Become a NASCAR Driver at the Hall of Fame

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Ever wondered what it feels like to be a NASCAR driver as you are waiting for the lights to turn green and your engine is revving underneath you? This is exactly what we encountered at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum in Charlotte when we visited recently.

Eat your heart out Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. because this was our time to shine as we sat in the driver’s seat of our favorite NASCAR drivers vehicle, waited for the signals to turn and then fired our engines before speeding off into the distance. Ok, so this was all just on a virtual simulation that you are able to experience at the Hall of Fame but for a split second you really do feel like you are in the shoes of your favorite driver.

NASCAR History

The Hall of Fame Museum is much more than just a simulation experience. Our self-guided tour started with a short movie depicting the history of NASCAR and how it all began right here in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Did you know that the history of NASCAR dates back to the years of prohibition when the so-called ‘bootleggers’ drove their bootleg whiskey, also known as Moonshine, mainly through the Appalachian region of USA? The bootleggers used small, fast vehicles to evade the police to illegally distribute this whiskey and of course many of the drivers modified these vehicles for better handling and speed.

nascar hall of fame museum

By the late 1940s, races began to take place to show-off the skills of both drivers and the souped up cars. NASCAR as we all refer to it as is an acronym for “National Association for Stock Car Racing” and it was in 1948 when this association was formed by William France Sr. The first NASCAR race was held at the Charlotte Speedway, though this is a different racetrack to the present day Motor Speedway that is used on the NASCAR race calendar.

Legendary Stock Cars

After sitting through the short yet detailed movie introducing the history of NASCAR, you can make your way to “Glory Road” which is a 33-degree banked ramp designed to match Talladega’s Speedway and peruse a number of different cars, both former and present day designs. The ramp, designed in many ways similar to a racetrack increases in angle as you make your way to the summit of the second floor. At various points along the track there are points identifying up to 46 different racetracks and the angle that those tracks are constructed at.

nascar hall of fame museum

The final stop on Glory Road is to mirror the angle of Talladega and at this point you can even attempt to walk up the side of the track just to see how steep this is – impressive and scary at the same time! Imagine driving a vehicle at 33 degrees, it’s bad enough driving down a hill that has a gradient of about 15% so I can only imagine what it must be like to drive over 200mph around Talladega.

nascar hall of fame

There are other notable exhibits worth exploring on the second floor at the Hall of Fame including The Great Hall and Studio 43. The former provides a video screen and a number of iconic exhibits, while Studio 43 was named after Richard Petty’s number 43 and actually served as the home of Showtime’s Inside NASCAR tv show.

Here are some of the vehicles you can see along Glory Road.

nascar hall of fame

nascar hall of fame

nascar hall of fame museum

nascar hall of fame museum

Race Week Experience

The real hands-on experience at the Hall of Fame takes place here at the ‘Race Week Experience’. You can start out by planning out the race strategies for the week including which tyre compounds best suit the racetrack before moving on to time trials and practice before the big race.

nascar hall of fame museum

Try your luck at being a mechanic for the week and experience exactly what goes on during a pit stop including trying to change a wheel as quickly as possible and refueling the stock car. Only then can you realize the intricate details and processes that go into making a race week go like clockwork.

nascar hall of fame museum

We both took part in the time trials to get a feel of the car and understand how to maximize your speed around the racetrack. After a few laps of practice, we were almost ready for race day!

Race Day

Preparation goes for nothing if you are not ready for the big race so the moment we were strapped inside our cars, we were ready to race each other. Heather opted for Jimmie Johnson’s vehicle and I chose Jeff Gordon’s. We had one other individual in our race, but this was all about personal glory and who would gain bragging rights for the rest of the road trip.

nascar hall of fame museum

Heather made a great start but I quickly found some pace and slotted in right behind Heather on the racetrack. I soon found myself with a perfect opportunity to pass on the high side of the track and I didn’t need a second chance as I cruised beyond Heather. The other driver in the race had clearly drove this simulation before and he quickly passed both of us.

I noticed Heather in my rear view mirror picking up speed and closing in but then suffered the unfortunate mistake of spinning out which probably cost her the opportunity of the all-important family bragging rights.

The NASCAR race simulation is a really cool experience and I would love to head back to the Hall of Fame just to try this again. However, given that I beat Heather perhaps it would be best to leave it at that! After leaving the race day experience, you are even given a print-out of your best lap times and position relative to the other drives.

nascar hall of fame museum

I finished a respectable second place with Heather a distant third (don’t tell anyone that there were only three participants) but we both had an absolute blast!

Weekend Wanderlust


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Chris Boothmanhttps://abritandasoutherner.com
Chris Boothman is the co-founder of A Brit and A Southerner. Born near Manchester, England, Chris moved to USA in 2006 where he soon after met his wife and travel partner in crime, Heather. They have since embarked on an amazing journey of travel as they challenge others to follow in their paths of working full-time but also being able to travel frequently! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Chris at [email protected]

7 COMMENTS

  1. Looks like you had great fun Chris and congratulations on winning the race!

    This museum looks like a real treat for any NASCAR fan and it is interesting to see how the cars have evolved over the years.

    I’ll be honest in saying that I am not in any way interested in motor sports (unless maybe I was actually driving). Yet, to be fair to the sport I did blog about a year ago about my visit to take the guided tour of the Daytona 500 racetrack. I did learn some interesting things on the tour and for anyone who loves the sport it would have been a fabulous insight. Lots of behind the scenes access and a chance to have your picture taken at the winners podium. Even better, if you book far enough in advance you can be taken on some laps of the track by a professional driver. Apparently it is one heck of an unforgettable experience.

  2. Wow!! That would be such a cool museum to visit! My dad instilled an appreciation of cars in me when I was little, since he worked as an engineer for a car part manufacturer and was really passionate about his job. Looks like a fun day was spent here!

  3. What an interesting experience. My husband is so jealous. The museum looks pretty interesting, especially seeing the evolutions of the cars throughout the years. The race simulation sounds like a lot of fun. I can see why you had an absolute blast!

  4. Your post reminded me of my recent visit in the automobile museum in Brussels. I wanted to get there “just to have a look” and stayed there for two hours 😉

    Wishing you a Merry Christmas my dears! And many beautiful travels in 2015! 🙂 🙂 🙂

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