I've been watching NASCAR for a few years now, after many years watching Formula 1. Not actually watching, more like having it on to accompany whatever I'm doing - on TV you miss the speed and sounds of a real race. I once had a taste of stock-car racing when I volunteered at the Edmonton Indy, and thought the thunderous sound of a V-8 pushrod engine at 9500 RPM was AMAZING.
So I'm planning to see a race - in Bristol, Tennessee ...
| 2012.08.28 |
The NASCAR Hall of Fame |
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Time to gas up and get out of Gastonia. The drive to Charlotte was easy, though I missed an exit, went around the city (not so big with a tight ring-road around it, and ended up in the parking lot of some neighbourhood public pool with a nice view of the Charlotte skyline. Gave me a chance to finish my coffee, and ask my British GPS friend for directions. I don't drink much when I'm driving - never very thirsty, and busy driving fast. This wasn't a coffee day, but that's what I had. Inside the car it was a coffee day, with the a/c on. Outside, you have to be a coffee fan. My digital British friend, as I was coming to call him, directed me back onto the proper road again, and on my 2nd attempt I (actually we) made it right in to the parkade of the convention center attached to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, where I got out and took a seat at the first bench outside to really finish my coffee.
There was an Afro-American man kitty-corner on another bench, talking to someone, I suspect a sister, about a daughter, unemployed, but engaged after a month with a boy. He didn't make any effort to hide his conversation - in fact, he enjoyed sharing it, and I listened in and began to nod in agreement with things he said in response to what she said, at one point flashing two, then three fingers as he was decribing how many hundred other resumes would be deluging every place that might have a job. He noticed, and corrected himself to her. After he was done, we, mostly he, talked for a while. He was in his early 60s, from New York, one of something like 13 brothers and 12 sisters, having a father who went through a few marriages. Couldn't understand how kids could be so foolish and lazier in tougher times. Stupidity knows no racial bounds.
There are 4 levels to the Hall. After buying a ticket (20 bucks, real cheap) I was given a smartcard to register and use at various kiosks, with a choice of tour avatar (I choose Darrell Waltrip because I like him on TV). Then after a widescreen movie presentation, it's on to the exhibits.
I saw the opening of the NASCAR Hall of Fame on TV, about a year after I got interested in NASCAR, so I knew the entrance hall was very notable. There's a curved track called Sunoco Glory Road showcasing historic cars with progressively steeper banking as it curves up around the hall.
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Tim Flock raced with
his pet rhesus
monkey in this
car in 1953 | |
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David Pearson
smoked and chewed
gum while he drove
so his crew would | |
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duct-tape a pack of
cigarettes and sticks
of gum to his dash | |
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The Hall of Honor has exhibits for Hall of Fame Inductees, and a view of the Great Hall |
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Now to interactive exhibits on Level 3. There are displays of all the components of a NASCAR car, how car engineering is done, places to try pit activities, and several simulators, all using the smartcard to trigger displays and collect results. Either because of fears of the crush from the DNC, or the late holiday season, the crowd was very light and leisurely. Lots of things to do for kids and adults.
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hauler layout
<---- engine blow-up
hauler inside ----> | |
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There's a whole garage and office packed into these things.
<----- spring rack |
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Level 4 is all about fans and mementoes collected from drivers and fans, and recorded historical moments. Quite impressive as a museum, regardless of the content. All the activities recorded on the smartcard can be downloaded somehow; I didn't check.
Now back down the ramp, to rewind history and visit the gift shop. |
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Jimmy Johnson won
5 Sprint Cup
championships in
a row | |
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This ends the NASCAR part of my trip. My original thought was to go to the the IRWIN TOOLS Night Race at Bristol, that's all. A lucky bit of coincidence, with me posting an exploratory Craigslist ad and Nikki in Bristol cruising ads there and answering so quickly, led me eventually to this point, at about 3pm, after a week of races and 3 hours at this museum, in Charlotte, NC , about to head further east into somewhere I never expected to go either, on roads I've never travelled.
Time for Round 2. |
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