NASCAR: Franklin Graham to deliver invocation for Coca-Cola 600

By Asher Fair | May 23, 2020

Franklin Graham (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) /

Reverend Franklin Graham is set to give the invocation prior to Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

While fans won’t be allowed in the grandstands for tomorrow’s Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, an invocation will be delivered prior to the event like usual.

That invocation is set to be delivered by Reverend Franklin Graham.

Graham, a native of Asheville, North Carolina who serves as the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, gave the invocation ahead of the 400-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Concord, North Carolina back in 2009 as well.

This race is the third Cup Series race back since the coronavirus pandemic struck and caused a 10-week hiatus after the season’s fourth race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 8.

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Darlington Raceway hosted a race last Sunday and another one last Wednesday. NASCAR has confirmed a return to racing schedule through Sunday, June 21.

Graham himself is a fan of NASCAR and notably commended Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron for his Christian faith after making his Cup Series debut back in February of 2018 in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Byron responded by inviting him to a race.

Three generations of Grahams have offered invocations ahead of races on Memorial Day Weekend, according to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Will, Franklin’s son, delivered one ahead of last year’s edition of NASCAR’s longest race while the late Reverend Billy, Franklin’s father, delivered one ahead of the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway back in 1999.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Indy 500 has been postponed to Sunday, August 23 this year. Since the race began back in 1911, it has only not been contested six times due to World Wars I and II. None of its 103 runnings have taken place outside of the month of May.

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Tune in to Fox at 6:00 p.m. ET tomorrow evening for the live broadcast of the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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