Evidently the people of Charlotte enjoy their sports. And rightly so, since the Carolina Panthers were the 2003 NFC champions. While in town, I had a chance to go look at their stadium. It was pretty magnificent. I'm sure that game day there is quite the spectacle.

But wait! There's something else that gets North Carolinans all worked up. NASCAR!!! Yes, Charlotte is home to the celebrated Lowes Motor Speedway. What a place this turned out to be. I wanted to go have a peek at this American sports monument, but was cautious due to my experiences at the Kansas Motor Speedway. There, the moment you set foot on the grounds they send a little patrol car up to see what you are doing. Here, however, the security measures were totally invisible.

I found that I could drive around the entire raceway with no problem. After doing that, I parked at the entrance, right next to the bright yellow pace car. I then went inside the big blue welcome structure and investigated the ticket booths and gift shop. It wasn't long before I headed outside and noticed several people walking into the stands. So, that's what I did too. Mostly the stadium was empty, as one would expect, but here and there were perched a few interested spectators. On the track, cars were buzzing around and one of the folks nearby told me there was a racing school in progress.