NASCAR Hall of Fame

NASCAR Hall of Fame
Location	400 E. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd Charlotte, North Carolina
Broke ground	January 2007
Opened	May 11, 2010
Owner	City of Charlotte
Operator	Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority
Construction cost	US $160 million
Architect	Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

The NASCAR Hall of Fame honors drivers who have shown exceptional skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning body. NASCAR committed itself to building a Hall of Fame and on March 6, 2006, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, was selected as the location. Ground was broken for the $160 million facility on January 26, 2007, and it officially opened on May 11, 2010,^[1] with the inaugural class to be inducted the day following the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXVI. The new Hall of Fame brings hundreds of jobs and an increase in tourism to Charlotte. In addition to the Hall of Fame, the NASCAR Plaza, a 20-story office building, opened in May, 2009. The 390,000-square-foot (36,000 m²) structure serves as the home of Hall of Fame-related offices, NASCAR Digital Media, and their licensing division. Other tenants include the Charlotte Regional Partnership and Lauth Property Group. Richard Petty and Dale Inman helped unveil the first artifact at the Hall of Fame, which was the Plymouth Belvedere that Petty drove to 27 wins in 1967.^[2]

The City of Charlotte was responsible for the construction of the building and is the owner of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. However, it is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. Winston Kelley is the NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director. Internationally renowned Pei Cobb Freed & Partners is leading the design effort. Little Diversified Architectural Consulting based in Charlotte is the local architectural firm overseeing many aspects of design and construction of the project. Engineering and Fabrication of the stainless steel möbius which wraps around the structure was completed by Zahner, of Kansas City. Exhibition design is by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, and exhibition lighting by Technical Artistry. Site excavation and grading services commenced on May 21, 2007.

Site selection

Photo taken from the CATS Stonewall Station (May 2009)

Because of stock car racing's roots in and wealth of famous drivers from North Carolina, many NASCAR offices in the area and many teams in the three major series NASCAR competes in (Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series) totaling over 73% of motorsports employees in the United States working in what the committee called "NASCAR Valley", Charlotte was considered the favorite by many fans and commentators. The Hall of Fame is located in Uptown Charlotte, about 15 minutes south of Charlotte Motor Speedway. The bid was led by NASCAR car owner Rick Hendrick, then Mayor Pat McCrory, and business leaders in Charlotte. Pei Cobb Freed & Partners were enlisted for the complex's design, which will be located near the Charlotte Convention Center.

Hall of Fame Building

The building contains the following:

• First Floor:
  • Belk High Octane Theater - A screening room located below ground level which shows videos to guests, including a primer video for first time visitors.

• Second Floor:
  • Ceremonial Plaza - An outdoor "patio" with a video screen.
  • Glory Road - A 33-degree banked ramp (matching that of Talladega Superspeedway) featuring 18 different cars and saluting 46 past and current tracks.
  • The Great Hall - Dubbed as the Times Square of the hall, a 14 feet (4.3 m)-by-18 feet (5.5 m) video screen and rotating exhibits will be staged here.
  • "Studio 43" - Named in honor of Richard Petty's car number - which serves as the home of Showtime's Inside NASCAR television show.

• Third Floor:
  • Hall of Honor - A 360-degree wall with the honorees enshrined serves as the centerpiece of the building with each enshrinee with their own exhibit.
  • Transporter and Racecar Simulators - Simulators provided by iRacing.com.^[3]
  • Race Week Experience - Simulates an actual week in a NASCAR team, from race prep through inspection, practice, time trials and the race.

• Fourth Floor:
  • Heritage Speedway - The six decade history of NASCAR is focused here, including a glass enclosed section with historic artifacts from the history of stock car racing.

There is also a gift shop, the Hall of Fame Café and a Buffalo Wild Wings restarauant on site. An expansion, which includes a new ballroom, is also part of the project.

While most information on the Charlotte bid has been released voluntarily, the Charlotte Observer has asked the state Attorney General for an opinion requiring full disclosure of the financial details.

The self-proclaimed slogan used by Charlotte for the Hall of Fame was "Racing Was Built Here. Racing Belongs Here."

Other final candidates

The other two cities at the time of the announcement that were in the running were Atlanta, Georgia, and Daytona Beach, Florida.

Other bids

The state of Alabama had also been mentioned as a potential candidate location, and was no longer seen as a contender, possibly because Talladega currently is home to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, which is not affiliated with NASCAR. The only northern area that considered bidding was in the state of Michigan. Detroit prepared bids, but state officials decided not to submit the proposals. The cities of Richmond, Virginia, and Kansas City, Kansas, were actually among the five finalists, but on January 5, 2006, NASCAR announced they had been eliminated from the running, leaving just Daytona, Atlanta and Charlotte as the remaining cities. [2]

Eligibility and selection process ^[4]

Eligibility

Former drivers must have been active in NASCAR for at least 10 years, and retired for at least three. Non-drivers must have been involved in the industry at least ten years. Some candidates with shorter careers will be considered if there were special circumstances.

Selection process

Nomination

A 20-member nominating committee chooses nominees from those who are eligible. The committee consists of:

• Seven NASCAR representatives;
• NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelley;
• NASCAR Hall of Fame Historian;
• Track owners (Two each from International Speedway Corporation and Speedway Motorsports Incorporated, the Hulman family (Indianapolis Motor Speedway), the Mattioli family (Pocono Raceway), and Dover International Speedway)
• Four track owners from historic short tracks: Bowman-Gray Speedway in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, S.C.; Riverhead Raceway in Riverhead, N.Y; and Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in Irwindale, CA. (While Toyota Speedway opened in 1999, the track is in a market that has long has NASCAR tracks but many no longer exist.)

Induction

After the nomination committee selects the list of candidates, a total of 48 votes are cast by a voting committee, which consists of the nominating committee and the following:

• 14 media representatives: Three each from the National Motorsports Press Association, the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Eastern Motorsports Press Association; one each from current media rights holders Fox, Turner Sports (TNT), ESPN/ABC, Motor Racing Network and Performance Racing Network;
• One representative each from the current manufacturers - Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota;
• Three retired drivers;
• Three retired owners;
• Three retired crew chiefs;
• One ballot which will represent the results of a nationwide fan vote.

Inductees into the Hall of Fame

Charter Class: Class of 2010

On October 14, 2009, the NASCAR Hall of Fame panel met at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, to select the Charter Class of 2010. The five who were selected were:^[5][6]

• Dale Earnhardt, owner-driver and seven time drivers champion;
• Bill France, Sr., NASCAR founder and promoter;
• Bill France, Jr., promoter who succeeded his father and expanded the sport to national exposure;
• Junior Johnson, owner-driver who won six championships as an owner;
• Richard Petty, owner-driver who also won seven championships and 200 races as a driver.

The class was inducted on May 23, 2010.

Class of 2011

The members of the Class of 2011 are:^[7]

• Bobby Allison, driver and 1983 Winston Cup Series Champion;
• Ned Jarrett, driver (1965 Cup Series Champion) and broadcaster;
• Bud Moore, car owner and mechanic;
• David Pearson, driver, 3 time champion, and second on the all time win list with 105 wins;
• Lee Petty, driver, car owner, 3 time champion, and winner of the first Daytona 500.

The Class of 2011 was announced on October 13, 2010, and was inducted on May 23, 2011.

Class of 2012

The members of the Class of 2012 are:^[8]

• Richie Evans, driver, nine time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion(Then NASCAR National Modified Series and Winston Modified Tour);
• Dale Inman, crew chief, eight time Winston Cup Series champion (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975,1979 with Richard Petty, and 1984 with Terry Labonte);
• Darrell Waltrip, driver, 84 career wins, three time Winston Cup Series champion (1981, 1982, 1985), and broadcaster;
• Glen Wood, owner, founder of legendary Wood Brothers Racing team, 98 career wins;
• Cale Yarborough, driver, 83 career wins, 4-Time Daytona 500 Winner (1968, 1977, 1983, 1984) and three time Winston Cup Series champion (1976, 1977, 1978).

The Class of 2012 was announced on June 14, 2011, and will be inducted in January 2012.

Tickets

The ticket prices are Adult $19.95, Senior (60+) $17.95, Military $17.95, and Children (5-12) $12.95. Open daily 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. (closed only Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas)^[9]

References

1. ^ Lyttle, Steve; Marusak, Joe (2010-05-12). "Charlotte celebrates NASCAR Hall of Fame's opening day". The Charlotte Observer. http://www.thatsracin.com/2010/05/11/34650/nascar-fans-delight-in-halls-opening.html. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
2. ^ Ryan, Nate (October 11, 2008). "First artifact unveiled at NASCAR Hall of Fame". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2008-10-11-hall-of-fame_N.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-31. 
3. ^ Bob Pockrass (May 19, 2009). "NASCAR inks deal with iRacing.com to develop online racing series". SceneDaily.com. http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/NASCAR_inks_deal_with_iRacingcom_to_develop_online_racing_series.html. Retrieved 2010-04-13. 
4. ^ . http://www.nascarhall.com/inductees.php. 
5. ^ Class of 2010 Inductees. NASCAR Hall of Fame official website. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
6. ^ McGarr, Elizabeth (December 23, 2010). "The Class Of 2010: The Hall's inaugural class included a king, a former bootlegger, two members of NASCAR's first family and the man they called the Intimidator". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1179540/1/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-11. 
7. ^ Class of 2011. NASCAR Hall of Fame official website. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
8. ^ [1]. NASCAR Hall of Fame official website. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
9. ^ (http://www.mtn.museumtix.com/venue/venueinfo.aspx?vid=775&tab=G&pvt=nas)

External links

• NASCAR Hall of Fame official website
• Collection of links to articles for all prospective locations
• USA Today article from May 25
• Charlotte basks, boasts at Hall groundbreaking

Coordinates: 35°13′18″N 80°50′36″W / 35.221599°N 80.843277°W / 35.221599; -80.843277