Charlotte's PrizeThe NASCAR Hall of Fame won't be up and running before 2009, but Charlotte mayor Patrick McCrory says the NHofF is the talk of the town in the North Carolina city.
"We wish it were up and going today," McCrory says, "but it'll be exciting designing the building and the marketing plans and building relationships with each of the NASCAR teams. We've gotten great support from [car owners] Rick Hendrick and Ray Evernham and many of the others.
"It'll be much more than a museum-it'll be an experience. You won't just look at statues and cars. You'll get to feel and experience NASCAR racing, and you'll want to come back time and time again."
Fans will be able to access NASCAR archives and history, he says. There will be interactive displays, and racing legends will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
"NASCAR will help develop that process," McCrory says.Here are some quick facts about the NHofF:· The city of Charlotte will own the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority will operate it.· Design work is being done this year, and groundbreaking should be in spring 2007. It's expected to open in late 2009 or no later than March 31, 2010.· The city of Charlotte will donate the land, worth more than $20 million, for the project and will put up more than $100 million toward construction.· The city of Charlotte will handle construction.· McCrory says there will be a $40 million convention center and an office building for various racing-related businesses.
"It's going to be the finest museum in racing," says Humpy Wheeler, the president of nearby Lowe's Motor Speedway. "The Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum is no slouch, but this will be the best."
The NHofF started out as a battle among five cities, and a nationwide debate raged. Would Charlotte get it? How about Atlanta, Daytona Beach, Kansas City, Missouri, or Richmond, Virginia? Daytona made a lot of sense since it's the home for NASCAR. But Daytona already has Daytona USA, which may be the current museum most like the NHofF. Kansas City was a possibility because it's centrally located in the United States.
Charlotte made the most sense. NASCAR's first Strictly Stock race was run in Charlotte, and the Queen City has hosted the longest NASCAR race (the Coca-Cola 600) and the most unique race (the Nextel All-Star Challenge, formerly The Winston) for many years. And Charlotte in particular and North Carolina in general boast a huge auto racing industry.
Most of the race teams, crewmen, and drivers live within 100 miles of Charlotte, making it stock car country.
"It's extremely important for the city," McCrory says. "It solidifies Charlotte as the anchor for NASCAR from both a national and international standpoint. It'll mean travel and tourism and jobs for the area. I think it's similar to country music's importance to Nashville."
You wouldn't put a Country Music Hall of Fame anywhere but Nashville, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame ought to be in Charlotte, he points out.
"How could they put it anywhere else other than here? Charlotte's still growing, and it's the epicenter of NASCAR racing," Wheeler adds.
Wheeler says he believes the city helped itself early in the bidding when it showed what it was willing to do to get the Hall of Fame.
"The other cities were put on notice that the price for getting this was not going to be cheap," Wheeler says.
Wheeler points out that while the France family controls both Daytona International Speedway and NASCAR, he believes they intended to be fair and not pick a city just because their flagship racetrack is there.
"I never thought there was any competition for us other than Atlanta," Wheeler says. NASCAR wanted a growing city that was a huge tourist attraction, and both Charlotte and Atlanta fit the criteria, he adds.
Fans will be able to visit the NHofF, Wheeler adds, then spend a few days visiting the dozens of race shops in the area. Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc., and others have magnificent buildings that can't be called mere race shops. Then, visitors can venture outside of Charlotte and see the museums at Petty Enterprises in Level Cross and Richard Childress Racing in Welcome, both within two hours of downtown Charlotte.
And, of course, fans can go from the NASCAR Hall of Fame to visit Lowe's Motor Speedway.
McCrory says he doesn't believe Charlotte sewed up the museum early.
"To borrow Yogi Berra's phrase, we didn't believe it was over until it was over," he says with a laugh. "We took nothing for granted. There was tough competition, but we felt this is the right place, and we felt we had the best offer."