I'll start with Mike's observation. It is always noted how difficult it is for an athlete to make it to the professional level of their sport - i.e. the NFL, the NBA, MLB. Let's take the National Football League as an example. There are 32 teams with 53 players on each team. That means there are 1, 696 openings for an aspiring football player. In NASCAR, only 43 drivers compete week after week in a Sprint Cup race. His point? It is harder to make it to the top of stock car racing than any other sport.
Since all the race teams are headquartered within a 30 mile radius of Charlotte, you would think NASCAR was born here. Not so. The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing was founded in a motel room in Daytona Beach in 1947. Its roots are in this area, as the early drivers, for the most part, were moonshine runners from the Carolinas. To outrun the law, they started tinkering with their engines to get more speed. A pioneer and legend in NASCAR, Junior Johnson was 14 years old when he started running moonshine. Driving fast cars led to challenges of "who has the fastest car?" On weekends, the runners would take their cars to the hard sand of Daytona Beach for races. Seeing the potential of organized racing, along with the need for safety, Bill France, Sr. presided over a meeting at the Streamline Motel and fast driving became a legitimate sport. Here is a portion of his plaque at the NASCAR Hall of Fame: "Without Bill France, Sr., NASCAR would not exist. His vision and drive transformed stock car racing from a weekend pursuit to a major national sport and made NASCAR a household word."
Back to Charlotte. Our campground was across the street from the Charlotte Motor Speedway. After arriving, we realized we were fortunate to get a site as the Speedway was hosting a car show this weekend. The campground was full of motorhomes pulling large trailers with every kind of old car inside.
We were up before the sun on Friday morning to try to get to as many racing team headquarters as possible as most were about 20 to 30 miles outside Charlotte. Our first destination was Mooresville, a.k.a. Race City, USA. Hoping to get some of the crumbs from the NASCAR table, this town has every imaginable business associated to racing.
Driving to Mooresville, on Hwy 3, we passed a large complex that looked empty. No signage indicating what it was, and only one of the several buildings had a few cars in the parking lot. We knew DEI - Dale Earnhardt, Inc. was on this road (hence the Hwy 3) but couldn't believe this would be it. We didn't stop to investigate as our first destination was JR Motorsports because it was the only garage we visited that does guided tours inside the garage and we wanted to catch the first one. Things seem to fall into place for us (thank you, Lord) because just like in Napa Valley when our first vineyard stop was Larson Winery and the guy was so helpful and knowledgeable, going to Dale Earnhard, Jr.'s Nationwide (the junior varsity of NASCAR) team garage was the perfect place to start. We got an in-depth tour of the garage, which included every aspect of getting a car ready for the track. We could take pictures of everything except the engines (from Hendrick) and in the fabrication shop which would be the car chassises. We could ask questions of anyone working (I prefaced mine by saying "this will probably sound stupid, because I know nothing about NASCAR. . . "). Mike took more pictures and asked more questions in these past two days than he did our whole three months out west! He was glad he took a lot of pictures in this garage area because this was the only one we were allowed in to. We saw cars being made literally from scratch through the final painting process and sitting waiting to be loaded into the trucks that will take them to the next race track.
I asked the receptionist about the complex we passed on our way in and she said it was indeed, DEI. When I commented on how deserted it look, she answered in the sweetest southern accent and said, "I know, and it just breaks our hearts." She found me later and said she checked and the gift shop at DEI would be open from 11-2. We were disappointed because that time frame wouldn't work for us as we needed to be sure we left the most time for Hendrick Motor Sports, arguably the pinnacle of NASCAR race teams. For Mike, being a Jeff Gordon fan, the Hendrick garage is the pot at the end of the rainbow, the holy grail. For me, you take the three J's previously mentioned, (Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale, Jr.) throw in fourth Hendrick driver Kasey Kahne, and this race team has the cutest drivers, hands down!
We made stops at Penske Racing, Kyle Busch Racing (strictly for Uncle John), Joe Gibbs Racing before ending our day at Hendrick. Talk about saving the best for last. Or at least the biggest. The other garages had all their cars in one building, even if there were two or three drivers. The Hendrick campus had a shop for the #24 and #5 cars, and an identical building that housed the #48 and #88 cars. Add to that separate buildings for a museum/gift shop, administration, Performance and you can see this is quite the operation. (What other sport do you identify the individual so closely with a number? Sure other athletes wear a number, but in conversation, you don't often say, "With that cutback, #20 finds himself in the end zone again." No, the announcers would say, "Another incredible run for Barry Sanders." But in NASCAR, if you ask someone their favorite driver, you will most likely get a car # instead of a name.)
NASCAR today is big business, with corporate sponsorship in the millions of dollars. The top race teams have state-of-the-art facilities and top-notch mechanics. Lee Petty, father of the Petty dynasty said, "Three-fourths of a race is won or lost in the garages." Pit crews train in NFL-like weight rooms. At Joe Gibbs Racing, it is an NFL weight room as Gibbs is the former championship coach of the Washington Redskins.
Saturday morning was quite chilly (for this region) but beautifully sunny. We went to the Charlotte Motor Speedway to take a tour of the track. Our second brush with southern hospitality was the parking gal. After handing over $5, Mike said, "We are going on a tour, where should we park?" She said if you aren't here for the car show, pull around and park over there. She gave us our $5 back and took the sticker off the window. In all honesty, everyone we have come in contact with so far has been very friendly, kind and courteous. Often we are asked where we are from and then told they are sincerely glad to have us visit.
Charlotte Motor Speedway was built in 1959, the same year as Daytona International Speedway, by Bruton Smith, who owns 7 other racetracks, including Bristol. We were the only ones on the tour so we had the guide's undivided attention, and vice-versa! Again, Mike had a lot of questions and just plain talked racing with the guide so our 1/2 hour tour lasted over 45 minutes. We were in a van and usually the tour takes a lap around the track. Because of the car show, we were only able to get on the track at turns 3 and 4. He stopped the van and said we could get out to take pictures and walk up the banked turn. You can not appreciate the degree of steep bank the racetracks have unless you see it in person, or better yet, walk up the bank. Television does not accurately convey it. When we got back in the van, the guide drove the van up to the top of the bank and stopped. It was a little scary. He said on some of the other tracks with a steeper bank, the van would have tipped over. He had interesting stories of Bruton Smith and the racetrack - exactly why I enjoy taking tours. I'd share some, but I fear this post is already getting lengthy. Included in the tour was a look at Smith's dirt track and drag strip. A world record of 332 mph was set at this drag strip. We also saw the South Carolina State Police holding a defensive driving school for area young drivers at the drag strip.
We then drove into downtown Charlotte (which has a really cool skyline) to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The fact that it was built in Charlotte speaks to the importance of NC to racing. (our guide back at JR Motorsports said if you want to be involved in any level of NASCAR, you pretty much have to live in this area.)
The Hall of Fame was terrific. It was much more than a display of cars and outfits and trophies, although there were plenty of all of those. It was 3 levels of a sport "driven by people, fueled by passion". One whole area was all hands-on. Kids and adults all tried their skill to see how fast they could change a tire during a pit stop, or jack a car up or fill it with fuel. I drove on a simulated track and only crashed once! From the orientation film to the actual Hall of Honor, it was an informative and enjoyable afternoon.
Although we didn't buy the obligatory photo they take, the girl gave us directions to Dale Earnhardt Jr's local bar, Whiskey River, which was four blocks away. We ordered a late lunch but soon realized we were not going to be able to watch the Michigan State/Illinois game as EVERY TV in the place was tuned to the West Virginia game and we were surrounded by a sea of blue and yellow.
I'll leave you with this trivia question: What is Dale Earnhardt's real name?
We have a 5 hour drive today to Hilton Head, SC. If you have any suggestions for must see or do in Hilton Head or Savannah, please send them along!
Answer: Ralph Dale Earnhardt
The truck drivers are the unsung heroes of a race team. While the drivers and pit crews fly to the races, the trucks haul everything that is needed, from cars down to spare parts. They are also the chief cooks and bottle washers!
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