Where Racing Lives...Lowe's Celebrates Silver Anniversary

Lowe's Motor Speedway was designed and built in 1959 by the current chairman O. Bruton Smith.

He was a short track promoter and an automobile dealer at the time, along with on the first driver and stars, Curtis Turner, together the built their dream 1.5-mile super speedway.

NASCAR had one goal, to stage an Memorial Day Weekend event that would rival the open well Indianapolis 500 in prestige and fan interest. The solution was a 600-mile race, called the World 600, which ironically the inaugural event would not be held until June 19 1960 due to delays in track developed

Maybe they should have delayed the the race a little longer, cause the race it self wasn't exactly an instant classic. Track conditions were so poor that pieces of asphalt came up in chunks, leaving potholes on the track and causing mayhem on the tires.

The equipment wasn't capable of 600 miles, as a result most contender fell to the wasted side. Joe Lee Johnson would go on to win, in what would turn out his final win, by a four lap margin.

The track fell on hard times, lagging ticket sales would force the speedway into Chapter 11. Track conditions were slow to improve and was at mediocre at best. How did things turn around. 1975, and the partnership between Smith and H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler.

The track refocus their attention on fan comfort and hospitality. Thousands of grandstands seats and luxury suites were built. Food concessions and restroom faciltites were added and modernized to increase the comfort of race fans.

Smith Tower, a 135,000-square foot, seven-story facility connected to the speedway's grandstands, was erected and opened in 1988.

But in 1992, the single most important change was made with the addition of the on-track lighting system, allowing Lowe's Motor Speedway to be the first super speedway to host night races.

The following year, The late Dale Earnhardt won the 600, starting the tradition of starting the race in the late afternoon and finishing underneath the lights.

Today Lowe's Motor Speedway is in the epicenter of NASCAR's home base. the track hosts three Sprint Cup race, including the All-Star race, two Nationwide Series races and a Camping World Truck Series event. The Richard Petty Driving Experience and Jeff Gordon Racing School also make use of the track.

The Coca-Cola 600, and Lowe's Motor Speedway has become on of NASCAR's crown jewels.

The 600 in ways has indeed surpass the Indy 500 as the premiere race on Memorial Day. Smith and NASCAR wanted a Memorial Day weekend that would rival the Indy 500 in prestige and fan interest, and by all accounts they have succeeded.