The next stop on our whirlwind NASCAR tour was Gillett-Evernham Motorsports in Statesville, NC. There was, unfortunately, no round 2 sighting of Kasey (click here to recall round 1). GEM is probably one of the most up close and personal shops we visited, though. As you can see by looking at my photos, the cars being worked on in the shop are very close to the viewing area and the work space is rather small (compared to some of the other shops we visited). This allows viewers to get a good look at the goings on. Also, I believe GEM is the only shop we visited where we got to see the COT template.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I walked into Dale Earnhardt Inc this year. When I visited last year, the showroom was filled with Dale Earnhardt Jr and some Martin Truex Jr cars and memorabilia. There was also a section dedicated to Dale (and the movie with the same name). This year, with the exception of a few special cars in the car showroom, Dale Jr is no longer present. (This obviously doesn’t surprise me given the fact that he no longer drives for DEI.) The showroom’s focus was on the company’s namesake or “The Legend” as my title calls him - Dale Earnhardt Sr. Memorabilia ranged from his favorite car he drove around Mooresville to the set of signed baseballs he was collecting for his youngest daughter Taylor.
One photo I couldn’t resist taking while at DEI was a sign that was on the entrance. It said…”Thank you for smoking your Winstons outside” - Dale Earnhardt. I don’t know why but that amuses me.
As I mentioned a while back, Brad Keselowski got his first win in the #88 JR Motorsports car on June 7 at Nashville. Dale Earnhardt Jr got his first win in the #88 Hendrick Motorsports car the following weekend on June 15 at Michigan. Our visit to JR Motorsports was the Monday & Tuesday (yes, we stopped by twice) after Junior’s win. In the picture above, you see a checkered flag up on the flag pole underneath the JR Motorsports flag. Junior is continuing a tradition (which I think goes back to his father at Dale Earnhardt Inc) of raising a checkered flag on the flag pole after a victory. To be visiting JRM the week after a win and to see the flag is a great thing for me as a Junior fan. It was almost like I was getting to celebrate a bit with them by being there to see it. Cheesy, I know, but that’s how I felt.
Kasey Kahne Racing is on the same road as JR Motorsports so we visited KKR while we were in the vicinity. For those that may be reading my blog and not know, Kasey Kahne Racing is not a NASCAR team. KKR is owned by NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne and builds/races USAC cars. In the photos of our KKR visit, you’ll see one of the cars in the shop.
I guess you can say Shelby & I are Hendrick Motorsports fans. Shelby is a Jimmie Johnson fan, and I am a Dale Earnhardt Jr fan. Because of that, Hendrick Motorsports was our first stop in NASCARolina.
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