International Motorsports Hall of Fame Virtual Tour

Hall of Fame Online Tour & Photo Gallery

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame & Museum complex includes over 100 vehicles valued well into the millions of dollars. This racing enthusiast's dream is adjacent to the world famous Talladega Superspeedway, the fastest race track in the world and home of the Nascar Nextel Cup races.

Three of the five buildings in the complex feature enormous showrooms where a galaxy of racing vehicles are displayed in mint condition, as if ready to take their next checkered flag. One building is the Bill France, Sr. Room, another the Enoch Staley Room, and the third is the 76 Building, all of which contain racing vehicles and memorabilia.

The main rotunda houses the ticket offices for both Talladega Superspeedway and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame & Museum, and a gift shop. This well-stocked gift shop has a vast selection of modern race related items. Another major part of the complex is the McCaig-Wellborn International Motorsports Research Library. The centerpiece of the complex is the Mark III Pavilion, a spacious covered courtyard which is used for temporary displays and car shows.

Entering the Bill France, Sr. Room, a visitor's eye automatically focuses on several famous race cars such as Bill Elliott's 1985 Ford Thunderbird, Ron Bouchard's 1980 Talladega 500-winning Buick, Marty Robbins' Dodge and "Bertha", Darrell Waltrip's famous DiGard Monte Carlo that carried him to victory lane so often. Other Bill France, Sr. Room notables include Bob Welborn's #49 Chevy convertible, Patty Moise's world record-setting Buick, and a 1946 Mercury that was raced on the old beach course at Daytona by Sam Packard.

The 76 Building houses numerous race cars, many driven by Hall of Famers. This room also houses the Hall of Fame. A popular exhibit in the 76 Building is the Budweiser Rocket Car. Resembling a missile on wheels, this red, white and blue vehicle is more than 39 feet long and just 20 inches wide. It could accelerate from 1-140 mph in one second. On December 17, 1979, at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the Budweiser Rocket Car broke the speed of sound with a record run of 739.666 miles per hour.

rocket.jpg (27667 bytes)
The Budweiser Rocket Car achieved 739.666 Mph
(Mach 1+) at Edwards Air Force Base in 1979.

Most of the cars at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum have a rich history. Bill Elliott's 1985 Ford Thunderbird, in the Bill France, Sr. Room, is a prime example. Winner of the 1985 Winston 500 with an average speed of 186.288 mph, it held the world record for the fastest 500-mile stock car race ever run, until Mark Martin broke it in May of 1997. Elliott also won the Daytona 500 and Southern 500 races in 1986, claiming the Winston Million.

daytona_room_280.jpg (19336 bytes) There is also a 1956 Studebaker STP Special, Novi-powered, Indianapolis Roadster owned by Andy Granatelli. This bright yellow, red and white #2 Indy car driven by Billy Vukovich is also on display in the UNION Building. There are celebrity cars like the VW GTI driven by actor Gene Hackman, whose car won two sanctioned races as well, and race cars driven by Hall of Famers "Fireball" Roberts and Bobby Isaac.