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Sprint Cup
CUP: Fans Invade Charlotte For NASCAR Preview
Autographs, photographs and souvenirs mark the day as thousands of fans enjoy NASCAR Preview 2012…
New NASCAR Hall of Fame member Glen Wood (Left) signs autographs for fans Saturday at the NASCAR Preview 2012. (Photo: Mike Hembree SPEED.com)
Winter unofficially ended Saturday for thousands of NASCAR fans.
Although the weather outside the Charlotte Convention Center and the adjacent NASCAR Hall of Fame was gloomy, inside the sprawling facilities fans were aglow with the promise of the new season as they wandered past exhibits, waited with anticipation in autograph lines and shot photos of race cars wrapped in new paint schemes.
It was the second day of NASCAR Acceleration Weekend, the kickoff event for the 2012 season. Day 2 officially was called NASCAR Preview 2012, and its focal point was the cavernous convention center, where drivers from all three major series signed autographs and cars built by most of the sport’s major teams were on display.
Jim and Renee Dawson drove most of Friday from their home near Reading, PA to attend the preview.
“It feels like it’s time to race again,” she said. “We wanted to be here mostly just to be around all the people and feel some of the excitement. And there are drivers everywhere. It’s a great event.”
Long-time racing team owner Glen Wood, one of five men inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Friday night, visited the main floor of the convention center Saturday morning and signed autographs for dozens of fans who wandered by.
Many of the sport’s sponsors and speedways shared information and prizes at fan booths, and the sport’s television and radio networks also were represented. At the Performance Racing Network booth, on-air personalities interviewed fans and arranged to e-mail the interview segments to them – an unusual approach to providing a keepsake of the event.
Newly minted souvenir items – some showcasing drivers with their new car numbers for 2012 – were available and appeared to be selling well.
The big element, however, was the autograph, as also was the case during the many years of the Winston Cup Preview, a similar event held in Winston-Salem, NC during the years the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. sponsored NASCAR’s top series.
Long lines snaked around the main floor as drivers signed autographs in shifts.
Nancy Coles of Richmond, VA left with a Trevor Bayne signature.
“My little boy has been a fan since Trevor won the Daytona 500 (last season),” she said. “I had to wait a while, but I was determined to get that one. Everyone here has been so nice. It’s a great thing to get all these people together in one place.”
At the Hall of Fame, hall members led tours of the facility and participated in storytelling sessions at exhibits that were relevant to their years in the sport.
Jeremy Lyda toured both facilities Saturday morning with his 8-year-old son, Michael. They live in Raleigh, NC.
“I think we’ve seen everything and everybody,” he said. “We can’t wait for the season to start. This gets everybody all jacked up for it.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
Although the weather outside the Charlotte Convention Center and the adjacent NASCAR Hall of Fame was gloomy, inside the sprawling facilities fans were aglow with the promise of the new season as they wandered past exhibits, waited with anticipation in autograph lines and shot photos of race cars wrapped in new paint schemes.
It was the second day of NASCAR Acceleration Weekend, the kickoff event for the 2012 season. Day 2 officially was called NASCAR Preview 2012, and its focal point was the cavernous convention center, where drivers from all three major series signed autographs and cars built by most of the sport’s major teams were on display.
Jim and Renee Dawson drove most of Friday from their home near Reading, PA to attend the preview.
“It feels like it’s time to race again,” she said. “We wanted to be here mostly just to be around all the people and feel some of the excitement. And there are drivers everywhere. It’s a great event.”
Long-time racing team owner Glen Wood, one of five men inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Friday night, visited the main floor of the convention center Saturday morning and signed autographs for dozens of fans who wandered by.
Many of the sport’s sponsors and speedways shared information and prizes at fan booths, and the sport’s television and radio networks also were represented. At the Performance Racing Network booth, on-air personalities interviewed fans and arranged to e-mail the interview segments to them – an unusual approach to providing a keepsake of the event.
Newly minted souvenir items – some showcasing drivers with their new car numbers for 2012 – were available and appeared to be selling well.
The big element, however, was the autograph, as also was the case during the many years of the Winston Cup Preview, a similar event held in Winston-Salem, NC during the years the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. sponsored NASCAR’s top series.
Long lines snaked around the main floor as drivers signed autographs in shifts.
Nancy Coles of Richmond, VA left with a Trevor Bayne signature.
“My little boy has been a fan since Trevor won the Daytona 500 (last season),” she said. “I had to wait a while, but I was determined to get that one. Everyone here has been so nice. It’s a great thing to get all these people together in one place.”
At the Hall of Fame, hall members led tours of the facility and participated in storytelling sessions at exhibits that were relevant to their years in the sport.
Jeremy Lyda toured both facilities Saturday morning with his 8-year-old son, Michael. They live in Raleigh, NC.
“I think we’ve seen everything and everybody,” he said. “We can’t wait for the season to start. This gets everybody all jacked up for it.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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