NASCAR confirmed Friday afternoon that the Coca-Cola 600 will run on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 8 car will not start. Kyle Busch, the two-time Cup champion who was scheduled to drive it, died Thursday at 41 after being hospitalized Wednesday with what his family called a severe illness. [1] [2]

CEO Steve O'Donnell, in a five p.m. Eastern press conference at the speedway, said NASCAR had considered the postponement question and concluded the race would proceed with a tribute lap, the 8 car held out, and Richard Childress Racing's other entries running with memorial decals. [2] The decision is the sport's. The 600 is its longest race — six hundred miles, 400 laps, the Memorial Day Sunday institution that runs straight through the third Coca-Cola race in NASCAR's modern era. Charlotte is where Busch lived. Concord, where he was found unresponsive Wednesday in a driving simulator, is fifteen miles up Brookshire from the speedway.

The Watkins Glen radio call eleven days before — Busch asking his crew for "a shot" — and the May 15 Dover Truck Series post-race quote about cherishing the wins are now part of the weekend's reading. The field that runs Sunday will be one car short and one career heavier. The tribute lap is at the front. The race itself is the answer to the question the press conference closed: the sport runs. [1] [2]

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Lagos