Road trips are as popular as ever, and we've partnered with world-renowned travel publisher Lonely Planet to bring you some of the best driving trips in the United States. Each trip focuses around a specific theme, locale or passion.
This week's trip takes you on a NASCAR pilgrimage to experience the thrill of stock car racing for yourself.
Whether you spend your Saturday afternoons glued to the television watching NASCAR races, or have just seen "Talladega Nights" enough times to want in on the action, the only way to fully appreciate stock car racing is to experience it up close and in person.
The area around Charlotte, N.C., is the undisputed capital of NASCAR, and it's where the majority of teams, owners, governing bodies and fans are based. Start your trip just north in Concord, where you can experience the thrill firsthand at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
While you're there, ditch your car keys and get suited up for the Richard Petty Driving Experience. You can book a ride-along experience on race weekends that could have you riding shotgun in a two-seat stock car pushing speeds upwards of 150 mph.
After the race, stop in for some hot wings at Quaker Steak & Lube. It claims to be America's number one motorsports-themed family restaurant — although competition is surely clamoring to de-throne them soon. At any rate, it's full of race fans and 21 different hot wing sauces ranging from Ranch to Atomic.
Northwest of Concord in Mooresville is Memory Lane Motorsports & Historic Automotive Museum. It's a good spot to brush up on a little car history and features one of the largest private collections of retired NASCAR vehicles.
Mooresville is also home to Dale Earnhardt, Inc., where you can pay homage to NASCAR's most revered driver, the late Dale Earnhardt, who was killed when he slammed into the wall at the Daytona 500 in 2001. This is the corporate headquarters of all things Earnhardt, but the showroom, museum and store are open to the public.
From Mooresville, head north on I-77 and east on Hwy 421 to Bristol, Tenn., where you'll find the Bristol Motor Speedway. The curvy hills of Eastern Tennessee will do little to prepare you for the drama elicited from this driver-favorite track and the steepest banking in NASCAR. A night race here is said to be a once in a lifetime experience. You can also tour the track, which includes a lap around the "world's fastest half mile," a visit to Pit Road, and a tour of the Dragway.
Sustenance in these parts means barbecue. Four miles south of the track is Ridgewood Barbecue in Bluff City, a Tennessee institution and road-food classic. It's all about the pork — fresh ham to be specific — smoked over hickory wood in a little smokehouse that backs up against the wooded hillside out back.
Wipe your mouth off and head deeper south still on the I-40 to I-59 to Talladega, Ala., home to the Talladega Superspeedway. The largest, fastest track in NASCAR is a monster: staring into its massive, wind-blown grandstands has been known to send shivers down the spine of even the most casual car enthusiast.
You can spend a considerable chunk of time wandering the various halls of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, full of retired NASCAR vehicles, including a load of heaped wrecks that are terrifying (yet fascinating) to feast your eyes on — kind of like a five-car pileup. On a lighter note, you can also see the car Ricky Bobby drove in "Talladega Nights."
A few miles from the track is the Montana Saloon & Grill, serving fat burgers under the even fatter stuffed water buffalo's head. The long bar is classic saloon territory, but with friendlier faces and better food.
Once you're fully refueled, it's time to head to Daytona, Fla., where NASCAR was born and where it throws its biggest party. Each February, the season-opening race draws the largest crowd in motor sports: Daytona International Speedway seats 168,000, but there are at least 50,000 more folks in and around the track.
If you want to tour the track at Daytona, you can do it via a 30-minute tram tour as part of the Daytona 500 Experience. You also have another crack at the Richard Petty Driving Experience if you missed it back in Concord.
Of all the towns on the NASCAR circuit, Daytona Beach is the best equipped for tourism, with a wealth of attractions and sandy beaches all around. You can dine inside a booth carved from a stock car at Cruisin' Café, which is part museum, part restaurant and full of memorabilia and retired stock cars.
And when you're done, head for the hard-packed sands of Daytona Beach, where early car races down the hard-packed sands inspired Bill France Jr. to officially form NASCAR back in 1948. You can still drive on the sands today, which is bad for sunbathing, but great for a little NASCAR nostalgia.
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