The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area.

The race covered four hundred laps of the paved oval track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km).

[2][3] Notable crew chiefs for this race included Bud Moore, Herman Beam, Ralph Gray, Glen Wood, Banjo Matthews and Dale Inman.

[2] Other notable drivers included: Ralph Earnhardt, Roy Tyner, Fireball Roberts, Elmo Langley, and Buddy Baker.

[2][3] Jim Paschal would receive $24,785 ($243,489 when adjusted for inflation) in prize money after becoming the only driver to finish all 400 laps of the race.

[6] While he was not seriously injured by the crash itself, Roberts was trapped and engulfed in a blazing inferno as his fuel tank exploded, while his ankle became pinned under the dashboard and caught by either the clutch or brake pedal.

[7] Before the fatal accident, Roberts was going to announce his retirement from the NASCAR Cup Series after the race to work as a spokesperson for a beer company.

[7] Doctors ultimately blamed his death on pneumonia and he spent the last 39 days of his life at Charlotte Memorial Hospital (now Carolinas Medical Center) in extremely critical condition.