900 pound bronze statue of Dale as his hometown knew him. The main street of Kannapolis is known as Idiot Circle where teenagers would drive around the circle perfecting their left turn. Dale's Mom said he probably had more laps at Idiot Circle than on the track. Car Town is where Dale was raised among the streets named after many manufacturers of cars. We went on to tour DEI and JR Motorsports in the area.
DEI
shop of Penske Racing that had a 600 foot catwalk overlooking their shop floor. Drivers included in this shop are Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman. This shop was logistically laid out in a very impressive and user friendly manner. We also visited Robert Yates Racing, Braun Racing and Rusty Wallace Racing in the area.
Wood Brothers Racing is located at Harrisburg, NC and is home to Ken Schrader. This is one of the smaller NASCAR Teams, however, has sponsors that are know to many of us.
Michael Waltrip Racing is new to Cornelius, NC. The new facility is state of the art and has an interesting Racing World USA display. Toyota is very instrumental in the development of this organization and hopes the Car Of Tomorrow will be successful in 2008. Drivers include Michael Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, and David Reutimann.
Joe Gibbs Racing, located at Huntersville, NC is home to several NASCAR Teams. The drivers are Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, and J. J. Yeley. The shops are impressive with many cars in each shop. The number of cars will be reduced once the Car of Tomorrow is the only car driven by each team.
Roush Fenway Racing located at Concord, NC is home to Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray and David Ragan. The display areas located at the shops have many displays and trophies won at the numerous tracks around the country.
Hendrick Motorsports located near Charlotte houses Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Casey Mears. They are already preparing for the arrival of Dale Earnhardt Jr. He will be driving the number 88 car in 2008.
Lowe's Motor Speedway is located at Concord, North Carolina. When races are not being held at the track, the campgrounds are available to travelers year round. There are testing, training, and driving schools held at the speedway at a cost of $5,000 per day to the company using the track. Individuals can drive a race car after 6-1/2 hours of training and at a cost of $380 for 8 laps while being led by an instructor at a speed of 165 mph. For $99 you can ride as a passenger in a car for 3 laps. We opted as passengers in the #4 white van at a speed of 90 mph on the 24 degree banking. This was part of the tour we took of the speedway. There are numerous trailers, haulers, and motor homes in the area as this is home to many of the NASCAR teams and their shops.
