CONCORDE
The Coca-Cola 600 has been officially postponed.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ biggest race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was postponed to 3 p.m. Monday after rain washed out all track activity on Sunday. The last time North Carolina’s biggest NASCAR race was held on a Monday was in 2009.
The Coca-Cola 600 will always be on FOX.
Click to resize
Doors open at 9 a.m. Monday to fans. The NASCAR Xfinity Series race, which was postponed after rain on Saturday, will run at 11 a.m. Fans can watch it on FS1.
In a Twitter video at 9:21 p.m. Sunday, Charlotte Motor Speedway general manager Greg Walker said that any fan who has a ticket for either race is eligible to participate in both the Xfinity race and at the Cup race on Monday. (This is a change from the policy published by the racetrack at 6:30 p.m.; there is no longer a requirement for fans to leave the stands after the Xfinity race.)
Fans with unscanned tickets for the Xfinity race or the Cup race can redeem them for a ticket for equal or lesser value against any other Speedway Motorsports NASCAR or NTT IndyCar race during the next calendar year, according to a statement.
Additional details can be found at www.CharlotteMotorSpeedway.com.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Live Updates
6:30 p.m.: The race is called. See you tomorrow!
6:08 p.m.: The Air Titans descended on the runway around 5:45 p.m. to dry the freeway sidewalk, and they stayed there as the rain subsided. Fans cheered as they took to the track. Still a long way to go until we go racing tonight. A reminder: the engines should have been on about eight minutes ago.
4:43 p.m.: A message from Marcus Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports, owner of Charlotte Motor Speedway: “Weather meeting update from (Charlotte Motor Speedway). Here is what I heard. Sporadic showers by 6 p.m. Then things improve and we start to dry out the track. Screening from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. start time. No guarantees, but I hope they’re right! We will see.”
Related: The average time for NASCAR’s longest race is 4:33:56, according to the sanctioning body. Again, only half of the race needs to be completed for it to be official. The 2022 Coke 600 was the longest in modern history, at five hours and 13 minutes.
4:27 p.m.: Realistically, it seems impossible for this race to start at the scheduled start time of 6 p.m. It’s still raining and it usually takes 2-3 hours to dry out the trail – and that’s after it’s stopped raining, which it hasn’t so far. t.
The track and NASCAR have made no announcement regarding the start time change, but unofficially it appears we will be looking at a start time much later than 6 p.m. – if the race goes ahead at all on Sunday. If not, a Monday afternoon start seems possible, but again, there’s nothing official.
4:17 p.m.: The Indy 500 – which people around this track like to think of as the Coke 600’s “warm-up act” – ended in Indianapolis. He had played on the big screen at Charlotte Motor Speedway and at various locations around the track. Josef Newgarden was the winner of the Indy 500. It remains to be seen whether this was the last major race to take place this Sunday. Steady rain continues.
The Indy 500 contained a scary moment, when a tire detached from its wheel clamp and left the track completely. Fortunately, it hit a parked car instead of flying into the stands. No one was hurt.
4:06 p.m.: Brad Keselowski and RFK Racing on Sunday announced a partnership with BlueForge Alliance, the nonprofit integrator of the US Navy’s underwater industrial base program. BuildSubmarines.com will be featured as main sponsor for 10 races on RFK’s two cup cars this year and 18 races next season.
4 p.m.: On a sadder note: The Doobie Brothers pre-race concert was canceled due to weather-related safety concerns. Fans who purchased a Track Pass upgrade will receive credit for a future Track Pass, Racetrack PR said in a statement. Also from Charlotte Motor Speedway staff: “We are ready to launch a full scale track drying effort to start the Coca-Cola 600. Our goal is to do everything we can to race tonight!
3:54 p.m.: When will a decision be made on the start time of the race? Hard to say.
NASCAR generally does not call for postponements well after the race’s original start time if there is a chance of a dry weather window. Case in point: It took the sanctioning body until 3:47 p.m. yesterday — several hours after the scheduled 12 p.m. start time — to officially reschedule the Xfinity Series race until Monday at noon. (That said, the Dover race was rescheduled for 11 a.m., a few hours Before the Cup race.) It should be noted that rescheduling this big race isn’t the easiest task due to TV obligations, especially with the aforementioned Xfinity Series race also to be considered. A Monday doubleheader is certainly possible. It should also be noted that only half of a race needs to be completed to be “official”.
3:34 p.m.: The rain started drizzling onto the Charlotte Motor Speedway sidewalk just after 10 a.m. Saturday, and it hasn’t stopped since. It’s only escalated, actually. Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race is slated to start just after 6 p.m., but an on-time start would require a few hours of Air Titan track-drying work as well as several hours without precipitation — something Sunday’s forecast doesn’t seem to entertain. . . Local forecasts call for rain to continue until about 9 p.m. (Then once and whether it clears up, the 600 mile race will have to take place.) A long day could be ahead of us!
Here’s an insightful look at WCNC meteorologist Brad Panovich’s radar:
How to watch NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600
- Race: Coke 600
- Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Date: Monday, May 29
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Sotck exchange: $9,421,275
- TV: FOX
- Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
- Distance: 600 miles (400 laps)
- Steps: Stage 1 (ends at round 100), stage 2 (ends at round 200), stage 3 (ends at round 300), final stage (ends at round 400)
This story was originally published May 28, 2023 3:36 p.m.