The Coca-Cola 600 race weekend began under emotional circumstances Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, less than 24 hours after the shocking death of NASCAR star Kyle Busch.
As teams arrived at the track for NASCAR’s biggest weekend, tributes to Busch quickly appeared across the speedway — from massive memorial graphics on Charlotte’s infield video board to quiet moments unfolding inside the Craftsman Truck Series garage.
NASCAR reporter Steven Taranto shared several scenes from around the track throughout the afternoon, capturing what quickly became a somber atmosphere across the garage area.
Kyle Busch’s Truck Draws Emotional Attention in Garage
One of the most emotional moments came from the Truck Series garage, where Busch’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet sat alone inside its stall ahead of Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200.
Taranto noted that a cart had reportedly been positioned in front of the pit stall to help give members of the team additional privacy and space as the weekend began.
Corey Day will climb behind the wheel of this truck in about an hour
“Corey Day will climb behind the wheel of this truck in about an hour,” Taranto wrote alongside photos from the garage.
Day is scheduled to drive the truck during Friday night’s race at Charlotte.
The images quickly spread across social media as NASCAR fans continued processing the shocking news surrounding Busch’s death.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Displays Memorial Tribute
Elsewhere around the speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway displayed a large memorial graphic honoring Busch on the track’s massive infield video board overlooking the garage and campground areas.
The tribute included Busch’s name alongside the years “1985–2026” and immediately became one of the defining images of the day across NASCAR social media.
As fans arrived at Charlotte for one of NASCAR’s biggest weekends of the year, the tribute served as a reminder of the enormous loss still hanging over the sport less than a day after the news broke.
Tributes to Busch are expected to continue throughout the remainder of Coca-Cola 600 weekend.
Rain Alters Friday Schedule at Charlotte
The emotional atmosphere around the speedway was also paired with gloomy weather conditions throughout much of Friday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Taranto noted that “the gloom over Charlotte Motor Speedway” had slightly lifted as skies briefly brightened ahead of planned on-track activity. But conditions later worsened around the speedway.
Charlotte Motor Speedway officially announced that NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice and qualifying had been canceled because of rain.
Despite the weather-related changes, green flag conditions for Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 remained scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Coca-Cola 600 weekend traditionally serves as one of NASCAR’s biggest celebration weekends, with all three national series competing at Charlotte Motor Speedway during Memorial Day weekend.
This year, however, the event has opened under dramatically different circumstances as the NASCAR community continues mourning one of the sport’s most recognizable stars.
Charlotte Opens Coca-Cola 600 Weekend With Emotional Kyle Busch Tributes