Latest / BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show / Charlotte’s Glory: How the NASCAR Hall of Fame Cemented the Queen City’s Racing Legacy

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Charlotte’s Glory: How the NASCAR Hall of Fame Cemented the Queen City’s Racing Legacy · BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show

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Break Fix's History of Motorsports Series is brought to you in part
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by the International Motor Racing Research Center, as well as the
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Society of Automotive Historians, the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of
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Commerce, and the Argo Singer family
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Charlotte's Glory.
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The NASCAR Hall of Fame in the Queen City by Hannah Thompson.
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Hannah Thompson is a cultural historian of the Carolina Piedmont
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and is new in the museum field.
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With her current position with the Gaston County Museum of Art and History, Ms.
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Thompson also helps restore Coca-Cola ghost signs throughout the southeast.
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In her spare time, she examines the history of the NASCAR Hall of
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Fame from its inception in 2001.
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Through the Global Pandemic, bringing into consideration why Charlotte was selected
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as the seat for the Hall of Fame and how the hall has affected NASCAR and its fans.
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Ms. Thompson suggests that Charlotte is often overlooked in Motorsport
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history despite its lasting impact on the auto racing world.
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Charlotte's Glory, the NASCAR Hall of Fame in the Queen City.
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And here is Hannah Thompson joining us from South Carolina.
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Well, first I'd like to start by saying thank you to everyone in
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Watkins Glen, who made it possible for this symposium and this opportunity
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to present to you from Zoom.
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So it was race day in 1960.
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The newly built Charlotte Motor Speedway was beginning to spring to life.
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Andrew Andy Thompson made his way to the pits with his paint cart in tow.
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He was there to paint the driver's names and sponsorships onto their stock
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cars as a signed painter for Coca-Cola.
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Consolidated in Charlotte, North Carolina by trade.
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Thompson entered the automobile racing circuit as both an artist and a race fan.
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As his reputation grew at the track, so did the number of
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cars he lettered on race day.
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Bobby Isaac Buck and Buddy Baker, fireball Roberts and Wendell Scott were all
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names intimately familiar to Thompson as his personal photos and accounts.
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Document Thompson's artistry was only one of many ties NASCAR had to the city of
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Charlotte, also known as the Queen City.
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And his legacy of painting race cars continues to live on through those cars.
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On display in the Glory Road Exhibit at the Nucar Hall of
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Fame located in the Queen City.
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Andy Thompson, my grandfather was one of the thousands of people in the Charlotte
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area who helped establish the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing
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nascar, and whose lives anchored the sport in the city that would become home
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to its Hall of Fame a half century later.
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Despite its role in the development of Charlotte and in the lives of
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individuals like Thomson, NASCAR has attracted surprisingly limited
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attention from academic historian.
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Most of the literature written about the sport focuses on its origins
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for bootlegging illegal production, distribution, and sale of alcohol
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during the prohibition era or early organized racing efforts.
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In contrast, there is little scholarship that examines the relationship between
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Charlotte and NASCAR specifically with primarily local historians such
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as Tom Chet or Heather A. Smith, even briefly investigating the relationship.
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This lack of scholarship and attention to NASCAR within Charlotte is due,
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at least in part, to the simple fact that his historians, other than
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sports historians such as Dan Pearson, Markel, often marginalized sports
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history as a pop culture pastime rather than a rigorous academic discipline.
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I in turn seek to play Charlotte as a key player in Motorsports
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and especially NASCAR history throughout the last half century.
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An endeavor to answer why it took so long for a NASCAR hall of fame to be built.
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Charlotte's geography was a significant factor in the Queen City becoming a major
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racing hub, both through its positioning in the United States and through the
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abundant red Clay in the Piedmont area.
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This geography factor in combination with Charlotte's growing economic
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and cultural standing throughout the second half of the 20th century led
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to nascar adopting Charlotte as an unofficial racing hub by 1965, as well
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as NASCAR executives eventually choosing Charlotte to house the NASCAR Hall
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of Fame in the early two thousands.
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Solidifying the role of Charlotte in racing and NASCAR history.
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The NASCAR Hall of Fame position alone testifies to Charlotte's impact on the
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racing industry and the racing industry's effect on Charlotte as the queen city
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itself headed by Mayor Pat McCrory at the time was the group lobbying of
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hardest for the hall seat in Charlotte.
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The hall in Charlotte is the only hall of fame completely devoted to and
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licensed by nascar, other halls of fame to vote themselves to motorsports in
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general, though they may discuss nascar.
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Additionally, the NASCAR Hall of Fame is the only Hall of
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Fame located in Charlotte.
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Further speaking to the importance of the motor sports industry to the queen city.
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So Charlotte and the state of North Carolina have been dubbed NASCAR Valley
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by many Motorsports fans, journalists, and historians alike with over 90% of NASCAR
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teams as well as pable manufacturers such as Holman Moody, located within
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the greater Charlotte metropolitan area.
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It's safe to say that Charlotte is the beating card of
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NASCAR now as a crash course.
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For those who are unfamiliar with why Charlotte in particular
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houses the majority of race teens.
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It mostly comes back to geography.
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When tracks were still dirt and races were just beginning to be
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sanctioned by one governing body, it was necessary to have red clay.
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This particular clay was perfect for motorsports as it compacts down
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into a hard lick surface that didn't allow vehicles to sink, like the
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sandy white clay to the east, or the black spongy clay to the west.
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It also allowed for drivers to take turns at faster speed.
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Red Clay can only be found in a small portion of the country, specifically
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in the Piedmont that runs through some of the eastern states, primarily
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Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia.
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Once NASCAR was found in 1947, it was only natural for teams and parts
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manufacturers to congregate in one city.
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Daytona Beach, where NASCAR's executive offices are located was too small and
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not central enough for teams to travel around the country easily for race.
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Auto racing was already a distinctly southern sport due to the abundant
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red clay, and it was therefore not likely for NASCAR Valley to
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settle outside of the Piedmont.
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Charlotte is directly in the center of the Eastern seaboard equidistant between
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New York City and Miami and houses 53% of the nation's population within 650 miles.
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By the 1980s, Charlotte Douglas International Airport had grown into
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a large bustling hub, coupled with the numerous major interstates and
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highways through and around the queen.
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City teens had no issues traveling for races, and it was easy to have parts
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shipped if the manufacturer wasn't already located in the metropolitan area.
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There's one fourth tiny detail that caused Charlotte to unofficially
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become the heart of nascar.
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Atlanta, which was the original unofficial center of nascar, made NASCAR leadership
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drivers and fans angry when Atlanta leadership decided to censor who could
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race at the city and raceway in the late 1940s in retaliation, nascar packed up and
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made its way to Charlotte, which had fewer qualms about having a stereotypically
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lower working class population.
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Join it.
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Already a larger mill centered city.
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Charlotte did not become a banking center, the second largest in the
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country, and majority middle and upper class until the 1980s after NASCAR
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Valley had already been well established.
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NASCAR is one of the largest industries in North Carolina.
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Despite not being a highly promoted sport by the general public in Charlotte, the
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greater Charlotte region and Carolinas in general have hosted some of the largest
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races on the NASCAR strictly stock series calendar, and have produced some of the
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largest sponsors and players in the sport.
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Sponsors like Firestone Tire Rubber Company and STPA Motor
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Oil Company found a niche area to test and promote their products.
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NASCAR was able to create hundreds of jobs through the creation of more and more
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teams, while being able to put hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue into
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local economies, each race weakened.
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Many former NASCAR pros like Rick Hendrick also eventually make
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their way to owning car dealerships and the Charlotte area furthering
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the economic impact to the area.
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However, there are three main areas that NASCAR has an economic impact on.
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Charlotte.
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Charlotte Motor Speedway, motor sport related industries in
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the Charlotte region, and of course the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
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On May 11th, 2010, the NASCAR Hall of Fame opened its doors to the public
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for the first time seated almost at the very heart of Charlotte, North Carolina.
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The Hall of Fame remains committed to presenting the history of both
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competitive stock car and stock truck auto racing, designed by IMK
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Architect of the Glass Pyramid in front of the L and France in the Rock
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and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
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The hall is a beautiful, modern building that contrasts with the
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rest of the queen city skyline of 1980s era high-rise buildings.
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In case you haven't had the opportunity to visit the hall yet, there are two central
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exhibits, glory Road and the Hall of Honor with the rest of the hall focusing on the
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steam aspects of NASCAR with interactives built in throughout to test your knowledge
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based on the surrounding exhibits and even an opportunity to place your
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driving skills against other visitors.
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So why is this matter?
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Why study the NASCAR Hall of Fame in particular when there are a multitude
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of motor sports halls of fame?
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The hall is unique in that it is the only one devoted solely to the
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commemoration and promotion of NASCAR and not motor sports in general.
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It's also an interesting case.
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It is not often that we can study a still young institution like the Hall.
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The last decade has seen a large number of changes for NASCAR and
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the Hall of Fame, particularly to the induction process in the added
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emphasis on STEAM education, making it an ideal time to examine the hall and
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its progress since inception in 2001.
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When the NASCAR Hall of Fame was first proposed in the early two thousands,
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there was quite a bit of speculation surrounding where it would be placed.
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The final three considers were Charlotte, Atlanta, and Daytona Beach.
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The Kansas City and Richmond were also considered in the early days
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compared to Atlanta and Daytona.
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Charlotte may not seem like the most logical place but the Hall of Fame.
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However, as I stated earlier, Charlotte had already been dubbed
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NASCAR Valley decades prior to this announcement due to the high volume of
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motorsports activity within the area.
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The proximity of a large international airport and major interstate
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roadways assisted in placing NASCAR within the Queen City back in the
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1960s and earlier days of nascar.
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A 2006 New York Times article noted that Brian France, the chairman
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of NASCAR at the time, had stayed.
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Both Atlanta and Charlotte were ideal for the hall, but never mentioned
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Daytona Beach, most likely due to its limited fan traffic and being
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off the beaten path despite being the cradle of the NASCAR organization.
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And within driving distance of other Florida traction, therefore leaving
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Atlanta and Charlotte as the last two possible locations for the hall.
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However, noted Motorsports and NASCAR historian Dan Pierce claims that Atlanta
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lost the bid for the hall in 1945 before a hall of fame was even imagined.
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The event Pierce references is when Atlanta city officials
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and religious leaders cracked down on who would be allowed to
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drive in races at Lakewood Park.
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The city owned raceway following World War II when bootleggers were still prominent.
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Drivers, promoters, and mechanics.
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Additionally, the Atlanta Middle class, were trying to distance themselves from
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anything reminiscent of the southern reputation of being poverty stricken
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and majority working class population.
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Such stereotypes of NASCAR continued to play the sport, but this particular
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instance solidified the fact that Atlanta had, on some level, irreparably
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harmed its relationship with a NASCAR organization in the mid 19 hundreds.
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The attempted erasure of Atlanta's bootlegging history by city officials
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in the 1940s by means of banning former bootleggers from racing led
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to Atlanta's exclusion as the premier racing hub in the Southeast, as well
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as the seat for the hall of fame.
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Comparatively, the historic aspect of the positive relationship between
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Charlotte and nascar, the public funding guaranteed by city officials.
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NASCAR leadership was looking for, and the fact that over 90% of racing
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teams are also housed in and around the city, all ultimately resulted in
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NASCAR officials choosing Charlotte toward the location of the Hall of Fame.
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As the officials felt that these reasons spoke to the true history of nascar, which
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is a large factor of the Hall of Fame's purpose, one of the largest factors in
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choosing a final location for the hall was which city had the sustainability for
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the hall 15, 20, 35 years down the road.
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All three final contenders had the potential for that sustainability.
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Making them all viable options.
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However, Atlanta and Charlotte have a slightly higher ability to support the
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hall long term as they constantly see new construction and new attractions
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that draw visitors from all over.
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The majority of fans interviewed at the 2006 Daytona 500 even said they
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would prefer Charlotte of the three contenders to have the hall, mainly due
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to the number of race shops in the area.
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Luckily, for those particular fans and for Charlotte, the Queen City was chosen
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by NASCAR leadership later in 2006.
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The city of Charlotte owns the Hall and the Charlotte Regional Visitors
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Authority, not NASCAR runs it.
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While NASCAR does not receive any of the Hall's direct revenue, there
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were major benefits to the Queen City owning an operating hall.
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The Hall of Fame overall cost $189 million, which included the Hall
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Ballroom and the convention center office space and a parking deck.
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Charlotte guaranteed public funding to take care of the entire cost by
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raising the hotel occupancy tax by 2% private bank loans, and through the
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selling of state help land parcels.
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Though NASCAR did end up purchasing office space from the city and now run
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almost all of their media operations out of the Charlotte offices.
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NASCAR does, however, still receive the byproducts of increased fan
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activity within the city around races as there are at least two races in
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Charlotte every year, as well as getting younger demographics involved
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with auto race culture through school and extracurricular group field trips.
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NASCAR also intended for the Hall of Fame to assist in increasing
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NASCAR's fan base to what it was before Dale Earnhardt's death.
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Though it is still difficult to gauge pure van base versus visitors to the
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hall, which includes school field trips, non fan base groups, people using I 77
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en route to Florida, travelers coming through Charlotte Douglas International
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Airport, and visitors to the convention center in the same complex as the hall.
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Hall's mission statement notes that the hall aims to drive economic
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impact for the Charlotte region.
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Honor the heritage and history of NASCAR and cultivate loyalty for both the
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NASCAR Hall of Fame and NASCAR through delivering a multifaceted experience
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that is interactive, entertaining, educational, immersive, and engaging.
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While the statement is worded generally enough to address all
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audiences, it also aims specifically to create new fans through its
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third point to cultivate loyalty.
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NASCAR fan numbers have decreased for a number of reasons, including other more
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diverse ways of spending leisure time, growing costs of fuel, lodging, and
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accommodations, and an aging fan base.
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Additionally, the tragedy of Earnhardt's death in 2001 as well as other superstar
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drivers, retirements caused the fan base decline after its peak in 2005.
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The Hall of Fame attempts to supplement the fan base by appealing
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to those demographics typically not found within the sports fan base.
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The CRVA who run the hall were gracious enough to give me access
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to the fiscal reports since 2017.
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There was some data from 2015 included in the 2017 report.
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Despite CRVA claims that visitor numbers have grown over the years, the reports
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show that visitor numbers have continually been decreasing at a marginal rate.
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For reference, the NASCAR Hall of Fame had over 275,000 visitors during
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its first full year in operation, but the number of visitors coming
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in second only to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
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In 2019, the last bull financial year on record for the hall,
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there were around 70,000 visitors.
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If my calculations are correct that the CRVA is not specific about visitor
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numbers past the first year or two of the hall's operation, as a point of
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reference, other sports hall of fames see anywhere from over double to quadruple
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that number of visitors in a year.
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However, the first 12 months after the NASCAR Hall of Fame reopened
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in September, 2020, saw over 90,000 visitors a roughly 35% increase over
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20 nineteens visitor numbers, and there is still room for that number to grow.
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There are almost 150,000 students in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School
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district alone, which is where Charlotte and the Hall of Fame are located.
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For fiscal year 2021, the Hall of Fame saw just under 11,000 students, not
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exclusively from the Charlotte Mecklenburg District, but this number continuously
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declining for the last several years.
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The pandemic and subsequent innovations museums had to create
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because of the pandemic, provide potential for the hall's educational
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outreach to grow exponentially.
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Educational outreach and bringing in families as new visitors because
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of these students is vital to the ongoing sustainability of the museum.
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Which was discussed in 2006 when choosing a final location for call.
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The overall decrease in visitorship and educational programs could be from a
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multitude of factors, such as lack of inclusivity and diversity in honorees,
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the slow change in certain exhibits such as Glory Road, which only changes
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every three years or other cheaper educational opportunities in the area.
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The number of visitors to the NASCAR Hall of Fame has dropped
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off since the inaugural year.
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Despite the Hall's staff increased awareness of Charlotte's largely
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middle class population with exhibits designed with diverse
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demographic engagement in mind.
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Because the middle class population is not the primary demographic
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drawn to NASCAR as a sport, and by extension it's other attractions like
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the hall spaces like the Hall are an instrumental way of growing both
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knowledge and the fan base of the sport.
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More traditional NASCAR forum like Charlotte Motor Speedway are still a
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large factor of the economic and cultural impacts in Motorsport on Charlotte.
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The Hall of Fame reaches demographics that would not feel quite at home
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at the Speedway due to stereotypes surrounding the sport as a white,
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southern and lower class sport.
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Continuing the original narrative of NASCAR as a working class sport
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as of 2004, when this graphic in front of you was printed.
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There were more than 400, almost 700 by 2012 motorsports related
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businesses in the Charlotte region.
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90% of NASCAR teams in the Charlotte region and 2,750 motorsports industry
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jobs in the Charlotte region, and then there were over 20,000 by 2012
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exemplifying exponential growth of the motorsports industry in the Queen city.
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The majority of these are located in Mooresville and Concord
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areas where teams are located.
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Likewise, the Motorsports industry and the state of North Carolina
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in 2003 had 12,292 jobs directly related to the motorsports industry.
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Created 24,406 new jobs in North Carolina and generated over $5 billion in revenue.
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A steady figure for at least the last 20 years.
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With salaries for those in the motor sports industry in the
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top 3.6% of highest earnings.
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As the exponential growth of job opportunities in the industry
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continues to rise, so does the concentration of Motorsport
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businesses within the Charlotte area.
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Despite this clipping before you being almost 20 years old, there
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is still a high concentration of better sports related businesses,
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including NASCAR specific businesses and teams in the same general areas.
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Some of the teams have moved since 2004, though others have moved
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into the Charlotte area since.
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Over the last five years, the economic impact of the hall was at a high with
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$72 million for the Charlotte area and $39.1 million in direct spending.
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As of 2019, the museum had a roughly $58.3 million economic impact on the
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city visitors traveling an average of 564 miles to get to the city.
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In addition, visitors averaged a three day overnight trip with approximately 37%
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of visitors coming to Charlotte with the primary intention of visiting the hall.
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These visitors also averaged an expenditure of $830 per party in the city.
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Both the direct and indirect economic impact of the HU and Motorsports
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have decreased in recent years.
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While there is not a singular reason for this pandemic hit every industry,
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including sports and especially manufacturing card, the next few
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years we'll hopefully see a rise in the economic impact in the Charlotte
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area, as well as increased visitors and educational outreach, and we
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can get the numbers back up to what they were at the height in 2018.
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The impact of the motorsports industry is still astounding and makes one question
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why Native shore audience do not LA NASCAR as much as other sports like the Panthers
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football team or the Hornets basketball team, while city leadership and media do.
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Part of the answer is the negative connotations in stereotypes surrounding
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auto racing and its origins while another is that there are simply
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other and potentially more engaging ways to utilize leisure time than
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there were when NASCAR started.
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The Hall of Fame seeks to remedy these issues by engaging demographics other than
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those typically associated with nascar.
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By reworking the traditional auto racing and NASCAR narratives,
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they're focusing on steam aspects of the sport rather than making the
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hall all about NASCAR's history.
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The continuing issue, however, is convincing enough non-fans to visit
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the hall and promote NASCAR as just as fun and engaging as other
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sports like football or baseball.
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Back to our question of why did it take NASCAR so long to
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create a Hall of Fame for itself?
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Unfortunately, there's not one perfect answer that I have been able to find.
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NASCAR has been represented heavily in other halls of fame, such as
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the International Motorsport Hall of Fame in Talladega, and a vast
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majority of teen shops have their own mini museums attached that fans are
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welcome to visit throughout the year.
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Also possible that fans were so accustomed to having a dominant oral tradition in
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honoring their racing heroes and saw no real need for a specific place to LA them.
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The Hall of Fame, however, has provided a welcoming space.
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For fans and non-fans alike to learn about the steam aspects of NASCAR
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and motorsports in a more general sense, it's also provided a space
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for teams to hold press conferences, unveilings and other sores.
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With the whole hosting over 300 events every year.
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Has the hall lived up to its 10 year expectations?
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Yes and no.
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It's difficult to gauge success though when two years of its very short history
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have been odd because of a global pandemic the next 10 years and how the
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hall continues to evolve will really show the long-term sustainability of a
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NASCAR hall of Fame and whether Charlotte was indeed the best choice in location.
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How the hall chooses to evolve following the COVID-19 pandemic and major social
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movements such as the Black Lives Matter and Me Too Movements that
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focus on inclusivity and diversity will also determine the hall's future
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success as a major sports Hall of fame.
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And that is it.
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Thank you very much.
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Thank you, Hannah.
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Thank you.
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I'm Tom Schmee.
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I was executive director of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in
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museum in Knoxville, Iowa for 19 years, and then curator for another nine.
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Our perception at the time that Charlotte was successful in getting the bid.
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Was that it was a low, absolute, low ball application, that there was no way
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that it was financially sustainable.
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Just sitting here today, I brought up an article in the Charlotte Observer,
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October 16th, 2019 by Jen Roth Hacker.
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The title is Everybody is Losing Money on the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
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It talks specifically about the dollars and the deals with NASCAR to
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waive, you know, some of the revenue.
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It says right in the article in the Charlotte Observer that the
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Hall of Fame lost a million dollars each year for the first five years.
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You said that it's hard to get those financials now pre pandemic.
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Do you know what it was losing in a year or what it was making in a.
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I do not know the specific numbers.
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CRVA has been very list lipped on all of their financial records.
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I do know that they promote the Hall of Fame as being one
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of their most successful take.
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That how you will endeavors that they run.
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They run some of the major entertainment centers within the city.
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I do know that the earlier years they were losing money at the Hall of Fame.
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It's continued to be a struggle.
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I think part of that is that it's because the city itself is running the Hall of
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Fame and is not a NASCAR run entity.
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Thank you.
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Okay, Hannah, I think you covered it all.
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Excellent.
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Thank you very much.
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All right.
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You take care.
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Alright, thank you again.
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Mm, bye-Bye.
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This episode is brought to you in part by the International
24:05
Motor Racing Research Center.
24:07
Its charter is to collect, share, and preserve the history
24:10
of motor sports spanning continents, eras, and race series.
24:13
The Center's collection embodies the speed, drama and camaraderie
24:17
of amateur and professional motor racing throughout the world.
24:20
The Center welcome serious researchers and casual fans alike to share stories of
24:24
race drivers race series, and race cars captured on their shelves and walls, and
24:29
brought to life through a regular calendar of public lectures and special events.
24:33
To learn more about the center, visit www.racing archives.org.
24:38
This episode is also brought to you by the Society of Automotive Historians.
24:42
They encourage research into any aspect of automotive history.
24:45
The SAH actively supports the compilation and preservation of papers.
24:49
Organizational records, print ephemera and images to safeguard, as well as to broaden
24:54
and deepen the understanding of motorized wheeled land transportation through
24:58
the modern age and into the future.
25:00
For more information about the SAH, visit www.auto history.org.
25:10
If you like what you've heard and want to learn more about GTM, be sure to
25:13
check us out on www.gt motorsports.org.
25:17
You can also find us on Instagram at Grand Tour Motorsports.
25:20
Also, if you want to get involved or have suggestions for future shows, you can call
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or text us at (202) 630-1770 or send us an email at Crew chief@gtmotorsports.org.
25:32
We'd love to hear from you.
25:34
Hey everybody, crew Chief Eric here.
25:37
We really hope you enjoyed this episode of Break Fix, and we wanted
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to remind you that GTM remains a no annual fees organization, and our goal
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is to continue to bring you quality episodes like this one at no charge.
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For as little as $2 and 50 cents a month, you can keep our developers,
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