NASCAR’s Hall of Fame

Slated to open in early in 2010, the NASCAR Hall of Fame is being built to pay tribute to NASCAR drivers, owners and crew chiefs and others who have made a significant impact on the sport. In 2006, NASCAR selected the city of Charlotte, North Carolina as the home for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. This announcement was part of NASCAR’s commitment to establish a memorial to the sport. The groundbreaking ceremony for the $108 million hall took place on January 26, 2007. The facility will be state-of-the-art with the first inductees will be honored later in 2010.

Having the NASCAR Hall of Fame located there will bolster Charlottes economy. Jobs and increased tourism are direct benefits that the city will see. NASCAR plans to also be opening as a 19-story NASCAR Plaza in March of 2009. The 390,000 square foot tower will house NASCARs licensing division, the Hall of Fame offices and their digital media center. Dale Inman and Richard Petty presented the first item that the Hall of Fame will house, the Plymouth Belvedere that Petty drove to 27 victories during 1967.

While the city of Charlotte is constructing the NASCAR Hall of Fame and retain ownership, the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority will manage the facility. The first Executive Director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Winston Kelley, has been announced publicly. Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners, world-renowned architects, designed the facility. A Charlotte company, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, is handling the construction. Ralph Applebaum Associates will oversee the exhibits and Technical Artistry will design the exhibit lighting.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame was a concept whose time had come. There is a great deal of stock car racing history for the fans and the curious alike to explore. NASCARs roots in bootlegging, for which modified fast cars were needed to transport illegal whiskey, will hopefully be featured.

The selection of Charlotte as the home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame was made for a number of reasons.

- North Carolina is one of the southern states where stock car racing originated.

- Many prominent NASCAR drivers call North Carolina home.

- The area surrounding Charlotte is known as NASCAR Valley because of the presence of numerous motor sports teams. 73% of the nation’s motor sports employees work in NASCAR Valley.

- Half of the population of the USA live within 500 miles or less of the Charlotte area.

Every NASCAR fan will want to visit and experience NASCAR Hall of Fame.