NASCAR Experience In Charlotte Exciting!
by Scott A. Sumner
When I had the opportunity to visit Charlotte, North Carolina recently I knew seeing NASCAR up close and personal would be fun. This race car business was started here and now is home to 90% of the teams. It creates over $ 5.9 billion for the economy of the Charlotte area.
Our first stop in Charlotte would be at the 130 acre, 700,000 square foot Hendricks Motorsports facility which is home to over 500 employees.
“ I work in the engine shop with 110 men and tear down all the cylinder heads when the engines come back from the race track. We run 4 races teams here for Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhart JR and Mark Martin. We build their race cars from the chassis, hang all of our sheet metal, do the paint, the bodywork, sticker and wrap the cars. We also build the engines and have C &C machines that manufacture parts for the cars and engines. We lease out engines to several other teams and build race chassis for Stewart Haas Racing,” said Sandy Holder, Cylinder Head Technician and Tour Guide at Hendrick Motorsports in Charlotte NC. “ Our owner also owns 65 car dealerships. If someone buys a car such as a 2011 Camaro there is an area at Hendrick where some customizing is done. The performance package for the V6 in this car is pretty sweet and a lot of fun to drive. It is awesome here. This is the best race team to work for and if you have a passion for racing this is the place to be. You get to work and have fun as well.”
Roger Haas is the owner of a travel tour company called Aim Tours located in North Carolina and does a lot of Nascar tours. You can tour the Nascar Hall of Fame in the morning and go to these race shops in the afternoon to see how the cars are built with Aim tours. Hendrick’s
is the premier race car team in Nascar according to Haas.
The first Nascar race was held June 14,1949 in Charlotte NC at a little dirt track near the airport said Haas. “ The track no longer exists but that was the humble beginning. In a 25 mile radius 90% of all the race teams are located. There is a great talent pool here of workers. They use Charlotte Speedway as a test track but that time is limited by NASCAR to keep costs down and keep the sport equalized,” said Haas. “ The Hendrick team has four cars and each car has a $25 million annual budget. The money for the teams comes primarily from sponsors with a little money from prize purses. It has been harder to do this because of the economy. Some teams have folded and some merged recently. There are still about 40 to 45 full time teams now.”
“ NASCAR cars have fenders and can race much more closely which makes it more exciting. At the Charlotte race they have 160,000 spectators. I have been in the race car business for 30 years and it has been amazing to see the sport grow so much. My understanding is they are trying to make the race cars look more like the street cars of today say a Camaro.” smiles Haas.
Another great place to visit for the motorsport enthusiast in downtown Charlotte is the new $195 million NASCAR Hall of Fame. “ We started the actual building of the Hall of Fame in 2007 and opened May 11, 2010. We are a 150,000 square foot facility on 4 floors and are owned by the city of Charlotte, are a licensee of NASCAR and managed by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. We are funded by a 2% occupancy tax, the only county in North Carolina that have been able to raise their occupancy tax to 6% plus 2%,” said Libba Barrineau,
Tourism Sales Manager NASCAR Hall of Fame. “ We have had over 250,000
people come though so far. You register on hard card which allows you to interact with over 50 components throughout the Hall of Fame. You can download portions of your visit and replay them on your home computer. You pick your driver and helmet and they serve as your tour
guide throughout the day. We start with a 13 minute movie which goes over the 63 year history of NASCAR on a 65 foot screen. In the hall we have 3 levels with the 3rd level interactive including a pit challenge and race simulator experience. You get a print out of your experience.
On the 4th floor is the historical experience with our artifacts.”
You will enjoy the NASCAR Hall of Fame. In the US they know how to do things well! The cost of admission is Adults $19.95 Seniors $17.95 and children 5 and over $12.95.
