The NASCAR Hall of Fame is more than a museum — it’s a tribute to the sport of NASCAR racing and the people who helped shape it. North Carolina, where it’s situated, is often considered the heart of motorsports.
There’s no doubt that NASCAR is one of North America’s most popular spectator sports. In fact, fans can catch one of 1500 NASCAR races at 100+ different tracks in any given season.
What’s at the NASCAR Hall of Fame?
Visiting the NASCAR Hall of Fame, with its Glory Road, is nothing short of amazing. It immediately puts you on a motorsports race track, viewing cars from your favorite drivers over the decades.
The museum covers four levels. 1) High Octane Theater, 2) Glory Road and the Great Hall, 3) Hall of Honor, Inside NASCAR, racecar simulators, 4) Heritage speedway. There’s also a gift shop and the Hall of Fame Cafe on site.
Interactive Exhibits
The key to your interactive fun is your Hard Card, which you purchase at admission. You’ll find various different stations to test your skills and NASCAR knowledge, all of which require the card.
Some of the most popular of the 50+ interactive experiences include:
- Get your own driver identity card
- Pit crew challenge (see the pin)
- Simulator to drive your favorite car and NASCAR track
- Glory road with its 360-degree views from inside the cockpit of your favorite cars
- Call a race from the sound booth
- Be a play-by-play announcer in the turns for the MRN crew
- Create a digital scrapbook of your visit
- Attend a special event at the high octane theater
The Cars
It goes without saying that you’ll find NASCAR legends, like Dale Earnhardt, in the Hall of Fame. Indeed, he was inducted in 2010.
Fast Fact: Dale Earnhardt shares the record for the most NASCAR Cup Series championships (seven) with Richard Petty.
You’ll also find more historic race cars, like the 1964 Plymouth Belvedere driven by Richard Petty. Petty is described as the King of NASCAR with his 200 wins, which include seven Daytona 500 wins.
Of course, NASCAR goes back even further than the 1960s, as it celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2023.
Fast Fact: In the early 1950s the sport was dominated by the Hudson car driven by Marshall Teague. Then, the motto was "win on Sunday and sell on Monday."
There are many more cars, all with information about their drivers, their wins, and the tracks they raced.
History of NASCAR Racing
While race cars run on high octane fuel these days (98 octane), the sport actually got its start from another kind of high octane liquid. What was it?
What high octane liquid gave NASCAR its start?
Moonshine, of course! Back in the days of prohibition, moonshine was the only kind of alcohol available.
And if you’re wondering how racing connects to moonshine, it’s all about keeping one step ahead of the lawmen and Bureau of Prohibition — also known as revenuers. In fact, a whole generation of mechanics and drivers developed their skills by transporting moonshine from the secret spots it was brewed, and selling it (bootleggers) at the secret spots where it was consumed.
Junior Johnson, one of the best-known bootleggers-turned-racers in NASCAR history, actually built the still on display at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
So, it’s no surprise that organized racing was well started by 1933, at the close of the thirteen-year span of Prohibition. Fifteen years later, the first NASCAR-sanctioned race was held on Daytona’s beach course, on Feb. 15, 1948.
Being a bootlegger was all about making good “hooch” and having a souped up car to outrun the local police and Federal agents while making deliveries.
And of course, in their free time the bootleggers needed some entertainment. So, racing these high-performance cars became a popular pastime among the “runners” in North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and elsewhere in the South. You’d find them on weekend afternoons out in the country on makeshift dirt tracks, which eventually grew into today’s NASCAR.
Linda’s Pick of the Exhibits
It’s a given for somebody who loves an adrenaline rush as much as I do, that I’d head for the racetrack.
I skipped right to the racing, of course, starting with the training center video games. I’ll be the first to admit I had limited success there.
All right. No success. I never made it past corner two without either blowing up the car or crashing. I felt sorry for the attendant who had to keep showing me how to reset the system.
So much for practice. I headed over to the simulation for my chance at a win against some other newbies to the world of racing.
The real cars are a lot different from a video game, in my humble opinion anyway. I selected Car #24 for my chance at being a NASCAR driver.
What NASCAR drivers have driven under #42?
Who else has driven #24? Well, Jeff Gordon leads the way with nearly 25,000+ laps he’s led on the actual track — and 90+ wins.
And the rest of us. Well, we didn’t do so well… since 1950 car #24 has been raced by 64 different drivers. Out of all of those drivers, just one (really!), Jeff Gordon, has managed to be first to the checkered flag!
But if you’re looking for an experience that smacks of the real thing, do give hitting the track at Charlotte a try in the simulator. I can guarantee your heart will be in your throat as you head into that high banked corner on your first lap!
(And nobody will know it took you twice a long to make a lap as the real racers either.)
Linda’s Road Trip Tips
I spent a whole week in Charlotte and area, enjoying all kinds of experiences from race-related stops to learning about the whiskey distilling process at Whiskey Prison (Southern Grace Distilleries).
Charlotte, where the Hall of Fame is located, is home to Charlotte Motor Speedway. And of course, you must take a speedway tour when you visit — it’s awesome!
If you have a car for your visit, do visit Kannapolis (30 miles from the NASCAR Hall of Fame), the birthplace of NASCAR race legend, Dale Earnhardt. Start with the Curb Motorsports Museum and Curb Museum for Music, which is also home to the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. And if you were a Dale Earnhardt fan, do take in the Dale Trail.
Who Should Visit the NASCAR Hall fo Fame?
The NASCAR Hall of Fame is a must-see museum for anyone who loves motorsports. Indeed, the average visitor has traveled 500 miles to get there!
It’s a great place to take older children and teens, although costs for the different experiences might be prohibitive for some families.
That said, I, like many other adults, enjoyed them too.
As you’d expect in this calibre of facility, everything is fully accessible to those with mobility issues.
The Hall of Fame is more than a day-long experience if you want to go through all of the exhibits, and try the interactive experiences. It’s a museum you’ll want to visit again and again.
How Do You Visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame?
The NASCAR Hall of Fame & Museum is located at 400 East Martin Luther King Blvd. in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s attached to the Charlotte Convention Center.
Visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame website for hours, costs, and to purchase advance tickets for some of the interactive experiences.
Take a virtual tour of the NASCAR Hall of Fame with Youtube.
Get the latest on the NASCAR Hall of Fame Facebook page.
Plan your visit to the NASCAR museum with Google maps.
Acknowledgments
I visited the NASCAR Hall of Fame as part of a post-trip for Travel Media Showcase, hosted by the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. My admission to the NASCAR Hall of Fame was free of charge.
Discover More Sports Museums
- Toronto’s Fabulous Hockey Hall of Fame Museum
Memorable moments in hockey history from Gordie Howe and Rocket Richard to Hayley Wickenheiser and Wayne Gretzky. The Hockey Hall of Fame Museum features players around the world from the past century, plus interactive fun for hockey lovers. - Museum of NASCAR’s Fastest Drivers: NC
The Curb Motorsports Museum is owned by race car sponsor and owner, Mike Curb. The collection includes cars ranging from Dale Earnhardt’s stock car to modified winged cars. - Spectacular NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum in NC
The NASCAR Hall of Fame is a museum for everyone who loves motorsports. From Glory Road vintage cars, to the Great Hall of inductees, to 50+ interactive experiences, it’s a must-see attraction.
Reference(s)
Condé Nast Traveler. (n.d.). NASCAR Hall of Fame. https://www.cntraveler.com/activities/nascar-hall-of-fame
The Mob Museum. (n.d.). NASCAR Rooted in Prohibition Bootlegging. https://prohibition.themobmuseum.org/the-history/prohibition-potpourri/nascar-and-prohibition/
Wikipedia. (n.d.). NASCAR. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR
guide2museums.com 