Yesterday my family and I went to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in uptown Charlotte, NC. This weekend was an event called Speed Street uptown featuring all sponsor companies of the Coca Cola 600. We decided to head downtown and experience the NASCAR events including the Hall of Fame. It was a beautiful day and there was no rain in the forecast so we were on our way.
When we all headed uptown we headed close to the Hall of Fame and found a parking lot right next store to the Hall of Fame. They wanted only $5 for parking so we decided to park there because it wasn’t a far walk at all. When we were on our way to the main entrance it was crazy to see all the shiny metal structure shining in the sunlight.
We finally got to the front entrance to purchase tickets and there was a mall line ahead of us. It was pretty quick before we were able to get to the counter. The Hall of Fame has a special deal in which you can get a family four pack. It includes 4 adult tickets, 4 tickets for the simulation games, and the choices of 4 lanyards or 4 food vouchers for the café.
We all decided to get the lanyards because of the food that we would be able to eat during Speed Street. When we entered the Hall of Fame with our tickets we had to then approach an entrance where we had to hand our tickets to a gate keeper and activated our hard cards. The hard cards are the cards that use to log your personal times and scores as you do all the interactive activities.
After you get squared away with your tickets, you then head toward a display that has a pretend part of charlotte motor speedway. It is a complete display of one of the turns and it allows you to walk on part of it to show you the inclines of the tracks. The most degree of embankment is 38 degrees and it crazy to “try” and stand on it. If they didn’t have grip on the track, there is no way you would be able to stand on your own.
It is absolutely amazing to be able to see how crazy the embankments really are when they go into these turns. Along this display they have a bunch of cars that were driven from the start of NASCAR all the way to present day cars. I especially loved seeing the Hornet and Dale Earnhardt Sr. car. That was really meaningful to me because I especially was a true fan of Dale Sr.
After we had experienced this display, we headed into the simulator activities. This is where we edited our hard cards and put our personal info on our cards. The first simulator ride was actually going into at the race cars and “driving” the car around a virtual charlotte motor speedway. You have 5 minutes to report your fastest qualifying time. This was neat because you had to actually shift the car from gear to gear and when you spun out or crashed it was very realistic.
The next simulation activity was the pit stop. You were able to be in a team of 2 people and actually perform a real pit stop. The pit stop included changing a tire, fueling the gas tank, and raising/lowering the jack. My team had a time of 14 seconds which was one of the best compared to the others around us!
Near these simulation activities you are able to go into a car hauler and see what they are like inside. All I have to say is there is a lot of metal inside those trucks!! When you are all done with these two simulation activities then you are able to go race again in the qualifying section. They then had different sections such as qualifying and inspection. These sections were very educational and it gave you a chance to actually see every part of the car that is always covered by the outside body. I enjoyed the inspection part because you are able to see how much inspection goes on before the drivers are allowed to race.
As you are done with the Simulation rides there is a chance for you to take a picture inside winners circle with yourself or with the entire group. This picture allows you to have a nice souvenir at the end of your visit. Two cool things when you head up the stairs is on the right is the changes in the name of NASCAR and what it was called throughout the years leading up to today.
On the left side you are able to see how much the suits, helmets, and radio communication has progressed to today. It is very neat to see how little protection the driver wore and now how much they wear. This was a neat display to see. As you are upstairs you are able to see sculptures of many famous drivers from the beginning of NASCAR history. This part of the Hall of Fame is really history oriented. It allows you to see how things were like.
I really enjoyed the part where they Junior Johnson used to deliver moon shine and he was that fastest delivery guy of the time. They had to be quick because it was illegal and you would wind up in jail if you were caught by the police. There is a video that you are able to watch and see them making deliveries.
You are also able to wave the different flags (green, white, yellow, black, etc.) and they took your photo for another opportunity to buy pictures. It was really neat that they had all this interactive activities mixed throughout the history portions.
As you make you way to the end of the top floor, you then make your way down the stairs or down the elevator to pick up your picture souvenirs. Then after this you are able to go into the gift shop. After this you are back up to the front and heading out the doors. The NASCAR hall of fame was awesome and outstanding. To the interactive parts, to the cleanliness, to the polite people that work there, it is 100% worth the admission price.
They have the group pack for $99.98 and it is a great way for the whole family to enjoy all the activities while saving money with the great price. I recommend everyone to head over to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and experience this for yourself!
