Charlotte Motor Speedway — NASCAR track and motorsports complex

ARCA

The Automobile Racing Club of America hosts the ARCA Racing Series at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Over several years, there have been serious accidents either in racing or practice in which several drivers lost their lives. The most recent was Eric Martin of Hixson on October 9, 2002, when he lost control of his car and Deborah Renshaw hit him at 160 mph (257.5 km/h), killing Martin outright. Since this accident, spotters have also been mandatory in all practice sessions.

Indy Racing League

Two Indy Racing League races were held at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 1997 and 1998, won by Buddy Lazier and Kenny Bräck. In 1999, the race was moved to the first weekend in May, making it the last race before the Indianapolis 500. On lap 61, a race car lost a tire in an accident that sent another car into the spectator stands. Three spectators were killed in this accident and eight others were injured. The race was abandoned after 79 of the 208 laps that were originally scheduled. It was the last one the IRL held at the speedway.

This incident, in conjunction with a previous accident in July 1998 at a Champ Car Series race at Michigan International Speedway, in which three spectators were also killed, led to new rules according to which the wheels of the race cars must be additionally secured with tethers in order to avoid such accidents in the future. In addition, new catch fences were introduced which, due to their shape, are intended to keep wreckage from flying into the spectator stands.

After the accident, there was a brief series of bombings at Lowe's hardware stores in North Carolina, injuring three people. Initially, there was speculation that the attacks were connected to the accident at the Speedway. When the bomber George Rocha was arrested, he initially gave this as the reason as well, but confessed some time later that the attacks had nothing to do with the accident and that he was just angry that he had been caught shoplifting.

Indy Racing League Results

* Note: A lap 62 accident involving three cars in turn 4 resulted in debris flying into the grandstands. According to Indy Racing League spokesman Mike King, the grandstands at the apex of Turn 1 were closed, but the grandstands behind the apex were open. The grandstand at the exit of turn 4 was also closed. When more spectators than expected showed up for the race, additional grandstands were opened. One of these was the area in turn 4 where the debris from the accident was thrown. At this point, Buddy Lazier was leading the race. After the pit stops, Greg Ray led before the race was stopped on lap 80 after 79 laps.

Other types of use

The facility is considered one of the busiest sports venues in the US, hosting over 380 events per year. In addition to many races, the speedway also hosts the Food Lion car show twice a year, one of the largest car shows in the US. Many commercials and movies have also been filmed here, including Days of Thunder and Logan Lucky. Furthermore, it is a popular destination for tourists and test track.

On May 26, 2006, the Pixar film Cars premiered at the Speedway on several large screens. At the Food Lion car show in April 2005, a sculpture exhibit of Jim Gary's Twentieth Century Dinosaurs was held simultaneously. This menagerie of garysauri consisted of life-size sculptures assembled from car parts.