If you’re looking for a place that perfectly captures the pulse of American motorsports, visiting the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte will feel like visiting the Vatican for the first time. From the moment you lay eyes on the sweeping exterior of the museum in Uptown Charlotte, one thing will instantly pop out: this is a cathedral built for speed. Lacking a dedicated space to showcase its history, NASCAR set out to build a Hall of Fame museum to celebrate the history of this high-octane sport.
In 2006, the city of Charlotte was chosen to be the official host of the museum. It was a natural choice, as, although the sport was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, the Charlotte region had become the heartland of the sport, with many racing teams setting up shop in the region. Ground for the museum was broken in 2007, and on May 11, 2010, the doors opened to the public, unveiling a sweeping, sleek museum that was packed with dynamic experiences. The museum further cemented Charlotte as the epicenter of NASCAR, and it’s one of the city’s top tourist attractions, with a major upgrade to the museum being planned to breathe new life into the 16-year-old building.
High speed exhibits galore
The centerpiece of the museum is Glory Road, a 33-degree banked ramp that resembles the banked turn at the Talladega Superspeedway that showcases race cars from the sport’s past, from the 1937 Ford Modified driven by Wendell Scott, to the iconic 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by the late Dale Earnhardt. The museum just opened the sixth edition of Glory Road, which features 18 cars from various team owners, with the goal of celebrating car owners across the sport’s storied history.
After checking out the fastest cars on the planet at Glory Road, make a pilgrimage to the Earnhardt Exhibit at Victory Lane, which pays tribute to five generations of one of NASCAR’s most famous families. The Earnhardt exhibit features artifacts of the family’s racing history, from the iconic firesuits to the crew shirt and uniform that highlight the Earnhardts’ giant presence in the sport over the past decades…