Talk about a change of pace! We really switched gears when we spent an exhilarating day with our hosts Dan Klenetsky, Winston Kelley, Ariette Fernandez, Lindsay Hall, Jordan Leatherman, Sarah Vargas, Matt Long, Greg Walter and Brian Herbst at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
As patrons of the Speedway Club, my classmates and I took an installation lap on a super speedway steeped in NASCAR history, with Charlotte embedded in its roots.
While racing dates back to 1920, it was the year 1948 when NASCAR jump started its now world-renowned brand. And Charlotte, yes Charlotte was a part of those grass roots, with NASCAR’s first strictly stock car race ran on Wilkinson Boulevard in 1949.
Charlotte’s connection to NASCAR doesn’t start and park there, inaugural races transpired in Pineville and on North Tryon Street, evolving to the CMS Circa in the 60’s and night racing in the 90’s. It’s unsurprising that NASCAR was so pivotal in Charlotte’s interstate development, and Charlotte in NASCAR’s expansion.
Today NASCAR entertainment is extremely accessible and popular, hosting 4 series, 100 tracks, and 1200 races in 30 US States, with Canada, Mexico, and Europe part of their footprint.
From the Speedway Club we transitioned to Hendrick Motorsports where we witnessed the life cycle of an actual Hendrick’s race car!
This igniting experience exposed us to how motors are modified and installed, chassis prepped and painted, and car bodies finished and wrapped. From the relic suits to the memorial of those lost in the pursuit of passion, Hendrick’s immaculate complex must be a force to reckon with. I was honored to see the precision and care that goes on behind the scenes of team Hendrick’s motors raced by Kyle Larson (No. 5), Chase Elliott (No. 9), William Byron (No. 24), and Alex Bowman (No. 48). With anticipation for the June 30 and July 7 race, I’ll be watching with a newfound respect for the craft.
EBL has truly dedicated themselves to curating a program that empowers emerging leaders like me to pursue our ten-tenths in life. While supercharged and armed with leadership acumen, it’s hard to believe that the checkered flag for our cohort class 12, waved in the wind July 25th with an elapsed time of 6 months, too few days, and not enough hours.
Before I sign off, and for those of you up-to-speed, repost and tag me with the # of racing terms welded into this blog!
Until the next green flag I’m Shon Hampton, NASCAR’s newest fanatic, off to the races.
Shon Hampton is an HR merger integration consultant at Truist. You can connect with Shon on LinkedIn.
