NASCAR officials visited one potential spot for the NASCAR Hall of Fame this week: Kansas City, Kansas.
"It's incredible what's gone on here when you look at where this property [the Kansas Speedway] was before the track opened, and where this property is today," NASCAR chief of operations George Pyne said. "If you were here seven or eight years ago, you would almost be in disbelief at what's gone on here. This has been a great success story for NASCAR and for Kansas."
And indeed, NASCAR's success has been attributed largely to its ability to expand beyond the stereotypical NASCAR demographic into markets in California and the midwest. It truely is a national sport, and fans do really transcend any kind of stereotype that critics may try to impose on them.
But is NASCAR risking the ire of its fans? Other potential sites are in Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC, Daytona Beach, FL, and Richmond, VA — all sites firmly ensconced in NASCAR tradition. Kansas is a relative newcomer to NASCAR: the track there is only five years old. Talladega, Alabama is already home to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, which has functioned as a sort of NASCAR Hall of Fame for years.
Daytona Beach and Charlotte are really the two sites that should be considered the front runners. Both are steeped in NASCAR history — the Daytona 500 is the race of the year. Drivers who win at Daytona often don't care what else happens to them the rest of the year; witness Darrell Waltrip's ecstatic "I won the Daytona 500!!" the year he finally won the race in 1989. Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s impressive career was scarred with a black "Never won Daytona" until 1998, when he finally won the race. The Daytona 500 is important.
But Charlotte is home. The majority of NASCAR drivers live in the area (many in nearby Lake Norman, an area that their stock car driving forebearers could never have afforded), and many teams are based there. The roots of NASCAR are as much in the hills of North Carolina as they are on the sands of Daytona Beach. The NASCAR culture is firmly rooted in the Carolinas. And when people say "NASCAR", Charlotte, North Carolina is one of the first places they think of. It seems clear to me, and it should be clear to the folks at NASCAR.
The hall belongs in Charlotte. It's really that simple.
Article comments
1 - Warren
Just wanted to bump this one up for a minute and to note that I was right -- the hall is in Charlotte. Where it should be.
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
You sure nailed it.