In early November, the historical high temperature in Concord, North Carolina, is 66 degrees Fahrenheit.
Why is that statistic relevant to stock car racing?
NASCAR is considering possible venues for its season-ending Championship Weekend, which will start to move in rotation next year with a return to Homestead-Miami Speedway.
RELATED: Homestead-Miami returns as host of NASCAR Championship Weekend in 2026
Phoenix Raceway, which has hosted championship races in all three of NASCAR’s national series for the past five years, will remain in the mix.
With weather a major consideration in the placement of the title races, Las Vegas is another city that immediately comes to mind. The average high temperature in November in Sin City is 66 degrees.
In determining the rotation for the Championship 4 races, weather clearly is a major consideration, but it isn’t the only one. The quality of the product on the track should also be an important element in the selection.
And if what fans saw in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 is an indication, Charlotte Motor Speedway deserves a place in the championship lineup.
After William Byron dominated the first two stages of the race in fading daylight, the track changed, as it always does. Denny Hamlin arrived at the front of the field to challenge Byron, who won the second stage by more than seven seconds.
Over the last 300 miles of NASCAR’s longest race, Byron and Hamlin battled back and forth, swapping the lead 15 times over the contest’s entirety.
Hamlin would attack. Byron would defend. Hamlin would edge ahead at the start/finish line by thousandths of a second. Byron would charge through the first two corners and regain the top spot. It was sustained, close competition at the highest level.
And then, seemingly out of nowhere, crew chief Phil Surgen made an adjustment to Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet that brought the car to life for the final run.
With Hamlin out of fuel and out of the picture after an unscheduled pit stop, Chastain was relentless in his pursuit of Byron, who led 283 of the 400 laps. On Lap 394, Byron’s car tightened up in Turns 3 and 4.
MORE: Byron settles for Coke 600 runner-up | Hamlin suffers fuel mishap in pursuit
Seizing the opportunity, Chastain carried his momentum into Turns 1 and 2, dived to the inside and cleared Byron’s Chevrolet off the corner. Chastain went on to win one of the most memorable races of the last four years.
Notably, the Coca-Cola 600 produced some of the most compelling racing of the Next Gen era, and it happened in front of a packed house.
Perhaps that performance puts it into possible championship consideration in the future.