Day 2, we left the Greensboro area and headed toward Charlotte where we planned to watch a Legends race at Charlotte Motor Speedway that night. Our first stop was Joe Gibbs Racing. The receptionist here was one of the nicest people we met. We stood there chatting with her for quite some time. When you first come in the door there are cars in the show room as well as cases of memorabilia from the teams and also from Joe Gibbs. They don’t make a huge presentation out of Joe Gibbs’ history with the Redskins, but if you look closely you’ll see items like his Super Bowl Rings. His race shop, like many others, only shows you a bit of what goes on. You get to see the finishing room with it’s rows of cars being prepared. While most people come to this shop to see the affects of Tony Stewart, I was more interested in Denny Hamlin. Hamlin, a Richmond native who is quickly rising to the top of the ranks, has also quickly become one of my favorite drivers.

Our next stop was Michael Waltrip Racing. Waltrip with his new team and new entry from Toyota was not necessarily on the top of my list for shops to visit. But, we heard recommendations on how good a tour it was. We were overwhelmed with the fan appeal of this shop. Waltrip’s RaceWorld USA had the highest ticket price of anywhere we went, $15, but don’t let the price scare you off. It was the best tour by far. I also have to admit that our tour guide, Randy, made the tour even better with his knowledge and insider information. Here at RaceWorld USA you get to see so much more than at the other shops we visited. Starting with a view of the Engineering room where the original computer design is done, you next get to see where the custom made parts are cut and honed to perfection. From walkways above the work area you get to view the rooms where the work is done for suspension, chassis/dyno, and even their pull down room. You of course, still get to see the assembly room. The outside portion of the tour takes you out to see the team trucks being loaded, the inside of a truck, the fabrication shop (no pictures allowed here) and the pit crew practices, if they are practicing. I have to admit, this was the most interesting tour of all if you really want to see “behind the scenes” of a real race shop.

I have to mention the restaurant where we had lunch this day as well. The Rusty Rudder. It has outside seating on a deck overlooking Lake Norman. Great views, good food, and they made the best Mojito we found all week.

Our final stop for the day was Hendrick Motor Sports. It was late in the day, but we hoped to be able to pick up a couple of Jeff Gordon items for Ray at their gift shop. Jeff Gordon is Ray’s favorite driver. We were sadly disappointed to learn that the gift shop was closed for the day. Apparently, they are in the planning stages to determine how to change the gift shop in order to handle the merchandising for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The museum there was free and we wandered about there talking with the lady who oversaw the museum. (Another really nice person). Knowing that everyone would be leaving for the day soon, we dashed over to see Jeff Gordon’s race shop. The entryway was lavish with trophies and cars in the lobby, but seeing the race shop itself was a bit of a disappointment. You stand behind a tall wire fence with a few cars pulled up close and look through a doorway into the race shop. You can see cars up on lifts and a few tool boxes, but not much else. At least they don’t charge you for that pitiful view.

On to Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway for their Tuesday night, Summer Shootout. This was really fun despite having to move under cover to avoid a couple of rain showers. There were kids as young as 8 running in some of the competitions. A few of the participants were the sons of race drivers like Michael Wallace and Wally Dallenbach. It was impressive watching how well some of these young participants could drive and how clean the races could be, atlhought there were still a few crashes. We were able to pick up a couple of Jeff Gordon items at the track’s concession stands, so we knew Ray would be happy.