Charlotte, N.C. (January 25, 2007) - NASCAR and the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority hosted a ceremonial ground breaking event today to kick off its four year plan towards building the NASCAR Plaza and NASCAR Hall of Fame complex in downtown Charlotte.

NASCAR on FOX and former Stafford Motor Speedway announcer Mike Joy emceed the festivities by introducing a remarkable guest list of NASCAR Legends, Champions, Car Owners and historical figures including Modified greats Geoff Bodine and Jerry Cook. The driver guest list read off like a who's who of racing greats including Leonard and Glen Wood, Richard and Kyle Petty, Tommy Houston, Chuck Bown, Sam Ard, Randy Lajoie, Ned Jarrett, Ron Hornaday, Ernie Irvan, Buddy Baker, Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, Terry LaBonte, Junior Johnson, and Rex White. Notable car owners in attendance were Rick Hendrick, Felix Sebates, Jack Roush, and Chip Ganassi. Current NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. could not make the festivites due to their testing schedules with the Rolex 24 hour race.

As the festivities commenced, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory summed it up best in a statement I have used many times myself to explain to non-racing people what Charlotte means to NASCAR. "When you think of country music, you think of Nashville. When you think of movie stars, you think of Hollywood. When people think of NASCAR, we want them to think of Charlotte." McCrory also added "Racing was built here. Most of today's top teams call the Charlotte region home and as the site of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, we are establishing our place in the history and as the future of the sport."

"Today was a special day," NASCAR President Mike Helton said. "We set out several years ago with a goal to create a NASCAR Hall of Fame to preserve and honor our past as well as give a glimpse into the future. Today, we took a very important step in making that goal become a reality."

"We wanted to be sure we accomplished a couple of things with this groundbreaking: first, that it was like no other, just as unique as the future Hall of Fame will be and second, that the history of NASCAR was front and center," said Winston Kelley, executive director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame for the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. We believe our unique format modeled after a NASCAR pre-race ceremony and having more than 30 competitors and members of the NASCAR community representing all decades and touring divisions of NASCAR racing certainly achieved those goals. We are particularly grateful for the tremendous support from both the NASCAR and greater Charlotte community."

On March 6th, 2006, NASCAR announced its decision to choose the Charlotte region as the site for this once-in-a-lifetime attraction. With an estimated completion date being the first quarter of 2010, this state-of-the-art facility will honor the NASCAR icons and create an enduring tribute to the drivers, crew members, team owners and others that have impacted the sport in the past, present and years to come.

The Hall will include approximately 40,000 square feet of exhibit space, numerous elements honoring the history and heritage of the sport, educational components and interactive exhibits highlighting current race week experiences from the competitor's perspective, a state-of-the-art theatre, a hall honoring inductees, television and radio studios, a high tech and comprehensive media center and a retail outlet and restaurant. The complex will also include a 100,000 square foot convention center expansion that will include a new 40,000 square foot ballroom that can seat up to 2,5000 people.

Adjacent to the Hall of Fame will be NASCAR Plaza. This 19 story, 390,000 square foot, class-A office building will be fully integrated with the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Approximately one-third of NASCAR Plaza will be leased by NASCAR Licensing and NASCAR Images. The remaining space will be leased to racing and non-racing tenants. The NASCAR Plaza office tower will open in March of 2009.

So, who decides who gets into the Hall of Fame? NASCAR retains sole control over the nomination and election of inductees. Induction ceremonies will be at the Hall of Fame. NASCAR will develop an induction process that is of the highest integrity and honors the rich heritage of the sport in the best possible manner.

For more information about the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Convention center expansion, visit www.belongshere.com