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Track guide · road course & oval

Charlotte Motor Speedway

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Charlotte Motor Speedway at a glanceChecked 2026-09-09

Length
1.5 mi2.414 km
Turns
4
Opened
1960
Capacity
95,000
Location
Concord, North Carolina
Type
road course & oval
Direction
counter-clockwise
Banking
24° in the turns, 5° on the straights
Surface
asphalt
Owner
Speedway Motorsports
Address
5555 Concord Pkwy S
Circuit mapNorth Carolina · United States
USA Charlotte Motor Speedway Race Track
Charlotte Motor Speedway track layout

Track map and layout

Charlotte is the archetypal 1.5-mile 'cookie-cutter' intermediate oval that much of the modern NASCAR schedule is built around, with sweeping 24-degree banked turns that allow multi-groove racing and high average speeds. What sets it apart is the 'Roval,' an infield road course layout that weaves through part of the oval, the frontstretch and a tight, twisting infield section including a chicane near the frontstretch and a hairpin in the backstretch infield; it hosted a Cup Series playoff race from 2018 to 2025, before the fall race returned to the oval in 2026. The track also has a separate historic 0.25-mile dirt oval on the property used for select short-track events, making Charlotte one of the most configurable venues in NASCAR.

Named corners and sections

  1. Turn 1 (Roval).

    The infield road course peels off the oval into a tight infield section shortly after Turn 1, one of the Roval's key passing zones.

  2. The Roval chicane.

    A tight bus-stop-style chicane on the frontstretch section of the road course configuration, a frequent contact point in Cup Series Roval races.

Configurations

  • 1.5-mile oval

    1.5 mi

    Used for the Coca-Cola 600 and Bank of America 400

  • Roval road course

    2.32 mi

    17-turn hybrid oval/infield layout used for the Cup Series playoff race 2018-2025, current configuration since 2024

Events and race weekends

Charlotte's marquee event is the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR's longest race, run every Memorial Day weekend since the track's opening year of 1960. The speedway also hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race for decades and hosts its October Cup Series Chase race on the oval again from 2026, after running it on the Roval road course from 2018 to 2025. The property additionally includes a dirt track and drag strip that run their own event calendars.

  • Coca-Cola 600

    NASCAR Cup

    NASCAR's longest points race, run on Memorial Day weekend

    Annual event
    WhenMAY

  • Bank of America 400

    NASCAR Cup

    Cup Series Chase race; back on the oval in 2026 after running on the Roval 2018-2025

    Annual event
    WhenOCTOctober

Getting there and parking

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is the primary gateway, roughly 25-30 minutes from the speedway depending on traffic, with the track itself sitting just off Interstate 85 in Concord, north of Charlotte.

  • CLTCharlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)about 30 mindrive

Parking

Free parking is available in lots northwest of the track near the dirt track, while paid lots closer to the venue run roughly $20 or more per day; most RV camping and parking sits east of the speedway.

TipTraffic around Concord backs up significantly for the Coca-Cola 600; allow extra time and consider the free lots with a longer walk if you want to avoid paid parking fees.

Hotels and camping near Charlotte Motor Speedway

Concord and surrounding Cabarrus County have a large hotel base built up around the speedway and nearby Concord Mills, and Charlotte itself, about 20-30 minutes south, offers a much larger selection for those willing to commute. Booking ahead for Coca-Cola 600 weekend is recommended as the local hotel supply fills quickly.

Where to look

Concord and Concord Mills, plus greater Charlotte, North Carolina.

Camping

Event camping spans multiple areas around the property, with tent and RV options available across race weekends including the south infield.

RV

Turn 1 Camping and the Camping World Racing Resort offer premium RV sites, with south infield RV campsites around 24 x 45 feet including electricity; RVs are generally limited to 50 feet.

Drive or ride at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Arrive-and-drive NASCAR stock car drives and ride-alongs run on the oval through 2027, Xtreme Xperience brings supercars in March 2027, and SCCA Track Night in America runs own-car HPDE nights.

First time on track? Checklist · What it costs · Insurance · HPDE explained

Checked on each provider’s own site in October 2026. Prices are the lowest publicly listed and change often. Some links may earn us a commission at no cost to you (disclosure).

Track days, driving experiences and lap records

Charlotte Motor Speedway offers driving and ride-along experiences in real stock cars through an on-site partner program, and hosts a variety of amateur and club track-day events on both the oval and the Roval configuration through outside organizers. Its NASCAR Hall of Fame ties and pit-road tours make it one of the more visitor-accessible tracks on the circuit outside of race weeks.

Lap records

CategoryTimeDriverCarYear
NASCAR Cup qualifying (oval)0:28.598Jimmie JohnsonChevrolet SS2017
NASCAR Cup qualifying (Roval)1:24.163Austin DillonChevrolet Camaro2024
IndyCar qualifying (oval)0:24.735Kenny BräckReynard-Honda1998

Drive Charlotte Motor Speedway in a sim

These racing games and simulators include Charlotte Motor Speedway as official content. Mods and community tracks are not listed.

  1. iRacing

    PC

    free with subscription

    LayoutsOval, Roval (2.28-mile infield road course)

  2. iRacing

    PC

    paid track

    LayoutsThe Dirt Track at Charlotte (separate 4/10-mile dirt oval across the street)

Building a sim rig? Four example setups from $279 → · Every real track in sim racing games

Checked against each publisher’s track list in October 2026.

Spectator guide

Charlotte's frontstretch grandstands give full views of the pit road, start/finish line and much of the surrounding banking, and the Roval's infield sections put fans much closer to the cars than a typical oval layout allows.

Seating

Frontstretch and backstretch grandstands run the length of the 1.5-mile oval; for Roval races, infield grounds tickets and select grandstands offer views of multiple corners in the road course's twisty infield section.

Best places to watch

Upper frontstretch rows see pit road and the tri-oval-style front section clearly; for the Roval, seats near the infield chicane and hairpin see the most overtaking and contact.

Bag policy

One soft-sided cooler up to 14 x 14 x 14 inches and a bag or backpack up to 18 x 18 x 14 inches; no clear-bag requirement. Hard coolers, glass and umbrellas are not allowed.

Weather

  • May: Warm and humid, highs in the 80s°F for the Coca-Cola 600, with evening cooldown for the night finish
  • Oct: Mild fall weather, highs in the 60s-70s°F

Race-day weather: live forecast, cooler and bag rules, and what happens if it rains →

History of Charlotte Motor Speedway

Founding and early struggles

Charlotte Motor Speedway was built by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner and opened in June 1960 as one of NASCAR's first purpose-built 1.5-mile superspeedways. The track's early years were financially rocky, and it went through bankruptcy and ownership changes before Smith regained control in 1975 and began building it into the commercial and technical showcase it became known for, including the introduction of the first permanent lighting system for night racing at a superspeedway-scale track.

Innovation hub

Through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, Charlotte became a proving ground for NASCAR firsts: the first fully lit superspeedway in 1992 for The Winston (predecessor to the All-Star Race), condominiums built into the frontstretch grandstands, and one of the sport's most technologically equipped press and broadcast facilities. Its location in the heart of NASCAR's home region, surrounded by team shops and the sport's broader industry, made it a natural home for the NASCAR All-Star Race, which the track hosted for most of its history from 1985 through 2019.

The Roval era

In 2018 the speedway unveiled the 'Roval,' a road course configuration weaving oval sections together with a newly built infield road course, giving Charlotte a genuinely different race in addition to its longtime 600-mile oval classic. The Roval immediately became a fixture of the Cup Series playoffs, prized for producing chaotic, high-stakes racing in the postseason's opening rounds. The fall race returned to the oval in 2026, so Charlotte's two Cup weekends, the Coca-Cola 600 every Memorial Day weekend and the October Bank of America 400, are now both oval races, with the Roval still used for club events, plus a dirt track and dragstrip on the same sprawling Concord property that keep the venue active across multiple disciplines throughout the year.

Frequently asked questions

How long is Charlotte Motor Speedway?

The oval is 1.5 miles per lap; the Roval road course configuration is 2.32 miles with 17 turns.

What is the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway?

The Roval is a hybrid road course that combines part of the 1.5-mile oval with a purpose-built infield road course, used for a NASCAR Cup Series playoff race from 2018 to 2025; the fall Cup race returned to the oval in 2026.

When is the Coca-Cola 600?

The Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR's longest points race, runs every Memorial Day weekend in late May.

What is the seating capacity of Charlotte Motor Speedway?

Capacity is roughly 95,000 as of recent seasons.

What is the nearest airport to Charlotte Motor Speedway?

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is the closest major airport, about 25-30 minutes from the track.

Can I camp at Charlotte Motor Speedway?

Yes, the property offers multiple camping and RV areas, including Turn 1 Camping and the Camping World Racing Resort, with sites available for most major event weekends.

Which racing games and sims have Charlotte Motor Speedway?

Charlotte Motor Speedway is officially available in iRacing. Some of these include it in the base game and others sell it as paid content; the table above shows which.

Other tracks nearby

Facts checked against 13 sources including the official circuit website. Last reviewed 2026-09-09.