NASCAR to stop Coca-Cola 600 for brief moment of remembrance
By Asher Fair
NASCAR is set to stop the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for a 30-second moment of remembrance in honor of Memorial Day.
The Coca-Cola 600 is the 13th of 36 race on the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and it is scheduled to take place on Memorial Day Sunday, May 26. NASCAR is set to stop this race for a 30-second moment of remembrance in honor of Memorial Day.
This 400-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Charlotte Motor Speedway oval in Concord, North Carolina is the only race on the schedule that is set to feature four stages. These four stages are set to last for 100 laps each.
After the second of these four 100-lap stages, the pace car is set to lead the field down pit road. At this time, crew members are set to walk onto pit road, at which point the action will stop for a 30-second moment of remembrance.
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The National Moment of Remembrance traditionally takes place at 3:00 p.m. ET on Memorial Day, the final Monday in May, but NASCAR was asked by Charlotte Motor Speedway officials to bring back the moment of remembrance for the longest race on the Cup Series schedule.
The Coca-Cola 600 has not featured a moment of remembrance since 2009, and this took place as a result of the fact that the scheduled running of the race on Memorial Day Sunday, May 24 was rained out and the race was rescheduled for Memorial Day on Monday, May 25. Crew members walked onto pit road for this moment of remembrance as well, although the field was stopped on the frontstretch.
Here is what Charlotte Motor Speedway executive vice president and general manager Greg Walter had to say about this 30-second moment of remembrance returning to the Coca-Cola 600 this year, according to NBC Sports.
"“People kept talking about that that was so impactful. So we asked can we do that again? Our sport is so prone to supporting the military and so prone to understanding what the Memorial Day is all about. (We) worked with NASCAR, trying to figure out where we could do this, where (it) would be meaningful and not impact the competition greatly. The end of stage two was where we arrived.”"
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The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 26, and it is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Charlotte Motor Speedway beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET.