Published: September 01. 2010 2:00AM

By Dan Byers
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

From its humble beginnings with moonshine runners and red dirt tracks across the South, NASCAR has evolved into a modern, high tech sport that has become the most popular spectator sport in the U.S.

Recently opened on a five acre site in Charlotte, N.C., the NASCAR Hall of Fame pays tribute to the heroes and pioneers of the sport at one of the most entertaining and technologically advanced Halls of Fame in the country. Even those who can't differentiate Junior Johnson from Jimmie Johnson will love the state of the art interactive exhibits and attractions.

Make no mistake, this hall of fame isn't just another museum adorned with busts, plaques and memorabilia. The NASCAR Hall of Fame epitomizes the essence of the sport, giving race fans and non-race fans alike a taste of what NASCAR is all about — speed, sound, and fury.

If buildings could move, the NASCAR Hall of Fame would shatter architectural speed records. Speed, history and the excitement of race day are echoed in the building's façade, where pedestrians catch their first glimpses of historic racers through panes of curved glass.

The NASCAR experience begins at the High Octane Theater, a 275 seat high tech theater that gives audience members a front row seat as the sights, sounds, and history of NASCAR unfold across the 65-foot screen. At the conclusion of the 12 minute film, you enter the Great Hall for a stroll down Glory Road.

Interactive displays and exhibits surround the hall, but Glory Road is the real star. Eighteen race cars representing every age of NASCAR history line a high banked ramp that wraps around the wall. The effect is mesmerizing, creating the illusion that history is literally racing by. Visitors walk along the ramp, peering through the windshields of legends while reading descriptions and experiencing simulated banking from 40 current and historic tracks. One featured track is the Greenville-Pickens Speedway, which in 1971 was the site of the first live television broadcast of a NASCAR event. While on Glory Road, don't miss the chance to step onto the incredible 33 degree banking of Talladega Superspeedway. It's a walk you have to see and feel to believe.

As you reach the top of the ramp, you enter the Hall of Honor, where inductees to the Hall such as Dale Earnhardt, Junior Johnson and Richard Petty are enshrined along with memorabilia and race cars they made famous.

But photographs can't capture thunder, and designers knew static exhibits alone wouldn't capture NASCAR's full excitement. The Race Week area is where guests experience a hands-on, highly interactive look at race day preparations. Here, guests operate an engine dyno, walk through a Sprint Cup car hauler, try their hand as a tire changer, jackman and gas man in a timed pit stop, and test their track skills in one of eight iRacing simulators. Each simulator allows drivers to get behind the wheel, start the engine, shift gears and feel the track in a driving experience that's as close to real racing as you can get.

In the Heritage Speedway section, artifacts, cars, and film come together to tell some of the most fascinating stories from 60 years of NASCAR history. Not only will you see footage of the infamous final lap crash and fistfight between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison at the 1979 Daytona 500, but you'll also hear the driver's words and see the actual damaged cars as well. Exhibits such as Junior Johnson's moonshine still (which Junior Johnson assembled onsite) add kick to the history of the sport.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame is one of the most informative and entertaining sports halls of fame in the country, easily enjoyed by fans, non-fans and families alike.