The culmination of one of the most heralded days of racing ends with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. After the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers fire their engines. Jimmie Johnson seeks his fifth win in this event. He’s one of only six winners of the event in the last 12 years.
Here are the particulars for tonight’s race (all times are Eastern):
START: Dr. J.D. Crouch II, USO president and CEO will give the command for drivers to start their engines at 6:09 p.m. The green flag is scheduled for 6:18 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 400 laps (600 miles) around the 1.5-mile oval.
PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Sprint Cup garage opens at 12 p.m., and the drivers meeting is at 4 p.m. Driver introductions begin at 5:20 p.m.
PRERACE CEREMONIES : “God Bless America” will be performed by Danielle Johnson at 5:43 p.m. The Stonewall Jackson Award will be presented to Taya Kyle, widow of Chris Kyle, whose life was the subject of the movie “American Sniper,” at 5:49 p.m. Armed Forces Service Medley, performed by Central Church of God choir at 5:50 p.m. Presentation of colors by the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Color Guard from Ft. Bragg at 6 p.m. Invocation by Douglas Carver, executive director of Chaplaincy for the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board at 6 p.m.
AMAZING GRACE: It will be performed by the Charlotte (N.C.) Fire Department Pipe Band at 6:01 p.m.
21 GUN SALUTE: It will be performed by Ft. Bragg Firing Party at 6:02 p.m.
TAPS: It will be performed by a bugler from Ft. Bragg at 6:02 p.m.
NATIONAL ANTHEM: It will be performed by the 82nd Airborne Division All-American Chorus at 6:05 p.m.
TV/RADIO: Fox will broadcast the race, starting with its prerace show at 5:30 p.m. Performance Racing Network will broadcast the race on radio and at goprn.com, beginning at 5 p.m. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have coverage beginning at 5 p.m.
FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts 82 degrees at race time with a 0% chance of rain.
LAST TIME: Jimmie Johnson scored his fourth career Coca-Cola 600 victory and seventh at Charlotte Motor Speedway last Memorial Day weekend. Johnson beat Kevin Harvick by 1.2 seconds. Jeff Gordon finished seventh after questions were raised earlier in the day if he would be able to race because of an ailing back that forced him out of the car the previous day during practice.
SPEEDWAY DOMINANCE: Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson have combined to win the last seven points races on 1.5-mile speedways, dating back to last season’s fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
STARTING LINEUP:
Row 1: Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano
Row 2: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle
Row 3: Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski
Row 4: David Ragan, Kevin Harvick
Row 5: Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr.
Row 6: Austin Dillon, Tony Stewart
Row 7: Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch
Row 8: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Blaney
Row 9: Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon
Row 10: Ryan Newman, Danica Patrick
Row 11: Aric Almirola, Jamie McMurray
Row 12: Paul Menard, Clint Bowyer
Row 13: Michael McDowell, Sam Hornish Jr.
Row 14: Trevor Bayne, Chase Elliott
Row 15: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., AJ Allmendinger
Row 16: Alex Bowman, Landon Cassill
Row 17: Kasey Kahne, Casey Mears
Row 18: Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett
Row 19: Cole Whitt, Josh Wise
Row 20: David Gilliland, Brett Moffitt
Row 21: JJ Yeley, Matt DiBenedetto
Row 22: Alex Kennedy
Did Not Qualify: Brendan Gaughan
