Aquarium may help Atlanta's chance of NASCAR HOF: Charlotte not out.

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This Buds For Me

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Aquarium may help Atlanta's chance of NASCAR HOF: The Georgia Aquarium, with its overwhelming early foot traffic, is Atlanta's best case for luring the highly coveted racing shrine to Centennial Olympic Park, NASCAR's chief executive, Brian France, said Wednesday. But it's not all good news. France, the last word on the hall of fame decision, gave rival Charlotte two critical advantages in the hall of fame race: Lots of guaranteed money and superstar drivers and racing teams in its back yard. France walked through Atlanta's fish tank for the first time Wednesday after speaking at a business conference in Buckhead. Bernie Marcus, the aquarium benefactor and Home Depot co-founder, joined local business leaders to give him a private tour. North Carolina's legislature has already approved a hotel/motel tax and a $20 million land gift that will guarantee funding for nearly all of Charlotte's $137.5 million hall of fame. Georgia is only now putting together $32.4 million in public money for the hall, which organizers expect will cost about $92 million. Corporate support and bank loans will cover the balance, a fact that seemed to give France pause. "I think they'll get there," France said of Atlanta's financial effort. But, he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Charlotte's money is all wrapped up. What's more, France likes the fact that Charlotte is home base for nearly every driver and racing team in the sport.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(2-9-2006)

sounds like it doesnt look good for Daytona...but its neck and neck for charlotte and atlanta.
 
I wouldn't rule out Daytona just yet. This is the back yard of the France's and NASCAR itself. With the effort of NASCAR heading in the direction of diversity, Atlanta, the top market for African-Americans, all bets are off for any other choice. The main reason for picking a place now is not just to please the racing enthusiast, but to also help gain more fans, and NASCAR is in the middle of striving for more African-American fans and where else, other than say Detroit or Washington DC, two places that aren't even in the running, would this work out best? Besides all that, Atlanta isn't all that far from Mooresville, NC where most of the teams are based (not far? let's be real here...anything close enough for people to drive for a race is close enough) The only thing that I think might jeopardise Atlanta in all this is that maybe NASCAR might actually think about the proximity of it all. Charlotte has Mooresville and Daytona has Daytona USA. They thought that a change of venue for the Cup Preview would work out fine, moving it from Winston Salem, NC (home of RJ Reynolds...i.e. Winston) to Daytona (home of NASCAR) but things just haven't worked out as they thought. Maybe the have come to the understanding that having the Hall of Fame based way down in Florida might not draw as many crowds as either Atlanta or Charlotte. Of course, they can argue that the HOF for MLB is in Cooperstown, NY, where it all started, but the difference there is that not all, or at least most of the MLB teams are based close by. NASCAR is definately a different sport in that mold such as most of the teams are based in a particular area of the country. While they might race all over the country, they call home Mooresville, NC, just north of Charlotte.
 
buckaroo said:
I wouldn't rule out Daytona just yet. This is the back yard of the France's and NASCAR itself. With the effort of NASCAR heading in the direction of diversity, Atlanta, the top market for African-Americans, all bets are off for any other choice. The main reason for picking a place now is not just to please the racing enthusiast, but to also help gain more fans, and NASCAR is in the middle of striving for more African-American fans and where else, other than say Detroit or Washington DC, two places that aren't even in the running, would this work out best? Besides all that, Atlanta isn't all that far from Mooresville, NC where most of the teams are based (not far? let's be real here...anything close enough for people to drive for a race is close enough) The only thing that I think might jeopardise Atlanta in all this is that maybe NASCAR might actually think about the proximity of it all. Charlotte has Mooresville and Daytona has Daytona USA. They thought that a change of venue for the Cup Preview would work out fine, moving it from Winston Salem, NC (home of RJ Reynolds...i.e. Winston) to Daytona (home of NASCAR) but things just haven't worked out as they thought. Maybe the have come to the understanding that having the Hall of Fame based way down in Florida might not draw as many crowds as either Atlanta or Charlotte. Of course, they can argue that the HOF for MLB is in Cooperstown, NY, where it all started, but the difference there is that not all, or at least most of the MLB teams are based close by. NASCAR is definately a different sport in that mold such as most of the teams are based in a particular area of the country. While they might race all over the country, they call home Mooresville, NC, just north of Charlotte.
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i call Mooresville, NC home.....born and raised there...and live in Charlotte....im 20 mins away from mom and dad in Mooresville...actually Mooresville does hold a lot of race teams...but so does Huntersville (Gibbs Racing) and Concord (Hendrick, Roush, and few others)....i would be the one that would plant the flag and say Mooresville is the home of all the teams...but thats simply not true, I'd have to say the Charlotte area is home of most of the teams....not just Mooresville. If you go with the claim that ATL is close to Mooresville.........i can see Daytona getting it because its the home of NASCAR...and i can see Charlotte getting it because so many teams are located in this area and a lot of the great drivers are from the Carolinas.

The cool thing Charlotte has to offer is that if you come here to visit the hall of fame you can easily visit a majority of the race teams shops in the same day.....Atlanta or Daytona can not offer you the chance to ride up and see Jeff Gordon's cars being built, or drive to Mooresville and see 7 Winston Cup Championship trophies staring at you when you walk in the door, or another hour north and see another 7 Winston Cup trophies at Petty Enterprises...of course thats just a few of the things you can see.
 
Most effective: Atlanta
Most fan-friendly: Charlotte
Most Intra-promotional: Daytona
 
Bud, you get the point I was making. While Mooresville doesn't have all the teams there, they probably have the majority, and without a doubt, almost all of them are withing 30 miles from there, and it's called Charlotte anyway. Where's the Lowe's Motor Speedway located? Charlotte? No way, but when you mention Concord to most NASCAR fans, they have no real idea where it is unless they've been there. As for me, Concord is also the home of Concord Motorsports Park, where I attend races from time to time, but that's another story. Most teams call Charlotte their home, not Daytona or Lake Norman. :) Just had to throw that one in there. I just think that for the average racing fan, Charlotte has more to offer than Atlanta and for that matter, Daytona because of the fact so many (most) of the teams are located there (or in the vicinity). If you want to attract "race" fans, Charlotte is the obvious choice. If however, you're out for a newer audience, then Atlanta could be the choice.
 
Buck....you know i never looked up and saw where you were from ha....i actully lived in Clemmons for a few years when i was a kid...so you arent far up the road.

Im old school and you probably are aswell, thats why i wanna see it in charlotte...plus i could go visit it pretty easily if i wanted to :). Oh isnt it funny that people say they are from Lake Norman....there is no city or town or anything named Lake Norman...just a body of water.

you go to the Charlotte races every year?
 
Bud, the races I attend are the local Saturday night type and we don't miss a one. At the end of the year, a promoter stages what he calls the "North/South Shootout" which is an invitational race for the NASCAR modifieds from the north and the south at Concord Motorsports Park on the half mile tri-oval. That race is in November and is the only race we attend there unless they sanction a race with the Southern Mods.
 
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