NASCAR Hall of Fame Still Taking Shape

By Bob Pockrass
SceneDaily.com

CHARLOTTE – A little more than six months before the opening of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, only two exhibit items are in place — a car transporter and a big Unocal orange spotter ball.

Those likely will be two of the biggest items in the hall, so they had to be put in place during the construction of the building.

But even without the presence of race cars that will be lined up against the ramp that people walk from one floor to another or the many video screens that will be in place, the infrastructure for the facility shows at least a glimpse of what museum executives hope makes the place special and more than just, well, a museum when it opens May 10, 2010.



“We are much more than a museum and much more than a traditional hall of fame,” hall of fame executive director Winston Kelley says. “While those are two key elements, we’re also part entertainment attraction, with over 50 interactive stations throughout the facility, and part theater.”

There are vents underneath the seating area of the big theater, which likely will blow air to give the feeling of being in a race car while watching the introduction to the hall of fame that will be a visitor’s first stop.

There also is an area that juts out on one of the floors, which will be a flag stand where people can wave a green flag above the cars that encircle the ramp walkway. That spotter ball? Customers will be able to go inside.

The $195 million, 150,000-square-foot hall of fame with more than 40,000 square feet of exhibit space and as many as 1,000 artifacts will be owned and operated by the city of Charlotte. Museum officials hope to begin installing exhibits in about two months once construction is complete, and the building construction should be done by mid-April. The first induction ceremony is scheduled for May 23, 2010.

“It’s going to house our past, it’s going to house our future,” NASCAR Chairman Brian France says. “It’s going to be the most interactive hall of fame in the world. We are quite confident for many, many years to come, this is where race fans will come. … It’s going to be a very festive place.”

The hall consists of four floors. The theater is at the bottom and has a separate entrance for special events as well as a concession stand and cafe. The 270-seat theater with a screen that is 65 feet by 15 feet also would be a site to watch races. The second floor will be a 10,000-square-foot area where there will be traveling exhibits. That is the floor where the restaurant (Buffalo Wild Wings) and the gift shop will be located.

Customers will walk the ramp next to the authentic race cars, and the ramp also will be the place where tracks are highlighted going from the flat tracks to those with the most banking. The third floor will be where the hall of honor will be, where inductees will each be recognized with a spire that is 7 to 8 feet tall, and will include a facial likeness, a video of the honoree’s history and an area at the bottom where kids can create a rubbing.

Also on that floor will be the race week experience exhibit, which hall officials hope is one of the most interactive areas. That is where the racing simulators will be located as well as the area where people can change tires. That area will take a fan through the race week.

On the top level, NASCAR’s history will be chronicled, including a vault of artifacts. It will include a legacy area to honor those who spent their lives contributing to the sport and also will have a “great finishes” theater where fans can call up the best finishes in NASCAR history.

Kelley said the projection is for 800,000 visitors in the first year.

“We have something, we believe, for everyone — the avid die-hard NASCAR fan, for the novice with little or no knowledge of the sport, for kids of all ages and adults from all walks of life,” Kelley says. “While our mission is to honor the history and heritage of NASCAR, our vision and day-to-day objectives will be to focus on our guests.”

Ralph Appelbaum Associates is the hall’s exhibit designer. Its previous projects have included the National Constitution Center, the World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum and the London Transport Museum.

Kubik Maltbie is the primary fabricator and installer of all exhibits. The firm’s past work includes projects at the Smithsonian Institution and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Electrosonic Inc. will do all of the audio-visual components. Electrosonic, which has collaborated with Kubik Maltbie on numerous projects, has a long list of clients, including The Weather Channel sets, the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center and the World of Coca-Cola.

The hall of fame also includes a 2,700-seat ballroom, and adjacent to the hall is a 19-story office tower, which includes NASCAR’s Charlotte offices as well as three floors for the NASCAR Media Group.

Bob Pockrass is a staff writer at NASCAR Scene. For more racing news, visit SceneDaily.com.
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