The Bank of America 500 is one of the longest-running races in NASCAR history and has been known by an abundance of names over the years. The event began in 1960 and was called the National 400 until 1965, and in 1966 the race expanded to its current format of 501 miles. The race would change sponsors myriad times over the years, but Bank of America took over the rights to the race in 2006. The race has been held annually at Charlotte Motor Speedway and has traditionally been run at the end of the NASCAR season in the month of October. With NASCAR's current points structure and rankings system, this puts the Bank of America 500 squarely in the middle of the Chase for the Cup and could make or break a driver's championship hopes by the end of its blistering 334 laps.