Bob Lauth, Richard Petty, Pat McCrory, Mike Helton and Rick Hendrick break ground for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Credit: Davis Turner/Getty Images

Charlotte basks, boasts at Hall groundbreaking

City mayor says $160M facility will bring jobs and tourism to area

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After years of pursuit followed by months of nail-biting as NASCAR narrowed down the legitimate candidates for its Hall of Fame, the city of Charlotte did a little gloating before officially breaking ground on the new facility Thursday.

After NASCAR president Mike Helton said a few kind words and passed on the microphone, team owner Rick Hendrick took a little dig at Helton and the city that finished second in the battle to see who would win the right to build the Hall.

	Richard Petty and Junior Johnson share a laugh at the NASCAR Hall of Fame groundbreaking. Credit: HHP Images/Harold Hinson
	"I was at the first ... race in NASCAR history right here in Charlotte back in 1949. This is where the Hall of Fame belongs. " - Richard Petty

"Mr. Helton, you wouldn't have 10 percent of these folks in Atlanta, Ga.," Hendrick said to the wild applause of about 1,500 dignitaries of the sport, media and fans in attendance.

Then Hendrick smiled and added: "I'll probably be hauled off to the NASCAR trailer in Daytona for saying that."

Hendrick served as chairman of the committee that spearheaded Charlotte's effort to land the Hall. He was one of many in the sport to attend Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony, including such legends as Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker and Dale Inman.

But before eight men stuck their shovels into a pile of ceremonial dirt that actually looked like it already had been dug up before being placed in the center of a large tent on a sunny but blustery day, nearly an hour of back-slapping, reminiscing and yes, more gloating had to take place.

"A $160 million facility, including a 19-story NASCAR building right in the city center of Charlotte, it's just unbelievable. And we should be very proud," Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory said. "Let me just say that this didn't happen by accident. It started with a vision, a vision where Charlotte and the Carolinas had to take advantage of the business that has flourished for decades here.

"When you think of Nashville, you think of country-music stars; when you think of Hollywood, you think of movie stars. And from now on, when you think of Charlotte, you're going to think of NASCAR stars like the ones we have with us here [Thursday]."

McCrory said the Hall will bring tourism dollars to Charlotte, as well as "hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of jobs."

The NASCAR Hall of Fame will open in the first quarter of 2010. It will be several months before the excavation and shoring up of the site is completed, and that will be followed by more than two years of construction.

	Charlotte is the hub of NASCAR. Credit: AP
	NASCAR HALL OF FAME NASCAR announced on Monday that it has selected Charlotte, N.C., to be the home of its official Hall of Fame.   •   Complete story, click here

The adjoining NASCAR Plaza, a 19-story office building, will open earlier -- with a opening target date of March, 2009. The 390,000-square foot structure initially will house not only some Hall of Fame-related offices, but also the offices of NASCAR Images and NASCAR Licensing.

The remaining space will be leased to racing and non-racing tenants, although there has been growing speculation that NASCAR may ultimately move some of its offices now located in Daytona Beach, Fla., to the building.

At the center of it all, though, will be the Hall. One report, according to a handout distributed Thursday by Hall officials, contended that it conservatively estimates the annual economic impact to the Charlotte area at $62 million.

Hendrick said that no one should be surprised that Charlotte landed the Hall.

"I'm proud of Charlotte, because we didn't take anything for granted. When I called all the team owners in the area, there wasn't a single person who didn't raise their hand to help," he said. "And now I think NASCAR would be willing to admit this -- but I think after the first round of interviews [with other prospective cities hoping to land the Hall], Charlotte was about 14 laps ahead of everyone else."

And with that, Hendrick and seven others -- including Petty, Helton and McCrory -- grabbed shovels and turned over the earth that marked the beginning of turning what once was a dream into reality.

"I was at the first [strictly] stock-car race in NASCAR history right here in Charlotte back in 1949," said Petty, whose father, Lee, drove in that race. "This is where the Hall of Fame belongs."