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Haas' tours provide look inside world of racing
James Nix / jnix@independenttribune.com
Tourists watch a pit crew change tires on a sports car at P.I.T. Tuesday, October 7, 2008.
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Published: October 8, 2008
MOORESVILLE - If you're interested in NASCAR, just call Roger Haas. The Kannapolis city councilman and local businessman offers what could be considered the beginners series for racing fandom: a NASCAR tour.
Haas' company, AIM/Adventures in Motor Sports, takes sightseers on a trip to local racing team headquarters, race shops and training facilities. Haas and company generally stay pretty busy with tours, he said, but race weeks are the busiest.
"They say Christmas only comes in December, but not for me," he said. "Christmas comes in May and October."
On Tuesday, a group of more than 100 tourists in Cabarrus County for an RV convention took a trip with Haas to Performance Instruction & Training in Mooresville. Pit Crew U, as it is more commonly known, graduates about 30 to 40 pit crew-ready tire changers, gas men, and jack men a year.
On the hour-long drive to PIT, Haas pointed out major milestones in racing history along NC 3.
Inside the training facility, graduates of the course showed tourists how to properly remove a tire and jack, and fuel a car all in under 13 seconds.
"I'll have to watch a race to see the pits now," one woman whispered to another. "I want to see how they do this under pressure."
Most of the passengers Tuesday didn't raise their hand when asked if they liked NASCAR. They had signed up for the tour as part of a package, but almost all of them raised their hand later in the afternoon when asked if they would now give NASCAR another chance.
Roscoe Trivett, who was on the trip, was already a devout racing fan. The Bristol, Tenn., native said in his state, NASCAR and
"Rocky Top," the fight song for the University of Tennessee, are a must, but even he said he learned some new things on the tour.
"When you get down to the brass tacks on all of this, it's pretty interesting," he said between exhibits. "There is so much more work that goes into racing than fans ever realize.
Jennifer Parsley, an AIM tour guide and Haas' daughter, said learning about NASCAR is one of the biggest draws for tour takers.
"Normally, we have about half and half, race fans and non-race fans," she said. "But what's really interesting to see is the transformation in the people on the tour throughout the day."
Wives who were reluctantly coaxed on the trip by their racing-loving husbands end up finding something they can enjoy in NASCAR.
"They get a chance to experience what racing is all about," Parsley said. "You can find something in racing that you like and on these tours you get a chance to sample just about everything that racing is about."
Adventures in Motor Sports offers tours to NASCAR events, the Billy Graham Library and downtown Charlotte.
For more information on the trips, call AIM at 704-938-7390.
• Contact reporter Josh Lanier: 704- 789-9144.
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