Lowe's Motor Speedway

Motorsport venue
Name = Lowe's Motor Speedway
Nicknames = The Beast of the Southeast


Location = 5555 Concord Parkway South
Concord, North Carolina, 28027
Broke_ground = 1959
Opened = 1960
Owner = Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
Operator = Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
Construction_cost = $1.25 million
Architect = Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner
Former_names = Charlotte Motor Speedway (1960-1998)
Events = NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Sprint Showdown
Sprint All-Star Race
Coca-Cola 600
Bank of America 500

NASCAR Nationwide Series
Carquest Auto Parts 300
Dollar General 300

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Quaker Steak and Lube 200

NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series
NHRA Carolina Nationals
| Capacity = 167,000
Layout1 = Quad-oval
Surface = Paved
Miles_first = True
Length_mi = 1.5
Length_km = 2.4
Banking = Turns - 24 degrees
Straightaways - 5 degrees
Record_time = 0:24.49
Record_driver = Tony Stewart
Record_team = Team Menard
Record_year = 1998
Record_class = IRL IndyCar Series

Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) is a speedway in Concord, North Carolina, north of Charlotte. It features a 1.5 mile long quad-oval track that seats 167,000 people, with room for 50,000 more spectators in the infield. Constructed in 1959, it was the first speedway to host nighttime superspeedway racing (in 1992) in the "modern era," the first being the now defunct Raleigh, N.C. Speedway in 1958, and to offer year-round residences (in 1984) with 52 condominiums available over turn one. It is owned by Speedway Motorsports, which has its corporate headquarters on the same property. The speedway is considered the home base of NASCAR, with 90% of NASCAR teams being based within 50 miles. In February 1999, Lowe's bought the naming rights to the speedway, making it the first race track in the country with a corporate sponsor.

Along with the main oval, the speedway also has a 2.25 mile road course in the infield, a 0.6 mile kart course in the infield, a quarter-mile oval using part of the front stretch and pit road, and an 0.2 mile oval outside turn three. Also, across U.S. Highway 29 from the speedway, is a 0.4 mile dirt track that opened in May 2000. The 0.6 mile oval located between the frontstretch and pit road was constructed in 1991 for a legends race which was part of the Winston weekend. It was designed after Bowman-Gray Stadium.

In 2005, the surface of the circuit had started to wear from its last paving in mid-1994, resulting in the track's treatment in a diamond-grinding process to smooth out bumps. This process, known as levigation, caused major tire problems during both NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) events there, with a record 22 cautions at the showcase Coca-Cola 600, which is considered one of the top five annual NASCAR races. [ [http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=7455&src=maxim_ed NASCAR's Best Races] ] It was the first Sprint Cup Series event to go more than five hours (excluding red flags) in 25 years. Speed increases were also a result of the levigation. After the problem with the tires, the speedway was repaved in 2006. On May 21,2008 it was announced that long-time Speeedway President H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler will retire following the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25,2008."See also: List of NASCAR race tracks"

Events

ARCA

The ARCA RE/MAX Series raced there until 2004. In 2001 and 2002, Blaise Alexander and Eric Martin were killed in accidents.

NASCAR Cup Series stats

NASCAR records

As of 5/26/08
*Most Wins - (6) - Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip
*Most Top 5's - (23) - Bobby Allison, Richard Petty
*Most Top 10's - (31) - Richard Petty
*Starts - (64) - Richard Petty
*Poles - (14) - David Pearson
*Laps Led - (2339) - Bobby Allison
*Avg Start (Minimum 10 starts) - (5.2) - Fireball Roberts
*Avg Finish (Minimum 10 starts) - (9.0) - Rex WhiteNote: If Jimmie Johnson wins the 2008 Bank of America 500 he will tie Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for most wins.

NASCAR Cup Series race winners

*Rain Shortened

References

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External links

* [http://www.lowesmotorspeedway.com/ Lowe's Motor Speedway Official Site]
* [http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/lms/index.html Lowe's Motor Speedway Page] on [http://www.nascar.com NASCAR.com]
* [http://www.trackpedia.com/wiki/Lowe%27s_Motor_Speedway Trackpedia guide to driving this track]
* [http://www.gnextinc.com/nascar/track/lowes.html GNEXTINC.com: Lowe's Motor Speedway Page] - Local area information, track specs, mapping, news and more.
* [http://www.jayski.com/pages/tracks/lowes.htm Jayski's Lowe's Motor Speedway Page] - Current and Past Lowe's Motor Speedway Speedway News
* [http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=7455&src=maxim_ed NASCAR's Best Races]