Kelley spreads gospel of NASCAR to a new crowd

Winston Kelley. A better name for a North Carolinian involved with NASCAR there may never be.

<p class="MsoNormal">With his roots, Kelley knows a thing or two about passing. That made the Pro Football Hall of Fame Luncheon Club at Tozzi's the place to be for Monday's guest speaker.

<p class="MsoNormal">The executive director of the new NASCAR Hall of Fame and a veteran racing broadcaster, Kelley was in town to brainstorm with Pro Football Hall of Fame officials and to spread the gospel of auto racing to a new crowd.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I've spoken to 60 or 70 groups and not been nervous," Kelley said. "But it's very humbling to speak to this group."

<p class="MsoNormal">The luncheon club showed its interests go beyond football. The group peppered Kelley with questions concerning everything from how the NASCAR Hall of Famers will be selected to how many drivers qualify for the Race for the Cup.

<p class="MsoNormal">Kelley, naturally, passed every test with flying colors.

<p class="MsoNormal">Saying he had a "huge passion for the sport of NASCAR," Kelley talked about the start up of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, set to open in Charlotte in 2010.

<p class="MsoNormal">"North Carolina-Charlotte did an independent study and racing was a $6 billion industry in the state of North Carolina," he said. "Racing employed 27,000 people, and the average salary was $71,000, not including the drivers' salary.

<p class="MsoNormal">"The average salary in North Carolina (then) was $35,000."

<p class="MsoNormal">The Charlotte area eventually won out over such racing hotbeds as Atlanta, Daytona Beach and Kansas City in 2006. That secured the site for NASCAR's vision of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and ground was broken for construction this year.

<p class="MsoNormal">Kelley said the new Hall of Fame will be attached to the Charlotte Convention Center and be 130,000 square feet, including 40,000 for exhibits.

<p class="MsoNormal">Kelley said he expects interactive exhibits and a surround sound theater for the Hall, much like at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He said there would be a large oval exhibit that would be able to mimic the banking of each NASCAR track and hold up to 18 authentic cars.

<p class="MsoNormal">For more information about the NASCAR Hall of Fame, go to www.nascarhalloffame.com.

<p class="MsoNormal">-- The Repository