Speedway readies world's largest HDTV

The final touches are being put on the world's largest HD video board as officials from Panasonic are in Charlotte this week testing the massive screen that will debut during Charlotte Motor Speedway's 2011 May race events.

The face of the approximately 200-foot-wide, 80-foot-tall screen is comprised of 158 panels and each is being tested graphically for color quality, contrast and light levels this week.

More than nine million light emitting diode, or LED, lamps will illuminate the video board during select NASCAR events at Charlotte Motor Speedway this spring, including the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 21 and the Coca-Cola 600 on May 29.

The 165,000-pound HD video board rises 110 feet above the track on a 500,000-pound steel frame. The screen is centered along the backstretch between Turns 2 and 3, across from the start/finish line.

Fans seated throughout the frontstretch from Turn 4 to Turn 1 will have clear viewing angles of instant replays, leaderboard updates and interactive entertainment displayed in 720P high-definition visuals.

The two biggest weeks in all of sports begins this May in Charlotte with the NASCAR Rev'd Up Concert on May 18 with Gary Allan and Josh Kelley at 4:00 p.m., at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Additional events include:

• May 19: NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge, 7 p.m., Time Warner Cable Arena
• May 20: NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Qualifying/N.C. Education Lottery 200, 8 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway
• May 21: Dierks Bentley Pre-Race Concert presented by Budweiser, 2:30 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway Infield
• May 21: Pennzoil Ultra Victory Challenge, 6:20 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway
• May 21: Sprint Showdown, 7:30 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway
• May 21: NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, 9 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway
• May 23: NASCAR Hall of Fame 2011 Induction Ceremony, 7 p.m., NASCAR Hall of Fame
• May 26: Windstream Pole Night, 7:10 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway
• May 26-28: Food Lion SpeedStreet, Noon, Uptown Charlotte
• May 27: Coca-Cola Family Cookout & Track Walk, 11 a.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway Infield
• May 27: Circle K NOS Energy Outlaw Showdown, 7:30 p.m., The Dirt Track at Charlotte
• May 28: Top Gear 300, 2:30 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway
• May 29: Coca-Cola 600, 6 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway

A full list of activities taking place in Charlotte during Charlotte Motor Speedway's May race weeks is available by clicking here.

Tickets for all May races at Charlotte Motor Speedway can be purchased online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or by calling the speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267). Frontstretch tickets with the best views of the world's largest HD video board, debuting at the speedway in May, start at $49 for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Fans can also purchase two frontstretch tickets for $99 (and up) to the Coca-Cola 600.