Race car tourism

They come by the thousands - pilgrims to North Carolina - the rock'em-sock 'em tire-screeching land of Dale Earnhardt, hero of NASCAR who died in a racing accident at the Daytona 500 in 2001.

"Dale was bigger than life," says Stan Rabineau of Adventures In Motorsports."He never thought of himself as a celebrity ... he was just a good ol' boy with a heart of gold."

The Dale Trail in Kannapolis, where Earnhardt grew up, is a tribute to the late racer. The centrepiece of the trail is a 9-foot, 900-pound bronze statue of Earnhardt.

The home where he spent his younger years is also on the trail among streets named V-8, Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, Ford, Chevrolet and Cadillac.

Earnhardt didn't like much information getting out about any good deeds he did for the community.

A church car wash to raise money to repave its parking lot was a case in point. "Dale had his truck washed and then gave organizers a cheque for $5,000, the whole amount of the repaving. 'But you can't tell anyone,' he told them. 'If you do, I'll bring bulldozers up here and tear it (paving) out.'"

The pilgrims to the art of oval track racing visit some of the many museums devoted to racing, hang out at the hundreds of barbecue-style diners, stop at Lowe's Motor Speedway (maybe even jump into the passenger seat of a stock car and zip around the track at speeds of up to 165 miles an hour) and have a look at motor speed art at some of the galleries in the area.

You can also tour a facility called PIT Instruction & Training, also known as Pit Crew U, where you can experience for yourself what you need to make it big as a pit crew member.

Doug Burns of PIT says pit stops "are like a dance; every step is choreographed."

PIT trains its young motorsports pit crews to change tires and fuel race cars in under 13 seconds.

"Everything is about athleticism," says Burns. "We have weight rooms and fitness facilities. We analyze every step."

The facility, which trains and graduates 100 people yearly, is booked one year in advance.