If you have ever had any interaction with Kannapolis, you know that this town and Dale Earnhardt, Sr. go hand in hand. Kannapolis was the home town of the celebrated NASCAR driver and the city has certainly found a way to keep this fact close to the heart. From Dale Earnhardt Boulevard in the center of town to the Dale Earnhardt Plaza, you can’t go anywhere without being reminded of the incredible legacy that he left behind (and passed onto his recently retired son).
Like so many people in North Carolina, I grew up watching NASCAR every weekend with my grandfather. I can still see him sitting in his overstuffed emerald green recliner with a blanket my grandmother crocheted across the back. He would sit and munch on nuts or chips (or candy that he wasn’t supposed to have) that were in a bowl on the table under the window next to him and I would sit cross legged on the floor to his left. They had a 30 inch screen which was much larger than the television we had at home, so as a kid I loved watching it. Although Dale Earnhardt wasn’t his favorite racer (that honor went to A.J. Foyt), he certainly respected how great of a driver Earnhardt Sr. was. Many of my favorite childhood memories had him racing on the television in the background.
When he tragically passed away in 2001 after a racing accident, the NASCAR world was shocked. I remember watching that race as well and not being sure why he wasn’t getting out of the car. That is the only time I can remember when my grandfather sent me out of the room for any reason and I suspect I was not the only child who had a similar experience. Arguably, however, no one was more shocked than the residents of Kannapolis. His death inspired entire buildings in order to memorialize the man who was, without a doubt, one of the best racers that motorsports has ever seen.
In Kannapolis, basically everywhere you look there is another reference to Earnhardt. Located close Charlotte, the town is a must visit for any true racing fan who spent time watching him race. There is a Dale Earnhardt Plaza, complete with a nine-foot-tall bronze statue of the hometown hero which was put in place after that terrible day in 2001. There is even a self-guided tour of locations around the town that puts his history on display, called “The Dale Trail”. Even the local baseball team, a Triple A farm team for the Chicago White Sox, carries the name “Intimidators” after one of Earnhardt’s many racing nicknames.
Due to the proximity to Charlotte’s racing track, Kannapolis also has more generalized racing attractions that you can visit once you are done looking at all of the Earnhardt memorabilia. That isn’t to say that there isn’t some more here and there, though. For example, the Curb Museum for Motorsports has Dale’s #2 car driven during the 1980 season. Although it isn’t the sleek #3 that most of his fans remember fondly, it is still rather incredible to see and know just how much one man was able to accomplish in it. The Museum also has one of Richard Petty’s cars, with whom Earnhardt had tied for the most all-time NASCAR Winston Cup championships with seven each. The only other person to tie this record was Jimmie Johnson in 2016, which makes that a pretty exclusive club.
Another NASCAR related attraction in Kannapolis is that of Stewart-Haas Racing headquarters. The three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, Tony Stewart, has a race shop and souvenir shop that are open five days a week and feature the careers of multiple high caliber racers that you can read and learn about while you pick up some pretty awesome gear. A lot of their merchandise is on sale right now too, so if I were you I’d head over there or to their website where you can grab some Stewart-Haas stuff for as little as $0.99!
With Dale Earnhardt Sr. being such a large part of Kannapolis, you would think that more of the website would reflect his influence than a few lines here and there. This is something that SEO companies like ours can help you with. Perhaps you aren’t quite sure how to go about making your page look the way you envision it. Maybe you are unsure how you can bring more of an Earnhardt feel to the website without it being overpowering. These are all things that we can help you with, while at the same time helping the visibility of this incredible town online. After all, if more people going to the Charlotte races knew about Kannapolis, I can bet that the amount of money you earn off of tourism would increase drastically. Give us a call and see what we can do to help the town of Kannapolis get even bigger on the racing map!
