A quick visit to Charlotte ends up at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – Feb. 19, 2023 In honor of the Daytona International Speedway's long and illustrious history including the teams currently battling for position, points, and ultimately, a win on the Daytona 500 track, I was in Charlotte, NC last week looking for something cool to see. Prior to pulling into pit row next to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, I gave the tracks safety team a heads up to have extinguishers ready just in case this driver and his Toyota Prius Prime were to spontaneously catch fire simply by pulling in next to the ultimate Homage to the gas guzzlers. The average team is pulling ~ 3 mpg which is damn impressive for a 2-door body shell running 190+ mph for a large portion of 3-hours these drivers are on the track. I tightened up the openings on my fire suit, snugly adjusted my helmet around the Nomex hood, and made sure there was no exposed skin between my gloves and sleeves. As I entered pit row, I smiled when I saw that beautiful 55 mph pit lane speed limit knowing full well, I would never be penalized and have to return to pit road for the "pit road passthrough". Whew, that was close. When I pulled to a stop and shut down the Prime's computers, I was greeted by an uneventful eerie silence. After pulling the wheel and disconnecting the comms gear, I exited and walked into the NASCAR Hall of Fame with cordial greetings from the fantastic crew that manned this beautiful destination. Richard Petty “The King” and his 72 Dodge He drove his famous color scheme car to win the 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The Daytona 500 is known as the "Great American Race" and has been held 65 times including todays race, with Richard "The King" Petty holding the record for most Daytona 500 victories, winning the first of his seven Harley J. Earl trophies in 1964. After an hour or two of walking the floor with not a single gallon of high-octane race fuel being consumed, I was not only floored by the excellent interactive displays, but NASCAR's history being detailed from its bootleggers hopped up Ford's and Chevrolet's beginnings to the very latest and safest "Next Gen" cars that raced for the very first time just over a year ago. The new cars include a smaller day light opening, shortened deck lids, plus include 18" forged alloys with a single lug design. Buck Baker’s 1950 Olds 88 Just 2-years after NASCAR’s formation, racing was completed in not so heavily modified street cars. If you are ever in Charlotte, the NASCAR Hall of Fame is a must see no matter what your transportation leanings are. PS: No CO2 extinguishers were activated, and no humans or animals were harmed during the production of this post.
Hi All: 2023 Daytona 500 Recap The final Top 10 results from the 2023 Daytona 500 have been announced. 1. R. Stenhouse Jr. in the #47 Chevrolet 2. J. Logano in the #22 Ford 3. C. Bell in the #20 Toyota 4. C. Buescher in the #17 Ford 5. A. Bowman in the #48 Chevrolet 6. A. J. Allmendinger in the #16 Chevrolet 7. D. Suárez in the #99 Chevrolet 8. R. Blaney in the #12 Ford 9. R. Chastain in the #1 Chevrolet 10. R. Herbst in the #15 Ford Wayne
