Lowe's Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious
UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith
Originally, three practice sessions were planned to be held, with one on Thursday, October 4, and two on Saturday, October 6. However, due to rain, the AM session on Saturday was cancelled.[5]
First practice
The first practice session was held on Thursday, October 4, at 3:30 PM
Penske Racing South, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.472 and an average speed of 183.225 miles per hour (294.872 km/h).[6]
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, October 6, at 4:00 PM EST. The session would last for one hour.[5]Ken Schrader, driving for MB2 Motorsports, and Tony Stewart, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would both set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.368 and an average speed of 177.819 miles per hour (286.172 km/h).[7]
Qualifying was held on Friday, October 4, at 7:00 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[5] Positions 1-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[8]
Haas-Carter Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.166 and an average speed of 185.147 miles per hour (297.965 km/h).[9]
