CONCORD, N.C. – There is nothing quite like running in NASCAR’s longest race for the first time.
And for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rookies, the experience comes only once.
So it will be in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (5:30 p.m. ET on FOX) for Erik Jones, Daniel Suárez and Ty Dillon.
But they all figure this won’t be the test of man and machine that it used to be – in part because the equipment they’re racing in is so much more durable than it used to be, and also because for the first time the 600-mile event will be broken up into four stages.