Motorsports
The Charlotte Region Knows Motorsports!
We are home to...
...future Dragway at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Click here for NHRA specs.
...more than 90% of the NASCAR teams within 50 miles.
...Sprint All-Star Race, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Bank of America 500.
...NASCAR Hall of Fame opening in 2009, and several museums dedicated to racing and racing history.
...Richard Petty Driving Experience, the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure, the Jeff Gordon Driving School and the Fast Track Driving School.
...NASCAR’s Research and Development Center, which houses rules officials, corporate officers, accident investigators and directors of the truck, Busch and Nextel Cup series.
...Concord Regional Airport, the fourth busiest airport in North Carolina, but without any commercial air traffic! CRA is home to the “NASCAR Airforce.”
...$40 million state-of-the-art wind tunnel featuring the only full-scale, single-belt rolling road testing facility in North America capable of testing up to three cars simultaneously at speeds of 179 mph.
...more than 200 businesses in Cabarrus County alone who support the motorsports industry. That means unparalleled support for the racing world! An impact on North Carolina’s economy of nearly $7 billion per year — and that’s just Charlotte area motorsports! (figure comes from a UNCC study, 2004; updated 2006).
...DIRT Motorsports, the premier national sanctioning body of dirt track racing in the U.S. They hold over 2,000 events per year all across the country, including the World of Outlaws series. The company is consolidating various employees from around the U.S. and plans to employ approximately 52 people at this location.
The Charlotte Region Supports Motorsports!
University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Motorsports Program
This multidisciplinary program in motorsports and automotive engineering offers:
- » MBA in Motorsports Marketing and Management
- » BS in Mechanical Engineering with concentration in motorsports engineering
- » On-site equipment such as chassis dyno, shock dyno, engine dyno, scales and Pi & CDS Data Acquisition
- » 23 faculty from seven departments
- » Specialized knowledge in vehicle dynamics, aerodynamics, instrumentation, safety, metrology, ADCOLE, can and crankshaft metrology
- » The Motorsports Program has developed more than $2.3 million in external research related to vehicle technologies, making UNC Charlotte a leader in motorsports research and education.
...and Businesses Respond!