There are few places that celebrate speed, skill, and championships like the NASCAR Hall of Fame. From the moment you walk into this 150,000 square foot bastion of home-grown American racing, you feel the energy.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame is located in the central business district of Charlotte, North Carolina, and honors drivers, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, broadcasters, and other major contributors.
For the legions of devoted fans, this is hallowed ground.
Its inductees are stock car racing legends who have entertained fans for decades. Throughout the history of NASCAR, race fans have gotten to witness some of the best race car driving in motorsports history.
At first impression, the multi-level building is architecturally different from the towering skyscrapers in the city. The five-acre site also includes a privately developed 19-story office tower and 102,000 square-foot expansion to the Charlotte Convention Center, highlighted by a 40,000 square-foot ballroom.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame is currently owned by the City of Charlotte, licensed by NASCAR, and operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.
The facility is interactive, modern, fan-focused, and as we found out, a great way to spend a couple of hours.
The Impressive Great Hall
As fans of NASCAR know, the highly sought-after “hard card” provides full access to the garage area, the drivers, and all of the behind-the-scenes action at every NASCAR race.
In addition, the Hall of Fame uses their version of the “hard card” to grant you access to the many interactive features of the Museum.
A visitor can register their hard card, pick a driver to be their digital host, and compete against other guests in eight challenges throughout the facility.
While there are four floors of exhibits to explore, undoubtedly, the heart of the museum is the visually impressive Great Hall. Here visitors get a physical sense of the history of NASCAR.
Two aspects of the Great Hall jump out immediately. The first is the 14 feet by 18 feet jumbotron TV screen that cycles through the various guests in attendance and fun facts.
The other is Glory Road.
Glory Road is a street-visible circular portion of track that mimics the various degrees of banking of 46 past and current tracks. In addition, on the track itself are 18 historically significant cars showcasing the evolution of race car designs starting in 1949 through today.
Also in the Great Hall is the 278-seat High Octane Theater. This state-of-the-art theater retraces this sport’s historical roots from the Daytona beaches to present-day on the 64-foot jumbotron projection screen with surround sound.
Race History Continues
As you move through the various floors of the museum, you have to wonder if NASCAR founder William France, Sr ever envisioned such success. Yet, what he started in Daytona Beach, Florida, at the Streamline Hotel on February 21st, 1948, has grown to have fans across the planet.
The successful evolution of the sport can be found as your tour the upper floors.
The Heritage Speedway section covers seven decades of history, including a glass-enclosed area with historical artifacts from the history of stock car racing.
Interestingly, 90%+ of the 1,000 artifacts in the museum are on loan. Apparently, the museum never pays for a piece.
The Inside NASCAR area simulates an actual week in a NASCAR team, from race prep through inspection, practice, time trials, and the race. Here, visitors can practice a tire-changing pit stop, walk through a full-size NASCAR Lowe’s hauler, and call a race.
It’s also the chance to get behind the wheel of one of eight racing simulators provided by iRacing.com that gets the heart pumping. So how real are the simulators?
NASCAR drivers have come to the museum to practice in these simulators.
The Hall of Honor is something special for memorabilia fans. This 360-degree room celebrates inductees on the walls, large TV screens, showcases of memorabilia, and on platforms with cars.
Monkey Rides Shotgun
The Hall of Fame is home to more than just plaques, race cars, and trophies. It’s got its fair share of hair-raising moonshine-running stories and crazy promotional antics as well.
One of our favorite promotional stories centers around an Atlanta pet store rhesus monkey named Jocko Flocko. This little monkey has become the only known “co-driver” in NASCAR history.
As the story goes, Tim Flock was a successful driver of the number 91 Fabulous Hudson Hornet. Flock’s sponsor, Ted Chester, was happy with Flock as a driver but was looking for something extra to grab more attention.
So while looking for a puppy in Atlanta, Ted came across a rhesus monkey named Jocko for sale. Instantly the light bulb went off, and a plan started to form.
Ted had a helmet, goggles, and racing suit made for the monkey. They even stitched the #91 on the back to round out the effect.
Then they mounted a racing seat within Flock’s #91 Hudson race car on the passenger side. The seat was high enough so Jocko could peer out the window to see fans and other drivers alike.
Jocko Flocko Wins Race!
Jocko Flocko rode with Tim Flocko for five races in 1953, much to the delight of the fans. In fact, in the 10th race of the season on May 16, 1953, Tim took the checkered flag and made history at Hickory Speedway’s half-mile dirt track.
Jocko Flocko became the first, and still the only, monkey to win a NASCAR race. Tim’s Hudson Hornet took the lead after about 30 laps and never relinquished it, beating 26 other racers to win the 100-mile race.
Just two weeks after their legendary win at Hickory, things went south at the all-new Raleigh Speedway. According to Tim Flock, “We had this chain hooked onto the floorboard that we would pull up to check on the wear on the right front tire.
“Well, old Jocko had been watching me do that, and soon as he came unstrapped, he went right for the hole and stuck his head through. The tire zipped him on the head, and he liked to have went crazy.”
Tim Flock had to pit (he called it his Monkey Stop) to get the crazed monkey out of the car. Unfortunately, this unscheduled pit stop caused him to finish 3rd, costing him $600.00 in prize money.
$600 in 1953 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $6,215.48 today!
Great Fan Experience
The city of Charlotte beat out several cities, including notables such as Atlanta and Daytona Beach, to be the home of this racing Hall of Fame. The resulting museum is an evolving fan-based look at this genuine American motorsport.
Honestly, how good is the museum for NASCAR fans? Would you believe the average visitor travels over 500 miles to soak up the racing history? Even so, the Hall of Fame is losing money.
To get more information, contact the museum at 1-704-654-4400. Ticket prices in 2021 for adults were $25, kids (ages 8 to 12) get in for $18, admission for children 3 to 7 costs $12.
Pricing for the High Octane Combo Packages can vary. The packages can include everything from unlimited simulator rides to a Hall of Fame lanyard vary.
Check the museum’s website for more details.
One thing is for sure, the immersive NASCAR Hall Of Fame delivers a great fan experience.
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