Welcome to NASCARolina...
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Inside of Michael Waltrip Racing in Cornelius, NC.
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Its summer once again and with summer brings some much needed vacations. For many NASCAR fans a perfect summer getaway would be to North Carolina, most of the big teams in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series are based out there and the famous Lowe's Motor Speedway is as well. So as a friend of mine and I were discussing possible summer trips we soon found that North Carolina was calling our names. Next thing you know we grabbed our Mom's and made the 2 day trip to see just what we could find. We made camp in Statesville, North Carolina about 30 minutes from Charlotte and no more than 10-15 minutes from most of the race shops. Our plan was to see 11 shops in 4 days we ended up making it to 14 shops and Lowe's Motor Speedway. So here we go, before the big boys take to racing on Sunday I figured I should do a quick Sweet and Sour list for the race shops. Places you must see, places you'll probably be disappointed in, and even some places you may not have heard about.
The Sweet:
| 1. | Michael Waltrip Racing (Race World USA) - Waltrip has put together the best fan experience in his shop. You get to see everything from the fabrication shop to the main shop area with all the cars in different stages. We took the tour which cost 15 dollars but it was worth every penny if you come at the right time you even get to see the pit crew's practice. You get a great sense of what it takes to run a Sprint Cup team. Go to this shop if you ever get the chance you won't regret it, best shop of all the ones we went to. |
| 2. | Richard Childress Racing (Shop and Museum)- The main shop is not what makes RCR number two on my list although it is pretty fan friendly the thing to see here is the museum area. Richard Childress has done an amazing job honoring one of the sports most recognizable legends, Dale Earnhardt. The museum is actually Earnhardt's old race shop it is packed full of his cars including his Daytona 500 winning car. His hauler is there you can go in it and look around; they even have a fan memory wall that you can sign. Childress hasn't forgotten about his other drivers either, the other side of the museum has Clint Bowyer's wrecked Daytona 500 car from last year (the one that went spinning on its roof on fire across the start/finish line) and Kevin Harvick's winning Daytona car. Whether you are an Earnhardt fan or not this shop is worth trek up to Welcome, NC. |
| 3. | Penske Racing- Penske's shop is the home of Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Same Hornish Jr. The shop has a cat walk that goes out over the shop. No glass window to try and take pictures through, it's just you and the crew guys. The receptionist was very nice turns out she was from St. Charles, MO originally. She gave us great directions to all the other shops and even told us the best places to eat and see drivers. We just missed seeing Pensky and Kurt Busch but none the less great shop if you want to see some of the inner workings. |
| 4. | Lancaster's BBQ and Wings in Mooresville, NC- We loved this place great barbeque and burgers and the waitress was very nice. It's all NASCAR themed and there is an arcade in front with lots of racing games and what not to keep the little ones (or big ones) busy. This is also a hot spot for the drivers and crew members'. We didn't see any drivers while we were there but the Penske crew guys were there for lunch that day. Anyway not to badly priced and the atmosphere is amazing! |
| 5. | Lowe's Motor Speedway- Sadly we were a couple weeks to late for the Coke 600 but when in North Carolina you have to stop by and take the tour of Lowe's. The tour cost 5 dollars and along with some history you will be taken around the track at a whopping 70 mph. They also show you the infield and we all got to get out in victory lane and take pictures and what not. The tour guides were nice and very knowledgeable. |
The Sour:
| 1. | Dale Earnhardt Inc. - DEI was the biggest disappointment of the whole trip to me. We ended up driving down to DEI 3 different days before actually getting to see any of the current driver's cars. The show room floor was closed because there had been an event there and they had yet to get all the cars back in. So we waited and finally on our last day in North Carolina we got to see the show room. Only problem was it wasn't like the other shops at all the cars were all lined up close together behind a glass wall. You couldn't get decent pictures if you wanted to and there were no signs saying what this car was or why it was important, nothing. The front of DEI is all about Earnhardt Sr. as it should be, you can see his 7 Winston Cups and many other trophies, fire suits, and a few of his cars which is great my only problem is it just didn't seem like something Dale would ever want to be a part of and that is a shame. If you want to see what Earnhardt was really all about go to RCR and look around his museum you'll find Dale there. |
| 2. | Roush Fenway Racing- Roush Fenway Racing is the home shop for Greg Biffle, David Regan, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, and Columbia, Missouri's own Carl Edwards. I had high hopes for Roush Fenway but was disappointed when the only shop we were allowed to see was that of Greg Biffle and David Regan. I mean come on we wanted to see Cousin Carl's cars! Anyway I don't know if we just came on an off day or what but we were not allowed into the other buildings. We did get to see his showroom which has Jamie McMurray's first win car, Carl Edwards's Busch Championship car, and some trophies. |
So there ya go the top and the bottom of the trip like I said there were many shops in-between I'll put a list at the bottom of all the shops we went to (if you want to know about one of them just leave me a comment). Over all it was a great trip I learned so much and really fell in love with the way of life out there. If nothing else it's a great trip through the Smoky Mountains and who doesn't love a little southern hospitality.
List of Shops we visited:
Hendrick Motorsports
Rousch Fenway Racing
Kasey Kahne Racing
Junior Motorsports
Petty Enterprises
Penske Racing
Rusty Wallace Inc
Dale Earnhardt Inc
Kevin Harvick Inc
Gillett Evernham Motorsports
Joe Gibbs Racing
Michael Waltrip Racing
Richard Childress Racing
Red Bull Racing
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We have been to those shops too, except Mike Waltrip and it wasnt built yet, we enjoy being out their it was our third trip, the first time we stay in Charlotte, whick we soon found out we were at the wrong place then from then on we stay at Moorsville right across from the entrance to the raceshops and could see the haulers go out, they had a good winners cirle their to eat nothing fancy the food good and the crews of the race teams their would eat their.If anyone wanted a place to go this is the place to go the people around their are so friendly, just wanted to let you know we enjoy it too.
WHAT THE HELL KINDA COMMENT WAS THAT!!WOW!!
A nice one.
Sounds like an exciting time! Well worth the trip?
Oh yeah it was totally worth the trip...I would go again in a heartbeat. Thanks for the comments guys!