The NASCAR Hall of Fame opens Tuesday, and the 150,000-square-foot facility should have no problem attracting people during the first year. With a theater on the bottom floor featuring a 12-minute movie about NASCAR and then three floors of interactive exhibits, the Hall of Fame has set a single-day adult ticket price of $19.95. It is selling annual memberships with the hope that people will visit the facility in downtown Charlotte more than once. And that’s the challenge-to make people want to come back. The Hall of Fame will hold its grand opening on Tuesday and its first induction ceremony on May 23, when NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., former NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr. and drivers Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Junior Johnson will be inducted. Even with four floors, not everything the Hall of Fame has acquired will be on display when the doors open Tuesday. The number of interactive displays is enough to keep fans occupied for the full eight hours the facility is open (10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday). Among things visitors can do: watch videos about 20 of the greatest finishes in NASCAR history; rev an engine dyno; ride in a racing simulator (for an extra $5); and play trivia games. Customers can use a card that collects information from activities during their visit to track their progress throughout their visit. There is a separate room just for kids and an area that goes through the entire mechanics of a car and how it is built. Another area describes how technical inspection is done (including video screens where patrons can decide which pieces are legal and illegal). On one floor, artifacts of the sport are arranged by decade and another area that highlights families and other historical moments. The exhibits in the induction area won’t be open until the induction ceremony May 23. It includes cars raced by Petty, Johnson and Earnhardt. Each inductee will have a spire in the center of the room with their likeness and a video describing their accomplishments. At the bottom will be another likeness of the person where kids create an image to take home with them. The spires of the current class will be in the center, while the rest will line the outside of the room, which is shaped in an oval.(Sporting News), SPEED will have coverage from the NASCAR Hall of Fame grand opening on Tuesday from 9:00am – 12:00pm/et.(5-11-2010)
