Lowe’s Motor Speedway

Opened: 1960
Owner: Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
Operator: Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
Construction cost: $1.25 million USD
Architect: Bruton Smith
Former name: Charlotte Motor Speedway (1960-1998)
Seating capacity: 167,000

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 mole 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. 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.

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Lowe’s Motor Speedway website
Lowe’s Motor Speedway wikipedia entry
NASCAR website

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