Waid’s World: A Coca-Cola 600 That Lasted Many Hours Thanks to Mother Nature

One of the most historic events in NASCAR occurred on May 16, 1992, at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was called “One Hot Night.”

The Winston, NASCAR’s All-Star Race, which had found its footing at Charlotte, was the first superspeedway event held at night, under seemingly countless lights that were part of a unique, multi-million dollar system.

It was the enterprising project undertaken by CMS magnate Bruton Smith and his imaginative president Humpy Wheeler.

The story goes that they responded to fans’ requests that CMS races start later in the day, so they would end under cooler weather and thus spare them from much heat and humidity, common in May in North Carolina.

Well, maybe.

Night races may provide more comfort, but they have been a major part of American motorsports for decades. And they have always been popular.

Perhaps Smith and Wheeler knew this and thought, “Why not bring the same environment and atmosphere to a major NASCAR event?”

Suffice it to say they did that – and more. The Winston of 1992 was held amid great fan anticipation and attendance, which generated an almost electric atmosphere the likes of which the speedway had never seen.

The race itself contributed greatly to the overall excitement. On the last lap, Dale Earnhardt, Kyle Petty and Davey Allison were battling for the victory. It appeared the finish would be one for the ages. It was.

Earnhardt, the leader, was shoved out of the way by Petty in the third turn. Suffice it to say that he was not happy.

Petty then moved alongside Allison as the two sped to the finish line. Just as the checkered flag flew, he nudged Allison on the inside, sending Allison’s No. 28 Ford into the wall amid smoke and sparks.

There was no SAFER barrier then and Allison’s impact was enough to knock him unconscious. He was immediately taken away to a hospital by ambulance, but the good thing for him was that he had beaten Petty to the flag.

Allison won the 1992 All-Star Race and didn’t even know it.

It’s safe to say that all that excitement and drama – before, during and after the race – served as a catalyst for many NASCAR tracks, large and small, to add lights over the years. Night racing is routine.

But it has a dark side. And I don’t mean if the lights go out. 

Speedways with or without lights can’t withstand the wrath of Mother Nature. In 1997, the lady was especially mean to Charlotte, its fans and the beleaguered media.

That year’s Coca-Cola 600 was, again, a much-anticipated event. It had utilized several starting times in the past, but had settled into early evening, with the goal of a race conclusion by 10 p.m., which allowed it to be part of TV’s 11 p.m. news.

Understand, newspaper motorsports writers of the day, a cynical bunch, did their share of grousing. Races that ended at 10 p.m. or later cut severely into their deadlines. Most were at midnight, which meant post-race reporting was going to be hurried and less complete.

But in NASCAR, newspapers weren’t a concern when it came to event planning. Competitors, speedways – and most importantly, fans. – were the primary beneficiaries.

On the day of the 600, I left at noon to go to the track. Since the race didn’t start until twilight, that seemed ridiculous.

But back in those days, the 600-mile race routinely attracted 170,000 fans, which translated into traffic jams. My philosophy was to arrive early and beat the mob. 

I spent the afternoon in the press box feeling uncomfortable about the race. It was a dark gray day and the track was pelted by drizzle and showers. Since CMS had lights, that meant NASCAR had much more leeway if a postponement was necessary. Making the call simply because it got dark was, alas, no longer mandatory.

Rain delayed the start of the race, but once it was under green, cars uncharacteristically raced for position. The word was that more rain was coming and several competitors wanted to be leading, if at all possible, by the 200th lap, or halfway, which would mean the event was complete.

But it never happened. Shortly before halfway, the skies opened up and the caution flew. On lap 194, cars were ordered to park as the red flag appeared to end all activity.

No one knew it at the time, but it would be over three hours later that the race would restart – briefly.

The long delay had its effect on the media in the press box. Some of it was immediate – one guy stood up and said: “I’m going to a VIP suite and getting a drink.” We never saw him again.

For others, the effect was slower, but equally strong. As time passed, writers who knew they couldn’t make their deadlines packed up and left. Some tried to survive by playing poker, reading books or doing crossword puzzles. Others engaged in conversations, but over time, there were far fewer of those and considerably more snoring.

Understand, this was all before the era of cell phones and the Internet. Entertainment options were limited.

For those of us at Winston Cup Scene, which included the writers huddled in the media center and the army of photographers scattered among many shelters from the rain, deadlines weren’t the problem.

We just had to make sure all copy and photos were in our offices by dawn the next day, so work on editing and designing the issue could begin.

Rest assured, that didn’t make us happy. But then, we all caught a break, or so we thought.

At 10:46 p.m., the drivers were ordered back to their cars. At 11:13 p.m., the race restarted under caution. Finally, on lap 216, three hours and five minutes after the red flag was thrown, the Coca-Cola 600 went green again.

But not for long. A rash of caution flags ensued, drawing loud moans from the press box with each one of them. 

Finally, NASCAR gave in. At 12:20 a.m., and with 263 laps complete, it announced that at 12:45 a.m., only 20 laps of competition would remain. Whoever was in the lead at that point was the winner.

I can assure you that no one ever heard NASCAR make such a ruling. Set a time and add 20 laps? Now that was something new, indeed.

Declared one very tired media member: “Whoever is in the booth calling this race is as crazy as an outhouse rat!”

Jeff Gordon emerged as the winner, which was not unanticipated given he had won the 600 pole and had already claimed victories in the Daytona 500 and The Winston.

Gordon said he was a bit surprised to win the race, but he was shocked to see any media members still around.

Somehow, I managed to file all my necessary copy, as did my Scene colleagues. I shuffled into my house at 3:45 a.m.

I remember thinking to myself, “This comes with the career. There are good days and bad days. And no matter what happens, if you are there, then you have to do your job, no matter the situation.”

But then, I also told myself: “Yeah, but that sure as hell don’t mean I have to LIKE it, do it?”