The second day of NASCAR’s Acceleration Weekend kicked off with the 2013 NASCAR Preview at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Charlotte Convention Center on Saturday morning. Ticket holders had access to the Hall of Fame as well as the Preview where they could get autographs from their favorite drivers, visit vendor booths, and ask questions during the numerous Q&A sessions.
Drivers from the Camping World Truck series, the Nationwide series, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series were on hand to sign autographs at different times throughout the day, and while the lines were long, everyone got what they came for. Fans brought car hoods, tires, and memorabilia of just about every kind to be autographed.
By far the most popular drivers seemed to be Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Gordon, rookie driver Danica Patrick, and the current Sprint Cup Champion, Brad Keselowski; or at least they had the longest waiting lines.
Along with the autograph sessions, the Gen 6 cars were on display for fans to see up close as well as the trophies from each series. And of course, no event would be complete without Miss Sprint Cup, who was there to answer any questions the fans might have. A lot of great stories and memories of seasons past came out of the Q&A sessions, as well as a lot of great information from drivers and teams about the direction they are going this season.
NASCAR is ringing in 2013 with a bang, as we get ready to roll into Daytona in another week. This weekend’s festivities were a sure-fire way to get everyone in the spirit, and I am sure we are all looking forward to seeing what this season and the new car design brings for all of the NASCAR teams.
I for one and I’m quite sure that many were disappointed at the turn out of cars. I would assume if I were the sponsor I wanted my car on display. This was a poor showing foe a preview car wise period. There was 1 Hendrick car, Zero Gibbs cars, zero Waltrip cars, 2 Stewart cars,3 Roush cars, 3 Gannasi, 1 Wood Bros, 2 Penske, 1 Childress and a few other oddities also. Those of us remember the Winston-Salem days they all showed up period!! Great that the drivers were there and there were good chats with them, but overall those who traveled to see that poor of a showing were surly disappointed. Nascar, all it cared about was getting the money and to heel with the show. This will be my last visit to a preview unless the Nascar women’s Assoc takes it over. A fan since 1969. Dave