ROANOKE, Va. – It is one of the most anticipated NASCAR races on the circuit — the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Though drivers will hit the track, it will be what track general manager Greg Walter describes as a bittersweet moment.
“It’s bittersweet in a sense that we plan to have fans out here. We make plans all year to have fans from all 50 states and at least 20 countries,” Walter said.
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“But we also realize there is the importance of bringing live sports back to television. We think there is an immense responsibility we have to do it right,” said Walter.
Doing it right is the goal with limited track staff and extra safety measures in place for drivers and crews.
“That’s kind of been the energizing thing for us is that we want to do this and get it right so we can hand that playbook to the next track and even the next sport and say, ‘Here are our learnings and how we did it. Here are some things we did right to duplicate and here are things to improve on,’” Walter said.
Walter says the track personnel have scripted and performed run thru’s of how things will be done on race day.
"We've gone through this and scripted it, gone over it and rehearsed how this is going to go and I think the teams got it down pat. I'm not sure there's anything we're missing as we get ready for the race."
As Charlotte Motor Speedway celebrates its 60th year of operations, there's no question it will be the most unique season in its history.
“I’ve heard from countless fans who say, ‘This is a tradition for us, our family sits down and watches the Coca-Cola 600.’ And we’re going to be able to bring that to them,” Walter said.