Touring Charlotte's local Race Shops! This episode: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing!

           Living in Charlotte has its perks. Not only are we in the town of Charlotte Motor Speedway and the NASCAR Hall of Fame, but we also have many of the racing teams shops right here in our backyard. This series of blogs will review the racing shops in the Concord area. If you haven't visited a race shop before, they offer new insight into the racing industry. You can watch the team work on cars,  pick up your favorite driver's gear and race used memorabilia, and most of all- they are free admission! (None of the ones we visited charged for entry.) 

This visit was at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing 8500 Westmoreland Drive Concord, N.C. 28027  704-662-9642

My son and I did not know what to expect when visiting Earnhardt Ganassi. It was the race shop for which we had done the smallest amount of research. All I knew was that it was close to all the others, so why not give it a shot? Boy are we glad that we did. What a cool race shop!

First, not only did they have their show cars for Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya in the foyer of the shop, but they also had their trophies sitting on glass tables- out in the OPEN! Every other shop we visited had their trophies behind glass, these weren't. Of course, you weren't supposed to touch, but having the glass removed made it a much more interesting experience. (And it made it much easier to take pictures with a flash.)

      Also, they had a couple of cool areas for us Nascar Newbs! They had a locker full of gear,  along with firesuits, that you could actually try on! My son really liked trying on the gloves! In a separate section, they had a tool chest full of different engine and car parts, helmets, steering wheel, etc. for you to check out and learn what each part does for the stock car. 

The shop itself was massive! Whoever designed this shop did a great job. They actually had an open-air platform that you were allowed to walk out on, right in the actual shop, that was surrounded by panels of five foot glass.  They had many winning cars sitting close to the glass so we could get pictures. But the only work that was happening was half-way down the building. We could see one of the engineers under one of Jamie's car, but that was about it. Hopefully you'll have better luck when you get a chance to visit.

Earnhardt Ganassi was a unexpected surprise! Visit when you are in the area!