The Coca-Cola 600 (formerly the World 600), and also known as the "Coke 600" and "600" is a 600 miles (965.6 km) in length stock car race held annually at Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) in Concord, North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend. It is the longest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and, in fact, is the longest regularly-scheduled automobile race conducted on an oval track anywhere in the world. The event was started as an attempt by NASCAR to stage a Memorial Day weekend event that would rival the open-wheel Indianapolis 500.

It was not until 1974, however, that both races competed head-to-head on the same day. Before 1974, the two races were held on different days of the week, and on a few occasions, some drivers drove in both; this continued even after the 600 was moved to the same day, albeit to a smaller degree. In fact, the first World 600 was not held on the Memorial Day weekend; it was held on June 16 due to snowstorms that delayed the completion of Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The 2009 race, due to the fact that the race was postponed from its original May 24 date, was the first race to have run on Memorial Day itself. With the installation of lights in 1992, fans complained to circuit management to have the race start later in the day because of the notorious North Carolina heat and humidity. They wanted to follow The Winston's popularity the previous week and switch the race to a nighttime finish to create cooler temperatures for spectators.

The start time was moved back several times throughout the 1990s, and finally settled at 5:30 pm in 2001, to attempt to have the race finished by 10 p.m. ET, in time for local news on Fox affiliates. With the new starting time came new challenges. Not only do race teams have to deal with the blistering Carolina heat, but the considerable temperature change at night make track conditions completely different.

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