Posted on 01/07/2006 11:42:19 AM PST by NormsRevenge
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR has narrowed the possible sites for its first official Hall of Fame to Atlanta, Charlotte or Daytona Beach, Fla., and expects to pick a winning city by the end of March.
``Based upon the proposals that we have reviewed internally for the past several months, we believe these three cities provide us with the best opportunity to build and develop a world-class NASCAR Hall of Fame for our millions of loyal fans,'' Mark Dyer, NASCAR's vice president for licensing, said Thursday in a statement.
The decision eliminates Richmond, Va., and Kansas City., Kan. from consideration.
``Both of their proposals were outstanding and the passion and enthusiasm the people involved showed for the NASCAR Hall of Fame has made a lasting impression on all of us,'' Dyer said.
Last summer, NASCAR officials toured the five cities that submitted bids for the Hall of Fame. The stock-car racing series has said it wants the attraction to appeal to both race fans and those new to the sport.
The elimination was disappointing to organizers in Kansas City, which for a long time was thought to be the top contender in the race to land the Hall. The city has a track owned by International Speedway Corp., NASCAR's sister company, and its Midwest location is one of the areas the sport has worked hard to expand into.
It had been widely speculated that NASCAR would place the Hall of Fame in Kansas City, then move the all-star race from its longtime home in suburban Charlotte to the Kansas facility, creating a star-studded weekend that included the race and a Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
But in the end, Kansas City's bid apparently fell short.
``We learned recently that the economics of the proposals in the competing cities would be hard to beat,'' said Bob Marcusse, chairman of Kansas City's group. ``These were elements outside of our control and we know that our proposal is visually compelling, attractively located, experientially state of the art, and financially sound.''
The Kansas City group also noticed that the remaining cities are part of the ``deeply embedded culture of NASCAR racing.''
That includes Daytona Beach, which bills itself as the ``birthplace of speed.'' The city is home to NASCAR's headquarters and the ISC-owned Daytona International Speedway. The 2.5-mile track hosts the Daytona 500 -- the biggest race of the year -- and Daytona USA, a NASCAR-themed interactive museum, is on its property.
Atlanta and Charlotte, meanwhile, both have popular tracks that are owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc., the top rival to ISC.
Atlanta's bid for the Hall of Fame was stacked with corporate backing, and many of NASCAR's top sponsors are based in that city.
Charlotte is considered the homebase to the majority of NASCAR's teams and drivers, who have their shops in and around the city. NASCAR also has its Research and Development Center in suburban Charlotte, near Lowe's Motor Speedway, which hosts two Cup events and the annual all-star race each year.
Rick Hendrick, one of NASCAR's most powerful team owners, has been the face of Charlotte's bid. The Charlotte proposal claims it can capitalize on NASCAR's desire to draw visitors to a Hall of Fame because an estimated 1 million fans already visit the region to attend the events at Lowe's and tour the nearby shops.
At least Kansas is out...
"If I can't have Texas, I'll go with Charlotte. ;)
That part of the country is the home of Nascar, anything else would just be ridiculous."
The roots of Nascar have a lot to do with north Georga...
All of that part of the country supplied the roots. Current home of most teams is Charlotte.
Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt are both from the Charlotte area (at least, if you call Randolph County the Charlotte area), so they get my vote. Of course, my in-laws live two miles from Lowes Motor Speedway, so I'm a bit biased...
Of course, my in-laws live two miles from Lowes Motor Speedway, so I'm a bit biased...
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Lucky you.
I grew up about 2 miles as a crow flies from a 1/2 mile dirt track in West Central Minnesota, I remember as a kid listening to the sound every saturday night during the season for years, had brothers and bro-in-laws that used to race so I used to go to the races quite a bit as well. I was pretty young and didn't really appreciate what was to come . They still race a full schedule of stuff from hobby to super stock and modifeds at the track. 'It' gets in one's blood.
I vote Charlotte for the reasons you stated.
Well this place http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/ which is not exclusively NASCAR but somehow was founded by Bill France seems a bit superfluous then. Currently Dale Earnhardt Sr. is about to be inducted. It's also in the heart of NASCAR country in Alabama.
Atlanta gets my vote.
No other city should be considered.
Speaking of Nascar...Do any of y'all participate in any PAY fantasy nascar leagues?? where you have a chance to win $$...just curious.. ive only done yahoo
Ive never tried it either.
Ive never tried it either.
i'm looking at sporting news right now... they have a $18 entry fee and you can win up too $2000
No, but Jr has one on his website I'm thinking about.
BTW when will the Yahoo league be ready. Have we heard anything? Are you running it this time?
I'm planning on it
Haha!! Thanks. I'd to go into seclusion to focus on 2006 haha
My fantasies don't involve money anymore. Never did really.
Last year, Yahoo had things up somewhere around the 12th.
What NASCAR is doing with this money is also unclear.
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