Who will land the NASCAR Hall of Fame?
The deadline for proposal submissions to the decision-makers in Daytona is Tuesday. And as that page on the calendar began to draw closer, would-be candidates began dropping like screaming teens at an American Idol Live tour stop.
In January, NASCAR's marketing and licensing gurus put the word out that they are looking to build a once-and-for-all NASCAR Hall of Fame and anyone interested in housing the Hall needed to get their act together by the end of May. A gaggle of groups immediately announced their candidacy — Atlanta, Charlotte, Daytona, Kansas City, Richmond, Birmingham/Talladega, and the entire state of Michigan. And since the green flag dropped, each of those areas has seen its fair share of track staffers, governors, mayors, congressional leaders, city and county councilmen and women shilling and selling for their hometowns.
Then the fine citizens of those potential host hamlets started asked the multi-million dollar question — "Um, how much is this deal going to cost?"
The answer? About 100 million bucks.
Question number two — "Um, who is going to pay for it?"
The answer? We the people ... or, more accurately, you the people.
Michigan, cradle of the American auto industry, bailed in early May, citing statewide financial troubles. Drafting close behind was Birmingham/Talladega, who suddenly seemed perfectly content with the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, which covers all sports that go vroom.
Daytona went to the state of Florida asking for $75 million to help its effort. But when city commissioners couldn't come up with $200,000 to put their proposal together, the state balked. So the home of NASCAR's headquarters, the sport's biggest race, and the Daytona USA museum has quietly faded ... though they are still expected to submit a proposal.
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So now there are four (or three, depending on whom you ask). And to make it easier for you decipher, we have handicapped their chances for you here, in order of most likely to least likely.
Ordinal out of range
Charlotte
HOF Odds: 2-1
Pros: History, built-in tourism, and pledged funds.
The first NASCAR Strictly Stock event was held just minutes from downtown Charlotte, where the new Hall would likely be located. NASCAR's second-largest office is also located right smack in the middle of the Queen City, including the pack of people who will likely decide the winner of this crazy contest. Also, with 90 percent of all NASCAR race teams located within an hour of downtown Charlotte, hundreds of thousands of race fans already come to North Carolina to visit race shops, so this would be another added attraction.
When dealing with NASCAR, money talks louder than any race engine, and Charlotte is getting plenty of it. Between state funds, municipal pledges, and a potential hotel tax, the Charlotte group will likely have a $130 million package in hand by May 31. Plus, Lowe's Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith has pledged $50 million to build a Disney-like monorail that would run from the track to the downtown Hall of Fame.
Cons: How much is too much?
The non-Charlotte candidates argue that the home of the Lowe's Motor Speedway already has enough racing money pumped into their local pocketbooks, so why not spread the wealth? And will fans be willing to drive 30 miles south from the shops in Concord and Mooresville to hit the Hall?
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Kansas City
HOF Odds: 4-1
Pros: Location, location, location
Kansas City bills itself as the "Crossroads of America" and with good reason. Don't believe me? Look at a map. The track is just as reachable from one corner of the nation as it is the other, a fact proven by the wildly diverse crowds that stream into the heartland for the Banquet 400 each fall. The sparkling, still-new (and France family-owned) Kansas Speedway has become the jumping-off point for NASCAR's westward push since it opened in 2001. And there is enough land available adjacent to the track to build a Hall of Fame as big as the Bellagio.
In addition to logistics, no group has worked harder to catch NASCAR's eye than the Kansas contingent. Governor Kathleen Sebelius was in Daytona before the ink was dry on her January HOF submission invitation letter. And the track staff has worked hand-in-hand with local officials to prepare what they promise will be the most impressive proposal of the bunch. Last Thursday, said pitch was loaded with great fanfare onto a (K.C.-based) Yellow Freight 18-wheeler for the trip to Daytona, complete with a UH-60 Blackhawk chopper and Bradley Fighting Vehicle escort from the Kansas Army National Guard.
Cons: Location, location, location
Will people actually get on an airplane or drive the family truckster to Kansas just to visit a NASCAR Hall of Fame? The other finalists all bring deep stock car racing roots (and a built-in audience) with them. Can a state that had never hosted a Cup race before 2001 guarantee the same?
Ordinal out of range
Atlanta
HOF Odds: 10-1
Pros: M-O-N-E-Y
Atlanta is used to big-league events and cranking out big-league cash to land them. How else do you think a city that was burned to the ground just 120 years ago managed to land the grandest sports property of them all, the Summer Olympics? The Peach City already has a slew of potential downtown locations picked out as well as a stack of blank checks on its desk from the NASCAR-friendly likes of local businesses UPS, Home Depot, BellSouth, and some little company called Coca-Cola.
Cons: Complacency
It's no secret that the good people of Hot-lanta have a hard time selling out their major-league sporting events, from MLB playoff games to Nextel Cup races at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. And will the largest city in the Hall of Fame chase truly appreciate the new addition, or will it become just another attraction in an already crowded downtown?
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Richmond
HOF Odds: 25-1
Pros: The late rally
The Virginians came out of the gate strong in January, only to fade as winter turned to spring. But apparently inspired by their Nextel Cup race weekend two weeks ago, the group from the Capital of the Confederacy is suddenly trying to close strong as the deadline looms. They unveiled a plan for a 129,000-foot facility on May 14 as well as an economic study claiming that central Virginia would attract hundreds of thousands more fans annually than Charlotte, Atlanta, or Kansas City.
And over the last three weeks Richmond leads the league in media appearances. Virginians have been popping up all over the cable news channels, and track president Doug Fritz even snuck his way into The Golf Channel's broadcast booth during a PGA Nationwide Tour stop outside of Richmond.
Cons: Too little, too late
The smallest city in the hunt may have lost too much momentum during its mid-March disappearance. The Richmond group says it was simply flying under the radar while other candidates were making too much noise.
So, there you have it.
What's next? Word on the frontstretch says that the league will announce its decision around the Nextel Cup Awards Banquet in early December. Stay tuned. And to the citizens of Charlotte, Kansas City, Atlanta, and Richmond ... try not to let the smarmy politicians drool all over you between now and then.
Ryan McGee is the managing editor at NASCAR Images and Senior Producer of NASCAR Nation on SPEED Channel. He can be reached at his e-mail address: rmcgee@foxsports.com.
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