Talledega Superspeedway

On our way to Disney World we past a sign on the side of the road for the Motorsports Hall of Fame. Since Daniel is very into race cars right now I thought we should come back for a visit. I didn't realize it was a two hour drive from our apartment, but it was well worth it for the boys. 

We started with a walking tour through the hall of fame. This consisted of three buildings filled with race cars. The boys loved walking around and seeing all the cars. It was a little hard though because you weren't supposed to touch the cars and there was nothing blocking them off. There were a lot of reminders not to touch from Mom. 

Thankfully, there was one they could actually get in and "drive". They thought that was pretty cool. 

There were even some cars/drivers I recognized. 

Here is one of Dale Earnhart's cars. This one was roped off pretty well. 

They even had the car used in the movie Talledega Nights. 

Partway through our walking tour it was time for our bus tour. This was the highlight of the trip. We loaded on a bus outside the Hall of Fame and headed over to the race track. We started in the inside circle and saw all the garages and infield parking. 

We even got to take our picture in winner's circle. 

Then we actually drove onto the track. The boys were mesmerized. 

Here is the finish line.

This is trying to show the angle on the turns. It is a 33 degree slope and the cars have to drive at least 80mph or they will roll down the hill. The driver said they used to let people out to walk (crawl) up the slope but people would try to stand up at the top and fall down and get hurt so they don't let you out of the bus anymore. They even have special shoes for the workers who have to clean and paint this part.

This was Patrick's favorite part. The tunnel we drove through to get onto and out of the center field. 

After the bus tour, we continued our walking tour. 

Here is a Delorean. The boys didn't fully understand how cool this was. They just liked the doors.

Here is the bullet car that broke the speed record.

They even had a few cars post-crash. The boys thought these were really cool. It shows how good the cages are. This driver walked away with only minor injuries. 

We ended the trip with lunch at McDonald's. I think the boys had a great day.