Hall of Fame opens amidst fanfare, fireworks, rain

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Shortly after 10 a.m. ET Tuesday, the skies opened and so did the doors to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The timing could not have been better. After about three too many politicians and bankers rambled on about their roles in helping bring about the momentous occasion, which no doubt were vitally important, inaugural inductees Richard Petty and Junior Johnson roared into the ceremonial plaza in front of the Hall in race cars that they used to drive (well, Johnson's was a good-looking replica of a 1949 Ford coupe with his new "legitimate" moonshine business advertised on the side).

Fireworks explode Tuesday over the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

Grand Opening

• Fans revel in history
• Doors officially open
• Blog: From the scene
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• HOF: Special Coverage

SPEED Special

• Part 1: Open door to history
• Part 2: First-class look
• Part 3: Reliving moments

A few more words from Hall executive director Winston Kelley and the inductees themselves and then the doors to the gleaming $195 million facility were thrown wide open.

Fireworks exploded, splitting the raindrops that were starting to come down. Streamers made their way up and then down, littering the stage that held all the politicians and bankers and NASCAR movers and shakers.

Many of the racing dignitaries present -- and there were plenty -- then walked through the Hall for the first time. Some of them lingered for a long time; others hustled off as quickly as possible as if they had someplace else more important to be.

Brian France, NASCAR's CEO and chairman, was one of those who seemed to be in a hurry. But from first glance, he said he was impressed with what he saw.

"I just walked through it [Tuesday] for the first time," France said. "I had a chance or two to go through it in the last couple of weeks -- but I wanted to go through it [Tuesday] and walk in with our fans, sort of take it all in on the opening day. And I'm glad I did that. It's a lot to take in. I went through it pretty quickly and I'll look forward to seeing it more down the road.

"Obviously the finished product is just fabulous. I'm pretty proud of what we've accomplished."

The crowning moment

Tuesday was the culmination of a process that began in 2005 when five cities sought to be the site for the NASCAR Hall. Charlotte eventually won out over Atlanta, Kansas City, Richmond and Daytona Beach.

Projections are for the Hall to draw 800,000 visitors in its first year of operation. That's roughly 2,210 per day.

It is a tall order, but one that the operators of the Hall and those who got their first extended look at it on Tuesday are optimistic about reaching. And the only way it can be reached is if the Hall is successful in not only satisfying the demands of its hard-core fans who will visit, but if it also sparks the curiosity of fringe fans or fans of other sports who simply are in the area for other reasons and decide to stop by.

"It really brought back a lot of great memories for me because I have been around the sport for awhile," former championship driver and current television analyst Dale Jarrett said. "But this is going to be something not just for the true race fans who have been around for the last 20, 25 years -- but it's going to be for people who maybe are coming here to watch the ACC [football] championship that will be played here in December, or the Charlotte Bobcats or the [Carolina] Panthers. There are plenty of football and basketball fans who may want to come through and spend a few hours learning about our sport. It's not going to be just for race fans alone."

Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said that the NASCAR Hall compares favorably to the NFL's version. (Continued)