Guest Author - Debbie Lester

The estimated completion date for the NASCAR Hall Of Fame will be sometime in 2010. This will be a state-of-the-art facility that will honor the icons and legends of NASCAR. It will be a tribute to drivers, crew chiefs, team owners and anyone who has helped to shape the past, present and future of NASCAR.

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in January of 2007 and construction began in May of 2007. There will be over 50,000 square feet of exhibit space that will showcase the history and heritage of NASCAR. There are many different areas that fans, tourists and others will be able to enjoy. Here are some of the features that the Hall Of Fame may include.

There will be a Ceremonial Plaza that will be on an exterior site where induction ceremonies will be held. It has been decided that five people will be inducted each year into the Hall Of Fame, in order to keep it a prestigious honor to be included in this group.

There will be a 250 seat Full Throttle Theatre which will feature an informational video about the history of NASCAR. From the beginning with Bill France up to the current season.

There will be a Great Hall, which is a large open greeting area which will include rotating displays with video scenes and graphics. This will be the first room that visitors will enter.

Glory Road is a banked ramp leading to the second floor which will house somewhere around 20 historic cars from NASCAR’S past.

In the Hall Of Honor the NASCAR inductees will be honored with displays, video’s and other things pertaining to their careers.

The NASCAR Vault will be a glass enclosed section of the facility that will allow visitors to view artifacts from NASCAR’S history.

A Week In The Life is a behind the scenes look at what a NASCAR team goes through in a typical week to prepare the cars for race day.

The Transporter Simulator, is a full size transporter that will give visitors a look at the teams nerve center at the track.

The Racing Simulator, will give visitors a state-of-the-art experience from the drivers perspective as to what it is like on the track, during a race.

Heritage Speedway is made up of individual galleries that will tell about the 60 year history of NASCAR in a more selective manner.

There will be a Tribute Space where visitors can remember those inductees that are no longer with us.

There are also restaurants and retail outlets planned. A radio and television studio and a NASCAR Newsroom. The Hall Of Fame is just one component of the NASCAR Hall Of Fame Complex which will be located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It will be owned by the city of Charlotte and operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. The Complex itself will include not only the Hall Of Fame but, large convention center, the NASCAR Plaza Office Tower, and a parking garage for over 1,000 vehicles.

There is currently a lot of speculation as to who the first five inductees will be and how they are to be honored. It should be something that no NASCAR fan will want to miss out on. It will be a great tribute to the sport of NASCAR and will go on to tell about the accomplishments of all the people involved in the sport.