Waltrip Raceworld: Whistle as they work

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Every father dreams of giving his child the world.

In Michael Waltrip's case, though, he has had to endure some grief for chasing his dream. First he bought a 12-theater cinema; then he bought a roller-skating rink. And before his youngest daughter, Macy, could enjoy either one of them, he gutted them both to help create Waltrip Raceworld.

"My daughter is still not happy about that. I took out a movie theater and a skating rink so far. ... That's why I had to build her an office in the place," said Waltrip, grinning.

When he's done, the office for an 9-year-old will be far from the only unique aspect of Waltrip Raceworld, which totals 142,000 in square footage between the main building where racecars are fine-tuned and the fabrication shop nearby where they are built from the chassis up.

It's a far cry from the first building that housed Michael Waltrip Racing's team in 1995. That was a modest 3,500-square foot garage behind the Waltrip family home in Sherrill's Ford, N.C. The operation included five full-time employees who referred to themselves as "Five Guys in a Garage."

Now Waltrip employs more than 200 individuals, a number that climbs "steadily and daily," according to his own press release. They don't refer to themselves as anything yet, as there are too many of them who never even see each other in passing and probably never will in the vastness of their new place of employment.

For the record, the original movie theater, which totaled 46,000 square feet, now houses the main Raceworld structure and has been expanded to 107,000 square feet. The fabrication shop, which used to be the roller rink, comprises the remaining 35,000 square feet of the facility.

The main attraction for fans will be the fact that they can purchase tickets and actually stroll through the place on an elevated walkway, watching crew chiefs and their underlings work on the cars below. Flat-screen television monitors and fancy interactive displays will be sprinkled throughout, providing fans with information about the beehive of workers below and the various tasks they will be performing on the cars right before their very eyes.

There will even be a special room displaying the five Daytona 500 trophies that Waltrip and fellow team driver Dale Jarrett own. (Continued)