Posted on Tue, May. 21, 2002

COMMENTARY
A la Hollywood, a tour of racing stars' garages
DON HUDSON

MOORESVILLE - Granted, there is a lot of intrigue and interest in the NASCAR Winston Cup cars showcased behind viewing windows at the race shops here in Race City USA. But really, Mooresville isn't that different from Hollywood.

People come to see the stars.

Tim and Michelle Smith of Amsterdam, N.Y., barely missed seeing Saturday night's winner of The Winston -- Ryan Newman -- when the 24-year-old Winston Cup star came to work at the Penske South garages on Knob Hill Drive Monday morning.

"We are just hoping to meet some of the drivers," said Tim, 45, as they walked among the many shops located at Exit 36 off Interstate 77, at Lakeside Park, an industrial park with lots of race shops.

"We haven't yet."

There is always a chance, however, particularly during the week between The Winston and the Coca-Cola 600. Just being around Mooresville or Concord, the two area cities where most of the race shops are located, puts you in proximity to drivers.

Dan Wallace, executive director of the Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce, said it is common to see drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Rusty Wallace or Ricky Rudd around Mooresville any time.

"Junior, he is a celebrity," Wallace said. "He's like a movie star. You can go to the shop and get a glimpse. You will see him in a restaurant. You will see him in Wal-Mart."

Dan Wallace said Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s shop draws 300,000 visitors to Mooresville a year. Known as "Garage Mahal," it is the most elaborate, but there are many worth seeing for diehard NASCARphiles.

If you want to try a tour on your own, The Observer will run a map in a special section Thursday. If you want a guided tour, however, people like Trisha Trosclair of Race Shop Tours will do the driving for you.

She charges $55 and tours seven racing shops and the privately run N.C. Auto Racing Hall of Fame in seven hours.

"I watched Oprah Winfrey one night," said Trosclair, 39. "She talked about making your passion your career. In one year, I have accomplished more than I have in my entire life."

After asking around for the best shops, I visited four garages and one museum. I checked out Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Racing garages in Concord near Lowe's Motor Speedway last week. I saw lots of cars -- including one of the lime-green Chevys from the movie "Days of Thunder" -- but no stars.

Monday, I trekked to the Penske South and DEI garages in Mooresville. Finally, I visited the Memory Lane Motorsports & Historical Automotive Museum, which is off I-77 at 769 River Highway.

All four garages were free. Admission to the Memory Lane museum is $8 for adults; admission to the Auto Racing Hall of Fame is $5 for adults.

At Roush, Hendrick and Penske South, there were viewing windows where you could see crew members working on race cars. Earnhardt's shop has the most elaborate museum and the biggest gift shop. But no viewing glass to watch them craft Junior's Budweiser No. 8 car.

The coolest thing I saw?

At Memory Lane, I saw the race car Rusty Wallace flipped at Daytona in 1993. It was one of the scariest wrecks I have seen, yet Wallace walked away. I like Rusty so I was thrilled he made it out. What's amazing was to see how the cockpit stayed intact on such impact.

Why are so many teams located in Mooresville? Most of the Winston Cup drivers live on Lake Norman. They make NBA money and can afford the lifestyle of fast boats, great vistas and starter mansions. Add in Mooresville's proximity to three interstates -- meaning easy access to all Eastern U.S. tracks -- and you've got a good claim to being Race City USA.

"When you have 50 or 60 teams, it's hard to dispute," Dan Wallace said. "We're sitting in a triangle of interstate highways. They like living here on Lake Norman. It's a good quality of life."

If you want to see movie stars, try Hollywood. But if you want to see those in the fast lane, Mooresville is Mecca .

Don Hudson

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