Charlotte Motor Speedway – Round Five


By Rich Foust

Charlotte Motor Speedway is actually located in Concord, North Carolina, just outside Charlotte and opened in 1960, hosting its first World 600, now known as the Coca Cola 600. Unfortunately, about one year later, the track fell into chapter 11 bankruptcy, due to poor ticket sales.

Today, Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts three Sprint Cup Series, two Nationwide and one Camping World Truck Series events, among other racing action each year.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is the track where Days Of Thunder, Speedway, and Stroker Ace were filmed.

Seating 165,000, the track is a 1.5 mile quad-oval with 24 degrees of banking in the turns and 3 degrees of banking on the straightaways. The frontstretch is 1,980 feet, while there is 1,500 feet on the backstretch.

CMS was nicknamed, The House That Jimmie Built, due to Johnson’s wins at Charlotte from 2003 to 2005 – one in 03, two in 04, followed by two in 05 – then another win in 09.

Several other current Chase contenders have won at CMS, including Kasey Kahne in 2012, Kevin Harvick in 2011, Matt Kenseth in 2000 and 2011, Jeff Gordon in 94,98 99 and 07 and Tony Stewart in 03. All of the Chase contenders have a shot at winning in Charlotte this weekend.

So here we go fans, the Bank of America 500 marks the half-way point in the Chase. Buckle up and get ready for another exciting weekend, cheering your favorite Chase contender in round five of this heavyweight fight.

Submit your NASCAR tech questions to Rich by replying below or via email to Rich@ChicagolandFans4Racing.com