A visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame

I finally made it to Glory Road.

After all the years of watching the NASCAR complex being built, I actually went inside yesterday. My office used to overlook the site. I felt every blast of dynamite and saw most of them while they excavated the foundation areas. I saw the structure grow from a pit deep within Charlotte’s ground to the towering building it is today. I was even present to see many of the car carriers deliver their priceless cargo just before the grand opening. My wife and mother-in-law joined me yesterday to visit the museum.

The Museum

We spent a few hours poring over the exhibits in the museum. The highlight is “Glory Road,” an exhibit of some of the most famous cars used by some of NASCAR’s most famous drivers. Also, the tracks used in the NASCAR circuit are also part of this exhibit. Relevant information on each track is presented and in many cases, a rectangular cutout of the actual track surface is available for one to see and to touch. Track surfaces range from slick and greasy, through rocky and chunky, all the way to abrasive sand-paperlike ridged concrete. This makes for an interesting exhibit as one considers the tire and grip decisions that crew and driver have to make. In racing, there are benefits to being “loose” at times and “sticky” at others. Choosing the right tire for the job, and one that will hold up to the stress without failing prematurely, has to be a difficult task.

Also in the museum is the Hall of Honor exhibit where honorees in the Hall of Fame are memorialized. Both “the King” and “the Intimidator” share space here currently. The collection of memorabilia throughout the museum is unsurpassed – everything from drivers’ suits through collectables are arrayed in several targeted displays. Engine technology displays and hands-on exhibits of how teams assemble and service cars are really interesting. One of my favorite display areas deals with how NASCAR officials inspect components and a large collection of illegally modified components (along with descriptions of why they failed inspection) demonstrates that the desire to win easily births the desire to cheat.

Pricing for the museum was relatively steep but is on par for museums around Charlotte’s Uptown area.

Teams, teams, teams…

With my focus recently on team building and team activity (for example, How does one build a team?”), it really was fascinating to consider how NASCAR races are won, not merely by a driver and his machine, but by the entire team working in sync with each other. An exhibit on the wall shows the relative sizes of NASCAR teams relative to most corporate and aviation teams. The entire team trumps (by far) almost every other team out there in shear size. What we see when we watch a NASCAR race is a specialized subteam that provides trackside support, but this is literally only the tip of the iceberg. Every person involved in some aspect of getting the car to the track forms part of the team. Some of these are the people who chase sponsors, manage budgets, procure parts, repair machinery, keep garage areas clean, drive car carriers, work on chassis and engines, paint the luscious images, inspect and determine compliance with NASCAR and other moral rules, work trackside to support the driver, manage each stage of the process, and ultimately the driver himself.

These massive organizations either function as an organic whole and lead a car to consistent placings race after race or they fail. One can see, just by the sheer size that there are lots of possibilities for conflict, for communication issues, and also for brilliant brainstorming. When a car crosses the finish line under the checkered flag it got there, not by sheer horsepower, but by the incremental muscle power of every member of the team putting the right amount of effort in at the right time! The sheer immensity of this thought makes one respect the value of a team.

In conclusion

Well, hopefully some of my readers will one day be able to make the pilgrimage to this place, a hallowed ground for NASCAR fans. It really is an interesting way to spend a few hours contemplating the men and the machines who accomplished incredible feats. It also is a place where we remember that the price for success in many cases is paid for with the blood of men. The specters those killed in deadly crashes certainly hang in the memory of each visitor.

For more photos of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, see my Flickr set here.

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