How NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 Came to Be the Longest, Craziest Race on Cup Schedule

• When future Hall of Fame driver Curtis Turner and future Hall of Fame track owner Bruton Smith built Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1959-1960, it was only the second superspeedway in the true South.

• Organizers decided that not a mere 501 miles as a symbolic snub at the Indy 500 would do, but 600 miles… making it the world’s longest closed-course race.

• Eventual first-race winner Joe Lee Johnson was five laps behind leader Jack Smith, but still managed to win after a chunk of loose asphalt knocked a hole in Smith’s fuel cell.

Nobody seems to know when it happened in 1960 or who made the decision. It’s lost in history, this mystery of who decided that instead of just another 500-mile stock car race, the inaugural Memorial Day weekend event at the brand-new Charlotte Motor Speedway would go for 600 miles. And not just any ol’ 600—the WORLD 600.

The unprecedented NASCAR event likely was created by one of two men (maybe both) who wanted something special in the heart of stock car country. When future Hall of Fame driver Curtis Turner and future Hall of Fame track owner Bruton Smith built CMS in 1959-1960, it was only the second superspeedway in the true South. It opened 10 years after Darlington, but predated Atlanta by several months and Rockingham by five years. (Daytona Beach isn’t really the true South).

The men overcame personal ambitions—egos were often on full display—and more than a year of financial and construction setbacks to get it done. Eventually, after judges and lawyers and “interested financial parties” had their say for more than a decade, the speedway emerged from bankruptcy in relatively good health. Once Smith took over in the early 1970s, the once-struggling track began to expand and improve and became a respected and admired motorsports address.

He and ace promoter Humpy Wheeler—the man never saw a corny schtick he didn’t like—created lavish pre-race shows in front of the main grandstands. They were the first to embrace the military and make it a major part of every World 600 weekend. Incrementally, Smith had an office complex, the spiffy Speedway Club, condos, production studios, VIP suites, and a huge outdoor video screen added. He broke the mold by spending millions to add lights so his major events (like this weekend’s 600) could be run at night. He invited almost major racing series in the world to come play in his backyard. It worked out well for some series; not so well for others.

But first and above everything there were those SIX-HUNDRED MILES!

Not a mere 501 as a symbolic snub at the Indy 500, but 600 miles… making it the world’s longest closed-course race. Construction issues forced a three-week delay in the first race in 1960—from Memorial Day weekend to June 16—and according to one account “only” 35,000 fans showed, about half of what speedway officials proudly announced shortly afterward. (In time, they put the “burden” of that crowd estimate on the N.C. Highway Patrol).