Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a quad-oval intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since its inaugural season of racing in 1960, including NASCAR, IndyCar, and IMSA SportsCar Championship races. The facility is owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC, with Greg Walter serving as its general manager.
The speedway has a capacity of 95,000 as of 2021. The track features numerous amenities, including a Speedway Club, condos, and a seven-story tower located on the complex for office space and souvenirs. In addition, the Charlotte Motor Speedway complex features numerous adjacent tracks, including a clay short track, a dirt track, and a long drag strip as ZMax Dragway. The main track also features an infield road course that is used with the oval to make a "roval".
With the rise of popularity ins stock car racing in the American Southeast that began in the late 1940s and stretched into the 1950s, racing promoter Bruton Smith sought to build a state-of-the-art facility. At the same time, driver and businessman Curtis Turner sought to do the same. After initially refusing, Turner eventually partnered with Smith after they agreed to sell shares needed for the track's construction. Charlotte Motor Speedway was constructed in less than 11 months. The facility immediately faced a litany of issues, particularly financial woes. Within the facility's first decade of existence, ownership changed hands numerous times, with Smith and Turner both leaving. After a period of stability under the ownership of Richard Howard from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, Smith and his new partner, racing promoter and eventual longtime track general manager Humpy Wheeler, completed a takeover of Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1976. Since then, the Smith family and their company, SMI, have directed the facility's expansion and growth into one of the largest sports facilities in the United States.
Description
Configurations
Charlotte Motor Speedway in its current form is measured at, with 24 degrees of banking in the turns and five degrees of banking on the track's frontstretch and backstretch. Within the main track's frontstretch, there is a oval that was built in 1991 and is primarily used for legends car racing.Numerous tracks exist in the track's infield. In 1970, track officials announced plans for an infield road course that was connected to the speedway's backstretch. According to then-general manager Richard Howard, original plans for the speedway included a road course, but this was cut due to budget issues. The original road course's length has varied in reports, from as short as according to the Salisbury Post to as long long according to The Charlotte Observer. The road course held its first races on May 22, 1971, as part of the 1971 World 600 race weekend. By August 1974, the track was reconfigured to a length of. In 2018, the road course was modified to suit NASCAR racing, adding a backstretch chicane. this was modified the following year In 2019, one of the speedway's chicanes, located on the backstretch, was modified. In 2020, developers constructed a purpose-built go-kart track in the track's infield. Further modifications to two of the road course's chicanes were announced in 2024.
Amenities
CMS is located in Concord, North Carolina, directly next to U.S. Route 29. At the time of CMS's initial construction, the complex covered and had a capacity of around 30,000. Over the span of several decades, CMS and its complex have been expanded and improved numerous times. Throughout the ownership of Bruton Smith, the facility oversaw capacity growth, seeing a peak of over 170,000 by the end of the 1980s. However, since the 2000s, capacity has seen a decrease, with multiple grandstands being demolished in the 2010s; as of 2021, the track is reported to have a capacity of 95,000. The complex has also expanded to around as of 2020.Numerous buildings, used for a variety of purposes, are located in the complex. In 1983, to celebrate the facility's 25th anniversary, officials announced the construction of 36 condominiums that were built to overlook CMS's first turn. By the time the project was completed in mid-1984, the number of condos increased to 40, and all were sold by the end of 1983. At the end of 1984, officials announced the construction of a mall underneath the condos. Three years later, officials announced the construction of a members-only private club and restaurant named The Speedway Club, with annual membership starting at $6,500.
Adjacent tracks
The Charlotte Motor Speedway complex has two adjacent tracks and a drag strip near the main speedway. By July 1993, construction started on a clay short track that was made to conduct dirt legends car races. On August 10, 1999, then-general manager Humpy Wheeler announced a new dirt track that was to be constructed across the main speedway. By January 2000, the planned track had been extended to. The first races on this track, which featured a lighting system and a capacity of 15,000, were held on May 28, 2000.In August 2007, owner of Speedway Motorsports, Bruton Smith, announced plans to build a drag strip on the complex. Although the plan initially faced heavy opposition from local politicians, the drag strip was eventually built after Smith threatened to close down the speedway, coercing the city to give him an incentive package of approximately $80 million by leveraging fears that a closure would cripple the Concord economy. The drag strip, which cost $60 million to build, held its first races in September 2008.
History
Planning and construction
, which traces its roots to moonshiners during the Prohibition era, gained significant popularity across the American Southeast during the 1940s and 1950s. This surge in interest led to the construction of modern racetracks like Darlington Raceway. In the late 1950s, promoter Bruton Smith, who had achieved success organizing races in the Carolinas, aspired to build his own racetrack. In 1956, he partnered with businessman John William Propst Jr. to pursue the project. At the same time, driver and timber businessman Curtis Turner was also working with a group of investors to build a racetrack. However, Propst suffered a heart attack in 1958 and withdrew from his partnership with Smith due to health concerns. Smith then sought a partnership with Turner. After initial discussions, Turner declined the offer during a meeting at the Barringer Hotel. Feeling betrayed and aware that Turner lacked the funds to start his track independently, Smith decided to bluff Turner's plans. On April 22, 1959, Smith announced his intention to build his own speedway—the same day Turner officially announced his track plans. Turner's track was set to be built near U.S. Route 29 in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, with a proposed capacity of 30,000 spectators. However, he struggled to sell the 300,000 shares needed to finance the project. Ultimately, Turner agreed to partner with Smith, who became the vice president of the project and successfully sold 100,000 shares. Additional stocks were made available in December 1959 and April 1960 to continue funding the speedway's construction.Groundbreaking on the facility began on July 28, 1959, two months later than planned due to legal issues surrounding the land purchase. Construction faced immediate challenges. Crews discovered large granite veins beneath the soil shortly after breaking ground, forcing grading contractor W. Owen Flowe to use dynamite for removal, causing further delays. Aggressive hornets on-site led to multiple workers quitting, and in March 1960, three snowstorms compounded the setbacks. Despite the delays, the track's publicity director insisted construction was "still ahead of schedule." By late March, developers considered scrapping plans for grandstands to save time. The complications forced the track's first major race, the NASCAR-sanctioned 1960 World 600, to be postponed from May 29 to June 19. Longtime NASCAR mechanic Smokey Yunick criticized the location, remarking, "a giant mistake. If they'd have searched North Carolina for the worst possible place to build a racetrack, that's where they built it." Smith blamed Turner for many of the delays, claiming Turner often hired workers while intoxicated, requiring Smith to dismiss them. Despite these obstacles, the project secured additional funding, including a $300,000 loan from Washington D.C. businessman James L. McIlvaine, who expressed confidence in its success, stating in The Charlotte Observer, "This is going to be one of the best investments I've ever made, and I've made some good ones."
As construction of the facility neared completion, a contract dispute arose between Flowe and his workers over unpaid fees and bounced checks. On June 9, just days before the World 600, Flowe halted construction by parking several earthmovers on the track and threatened to sue CMS officials. Accounts differ regarding what followed: Flowe claimed that multiple individuals, including Smith and Turner, threatened to shoot him and his workers if they did not resume work. Smith, however, stated that only Turner showed up with a shotgun, " like he was somebody" before a guard confiscated the weapon. Construction eventually resumed and was barely completed in time for the start of activities for the 1960 World 600. Smith later called it a "miracle" that CMS was finished, admitting to losing $150,000 during its construction. According to McIlvaine, the project cost approximately two million dollars with $74,000 in debts owed to Flowe at the time of its completion.
Early track and financial troubles
CMS officially opened to cars for a practice session on June 15, 1960, but issues quickly emerged. The State reported incomplete facilities on the first day, while the track's asphalt surface developed holes due to cars reaching speeds of around. The Charlotte Observer writer George Cunningham described the scene, noting "four gravel-deep fox holes grew...out of the second turn. And practically the entire surface on the third and fourth turns resembled an old lady's wrinkled face." Despite this, some, including driver Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, hoped the surface would improve at higher speeds. Track officials ordered a hasty repaving, which mostly held up by the following day. However, financial troubles followed on June 18, when officials were sued for $10,000 by Roy E. Thomas, who claimed breach of contract after being fired from his role selling advertising space for souvenir programs. On race day, promoter Bruton Smith prayed the race would surpass halfway, fearing he'd have to issue refunds otherwise. During the race, surface problems returned. Drivers such as Tom Pistone, Doug Yates, and Ned Jarrett reported mechanical failures, including blown tires, broken axles, and suspensions due to the track's rough conditions. Emanuel Zervakis exclaimed in a Charlotte Observer interview, "It's rough as hell! All the cars will have to be rebuilt... there's no doubt about it." Asphalt broke apart in multiple areas, forcing drivers to dodge flying debris. In a post-race analysis, Max Muhlehurn of The Charlotte News heavily criticized the track's surface, stating, "The 600 will go down in history as the only race ever run in which drivers were forced to dodge track blemishes more often than other cars".On July 17, McIlvaine spread rumors that the facility's board of directors intended to appoint new management, possibly under NASCAR president Bill France Sr. or Darlington Raceway president Bob Colvin. Both Smith and Turner quickly denied the rumors, with Turner threatening legal action. Over the next few months, multiple claims surfaced alleging that Smith and Turner owed significant sums to various organizations and companies, including $90,000 to the Connecticut General Life Insurance Co., $40,200 to the Internal Revenue Service, $65,000 to Propst and his construction company, and $204,000 to McDevitt Street and Co. The facility had also defaulted on its initial mortgage. By early August, only Propst had been paid, though additional track repaving was scheduled to address ongoing surface issues. By November 22, reports indicated that CMS had accumulated approximately $1 million in debt. In January 1961, two more lawsuits were filed by excavating companies.
On March 1, 1961, Flowe filed a civil lawsuit against the track, alleging breach of contract and seeking $138,155.28 in reparations for construction costs. Three months later, following McIlvaine's threat of foreclosure and the auction of CMS, Turner and Smith resigned from the board of directors, though Smith remained as the promotional director. Duke Ellington, a board member, replaced Turner as the track's general manager. Turner later accused Smith and Ellington of conspiring to oust him and inflating the track's profits. In July, Turner and his investor group announced plans to regain control of CMS by either purchasing the track in a public sale or acquiring a controlling amount of stock. By August, despite an "unusually successful" 1961 World 600, the track warned stockholders that CMS was in "serious trouble" and could only achieve financial stability through immediate long-term financing. By early October, the facility still faced $500,000 in debt. As a result, foreclosure proceedings began, with plans to auction the track on October 30. In a last-ditch effort to stop the foreclosure, several solutions were proposed, including securing a "miracle" loan and a plan for Smith to partner with investors to raise $600,000 to save the facility. After the auction was delayed, U.S. District Judge James Braxton Craven Jr. ruled on November 3 that the court would take over management of CMS. The track entered Chapter 10 bankruptcy, with all officers and directors removed from their positions. The facility was placed under court protection, shielding it from creditors and effectively becoming a ward of the court.