Nearly 300,000 people visited LeMay—America’s Car Museum during its first year, but none saw what you can see now. Coinciding with its anniversary, June 1-2, 2013, the museum launched an exhibit exciting enough to bring all of those people back, plus more.
Called “Legends of Motor Sport: the NASCAR Story,” this exhibit is far more than a display of 14 historically significant race cars, including Dale Earnhardt’s #3 car. NASCAR’s story is part of America’s story, and this exhibit offers thrills for everyone, from diehard racing fans to those who have only heard the roar of the racetrack on TV.
ACM’s chief marketing and communications officer, Scot Keller, said, “The idea was to create layers. You can just enjoy it and walk through it, or you can spend a lot of time getting into the facts and checking out the website and so on.” You’ll see more sound, more video, and more information, even access to social media.
Larger-than-life images of the larger-than-life stars of NASCAR cover one wall of the long exhibit space where cars are parked end-to-end. On the opposite wall, alcoves created by the building’s structure provide plenty of surfaces for storytelling.
After Bill France Sr. invented the notion of the superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., the money followed. “Revenue being generated by having these big tracks with a lot of fans, and the sponsors, really enabled them to pay,” Keller said. “That’s what got a lot of the early racers involved.”
Many of those early racers were former moonshiners who outran the law in cars like the 1936 Ford Model 68 Roadster on display. How they connected with professional racing is only one of the many fascinating stories. Learn about the famous drivers, cars, superstitions and dramas while viewing this exhibit. But hurry. The months fly by with the speed of a race car.
CANDACE BROWN
For more information:
lemaymuseum.org