The real stars in Charlotte, N.C., are the pedal-to-the-metal guys—the super-fast stock-car drivers of NASCAR. On race days, the drivers rank as kings of the Queen City. But those who don’t place NASCAR royalty at the top of their must-see list also will find temptations that lure them to Charlotte.
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines
Stock-car racing is more than a sport here. It’s a way of life, a roaring force that helped put Charlotte on the map. It all started with Prohibition in 1920, when moonshiners needed fast cars to transport illegal alcohol. When the moonshiners started to race on their off days, the high-octane sport of stock-car racing was born.
Today, an estimated 75 percent of stock-car racing teams call the Charlotte area home. To commemorate its racing legacy, the city is building the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Scheduled to open May 11, the 150,000-square-foot facility will be a museum and entertainment center parked in Charlotte’s downtown, aka Uptown, adjacent to the Charlotte Convention Center. Operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, the $195 million hall is expected to boost Charlotte tourism.
Even before it opens, racing fans have many options. Daily tours are offered at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which stages NASCAR races in May and October. And nearby are several racing team shops, which offer free behind-the-scenes looks. One of the best is Hendrick Motorsports, which has a museum, team store, and garages for drivers Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
Culinary and Cultural Come-ons
But Charlotte is on a fast track for much more than just racing. This cosmopolitan Southern city hums with go-go spirit. It is second only to New York as a national banking hub—Bank of America’s world headquarters is based here in a 60-story building, the tallest in Charlotte. Other high-rises tower over Uptown, including the new 18-story, 146-room Ritz-Carlton, which is Charlotte’s (and Ritz-Carlton’s) first LEED-certified hotel.
With an estimated population of more than 687,000, Charlotte ranks as the 18th-largest U.S. city. The compact central business district has easily walkable pathways beneath overarching trees. Or visitors can catch a free ride on the Gold Rush trolleys that run along Tryon and Trade streets. Uptown abounds with museums, restaurants and more than 4,000 hotel rooms.
A favorite local eatery is Mert’s Heart and Soul, which specializes in Southern soul food. Among the “daily fixin’s” are blackened pork chops, fried catfish and Carolina chopped barbecue, plus delicious cornbread. The EpiCentre, a mixed-use complex of restaurants, a movie theater, bowling alley and shops, is the popular, new entertainment spot. Restaurant choices here include such locals as Enso Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar and Indochine Grill and regional and national chains such as Fleming’s Steakhouse, Wild Wing Cafe and Libretto’s Pizza.
Several museums are within walking distance of each other in Uptown. The story of the South since the Civil War is told at the Levine Museum of the New South. The lively museum makes its point visually with such mock-ups as a school bus and a lunch counter that graphically demonstrate 1960s Civil Rights strife. Discovery Place, a hands-on science museum, features an IMAX theater, and an enlarged aquarium is scheduled to open in June.
The big news on the cultural front is the opening of the Wells Fargo Cultural Campus, four facilities clustered within two blocks in the city’s center. Already open is the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts & Culture, and slated to debut in January are the Knight Theater and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, which will showcase such artists as Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder and Andy Warhol. In October, the complex will welcome the Mint Museum of Art, which combines craft and design collections with contemporary American and other collections. The expanded museum shop will offer crafts of the Carolinas.
And located near the airport is the Billy Graham Library, which commemorates the famous evangelist’s career with state-of-the-art multimedia exhibits. Visitors may be surprised to see a cow in a barn at the entrance. (The mechanical animal is a reminder of Graham’s youth on a farm.)
White-water Fun
Surf’s up every day in Charlotte, although it’s a three-hour drive from the Atlantic Ocean. Water-sports lovers can head for the U.S. National Whitewater Center, a 15-minute drive from Uptown. “You will get wet!” is what employees tell visitors before they experience the thrills of white-water rafting on the world’s largest man-made river—the same river that has been used for U.S. Olympic team practice.
Rafters tightly grip their paddles while trying to keep their balance in the surging waters. Kayakers also can challenge the churning rapids, and flat-water kayaking is available on the Catawaba River, which borders the property. The multisports center is like a high-adventure theme park. A zip line shoots riders across the river; a rock-climbing wall challenges the brave; and 11 miles of trails are open for hiking and mountain biking.
Clearly, Charlotte is on the move in many different ways.