Charlotte Motor Speedway Oval 2025 NASCAR Track Profile

[Editor’s note: The following article is from Athlon Sports’ 2025 Racing Annual magazine. Order your copy online today, or buy one at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]

Charlotte Motor Speedway has held two dates on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule since its creation in 1960. But since 2018 (not including the COVID-19 impacted 2020 season) the second visit has been on its infield road course, or “The Roval” (look to the next page for more on that). Now, Charlotte’s lone date is the Coca-Cola 600, one of NASCAR’S crown jewel races, which at 600 miles is the longest event on the calendar. It’s also the only race with four stages instead of the usual three. Not only does every team want to win the 600 because of its prestige, but they want to win at Charlotte because it is the home track to a majority of race teams.

Racing with the Next Gen car on this 1.5-mile oval revived Charlotte, with each of the races becoming wildly competitive. Christopher Bell won the 2024 Coca-Cola 600 due to it being shortened by weather, but had the rain come at any other point in the night, it may have been a different driver out front.

The only active driver with more than one Charlotte win is Brad Keselowski’s two (2011, 2020) and he finished second to Bell last year. If RFK Racing is set to break out this year, keep an eye on the No. 6 in the 600.

Kyle Busch has the most top 5s (16), top 10s (22), and laps led (1,487) in 36 points-paying starts, but since joining Richard Childress Racing in 2023 has yet to score a top-5 result. Still, Busch has the second-highest average finish in the Next Gen car (7.7).

Despite being winless at Charlotte, Tyler Reddick has the highest average finish, averaging a 5th-place showing. He’s the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all three Next Gen races here.

Charlotte Motor Speedway (Oval) track info

Site: Concord, North Carolina

Laps: 1.5-mile quad-oval

Banking/Turns: 24 degrees

Banking/Straightaways: 5 degrees

2025 Date: May 25 (Roval race on Oct. 5)

Distance: 400 laps; 600 miles

2024 winner

Christopher Bell

Scouting report

The Next Gen car finally gave the Cup Series a product that matched the prestige of Charlotte’s Coca-Cola 600 last year. It’s no secret that the previous-generation car made for spread-out racing around the 1.5-mile track in NASCAR’s backyard. However, this car excels on intermediates, keeping drivers close while requiring enough talent from the wheelmen to race side-by-side. The surface is old enough to force drivers into mistakes, but still fresh enough for close finishes. Drivers have also found it to be a technically-challenging track, finally rewarding fans for their patience the past four years.