Bringing the party to two landmark races
It’s been “May Madness” for our Production team building events in more than a dozen U.S. states, capping off the busiest month in company history. As May drew to a close, the team was again responsible for pre-race festivities at two of NASCAR’s most iconic races in back-to-back weeks: The NASCAR All-Star Race, held at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina, followed by the longest NASCAR race on the 2023 schedule, the Coca-Cola 600, held at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
For the first time since 1996, NASCAR’s Cup Series returned to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway. The 0.6 Mile (1km) track has undergone more than $116 million in renovations in preparation for the All-Star festivities. Working alongside NASCAR, our team were managing multiple touchpoints throughout the weekend, including the production of three separate “Fan Zone” concerts held outside the track on Friday, Saturday and Sunday that starred country musicians Chase Rice, Midland, and Dierks Bentley.
Inside the historic speedway, the team was also responsible for design, fabrication, and installation of the custom-built All-Star Driver Introduction stage, along with their traditional management of driver introductions, which was showcased heavily during the live pre-race broadcast on Fox Sports 1.
After an 80-mile journey – the closest track-to-track distance we will travel this season, the team battled the elements during the 64th running of the Coca-Cola 600. Ahead of the race, we aided the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the event and talent management for the annual “Speed Street” festival, held at the speedway across the race weekend.
Following the production of a Friday-night concert by AC/DC tribute band “Dirty Deeds,” looming rain in the weather forecast caused a pivot in venue for Saturday’s headlining act, Jake Owen. As ever, the team on the ground was able to adapt on the fly, creating “magic in unexpected locations” as the concert venue was relocated to a covered pavilion at the nearby zMax Drag Strip.
While much of the weekend’s racing was postponed due to the wet weather, a little rain couldn’t stop our race day responsibilities, including the construction of multiple temporary shade structures inside the track, the management of the NASCAR Salutes Sundeck and pre-race Driver’s Meeting, and the coordination and production of a press event in the NASCAR media center for RFK Racing.
Unfortunately, much of the traditional Coca-Cola 600 pre-race pageantry associated with Memorial Day Weekend was shelved due to the weather, but as the race was pushed to a Monday-evening finish, the team still managed their customary driver introductions on the custom-designed pre-race stage. Finally, 21 hours after its original scheduled start time, the Coca-Cola 600 began, and Production is ready to continue their journey through the NASCAR schedule.