUSTIN ALLGAIER’S CHAMPIONSHIP DOMINANCE
175-point lead over second-place is the largest lead anyone has had since the points system changed to one point per position in 2011
Point lead over second of 175 points is greater than the gap from second to 14th
Only previous Charlotte winner in the field this weekend (2023)
Leads all drivers with 3 wins, 6 Top 2s, 10 Top 5s, 12 Top 10s, 6.9 avg finish and 5 stage wins in 2026
Finished Top 5 in 24 of 28 stages this season
JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM EXCELLENCE
Most stage wins on 1.5-mile tracks all-time:
Driver
Stage wins
Justin Allgaier
19
Cole Custer
13
Christopher Bell
12
Noah Gragson
12
At least one car finish in the Top 10 in 71 consecutive races, the second-longest streak all-time
Through 14 races, they are ahead of their 2025 pace in wins, Top 2s, Top 5s, Top 10s, stage wins, laps led and average finish
Won with four of their five cars and four of their ten drivers this season
Kyle Larson leads all drivers with 477 laps led in just four starts
Young Talent Surge
Four of the last 16 races were won by first-time winners: Taylor Gray – Martinsville (10/2025), Sheldon Creed (02/2026),
William Sawalich – Rockingham (04/2026) and Corey Day – Talladega (04/2026)
The average age of the last seven race winners (21) is 14 years younger than the average age of the first seven winners of the
season (35)
Last-Lap Drama
Three races this season ended with a
last-lap pass for the win, including two of the last four – Sheldon Creed at Atlanta,
Corey Day at Talladega and Connor Zilisch at Watkins Glen
Overtime Absence
There has not been an overtime finish in the first 14 races of the season, the longest stretch to open a season without an
overtime in series history
Four of the last 12 Charlotte races went to overtime
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
KYLE BUSCH’S CHARLOTTE DOMINANCE
Kyle Busch is back for Charlotte, where he has 8 Truck
wins – the most among all drivers
His first of 69 career wins came at Charlotte in May 2005
Finished 1st or 2nd in 12 of his 16 Charlotte Truck starts,
and has never finished worse than 11th
Leads all drivers in wins, Top-5s (13), top-10s (15), laps
led (789) and races led (11) at Charlotte
18 wins across all series at Charlotte (1 Cup, 9 NOS, 8 Trucks)
37 career wins on traditional 1.5-mile tracks
1.5-MILE TRACK DOMINANCE
Charlotte is the second of five races on 1.5-mile tracks in 2026, and the last before the Chase
This is the second straight season with only five 1.5 mile tracks on the schedule, the fewest since 2000
Ford has not won on a 1.5-mile track in 14 races (Ben Rhodes – Charlotte 05/23)
The driver who led the most laps won five of the last six 1.5-mile track races including the last four races
Corey Heim (five wins) and Carson Hocevar (two) are the only repeat winners in the last 12 races on 1.5-mile tracks
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY RACE PATTERNS
This is the 24th Truck race at Charlotte Motor Speedway they have hosted trucks every year since 2003
For the first time Charlotte will hold two truck races on the oval in a season
The last eight races at Charlotte were won by different drivers
Charlotte produced three first-time Truck winners, but none since 2012 (Justin Lofton)
Three of the last four Charlotte winners did not lead until the final stage
Five Charlotte races ended in overtime but only two in the last 17 races (2015,2022)
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY RACE PATTERNS
This is the 24th Truck race at Charlotte Motor Speedway they have hosted trucks every year since 2003
For the first time Charlotte will hold two truck races on the oval in a season
The last eight races at Charlotte were won by different drivers
Charlotte produced three first-time Truck winners, but none since 2012 (Justin Lofton)
Three of the last four Charlotte winners did not lead until the final stage
Five Charlotte races ended in overtime but only two in the last 17 races (2015,2022)
Championship Battle
Kaden Honeycutt has a 38 point lead over second place Layne Riggs, this is the largest points margin from first to second this season
Chandler Smith is the only driver to complete every lap in the first nine races of 2026, however he was disqualified following
Rockingham for failing post-race inspection (rear height requirements)
FOURTH OF SIX RACES IN SIX WEEKS
Kaden Honeycutt leads the first three races of the six-race stretch with 140 race points
His 2.67 average finish ranks best among all drivers in this span
NASCAR
http://www.nascar.com/
Photos & Graphics Courtesy of NASCAR