The new Penske Racing South shop [#2, #12, #77] debuted Wednesday night and entering the cavernous facility you felt as though you were there for a rock concert or looking for the anchor store of a major shopping mall. Penske himself acknowledged this: "If (this) doesn't work as a race shop, we can always have concerts in here." He quipped. Much of the space is done, but the team has yet to fully move from their present multi-building location five miles away, although the move should be completed by March. Penske purchased the former Matsu****a manufacturing facility last summer and has been hard at work ever since getting it ready for occupation by his three Nextel Cup teams. Two shifts worked seven days a week to gut the interior and rebuild it to Penske’s specifications. The building itself (there are actually two if you include a smaller shop in the rear) encompasses a total of 424,697 feet. 240,781 square feet, that’s 8 acres under roof by the way, of which are occupied by the race teams. There are 3 paint booths, one for each team, 3-body prep stations and 17 surface plates. By far the most fan friendly shop on the tour, there is a 300-foot long second floor catwalk that will allow fans to view the ongoing work. Penske made sure to note to Lowes Motor Speedway president, “Humpy” Wheeler, that the 300 foot long stainless steel rail is the longest in North Carolina. See more and some images of the shop at Cupscene.com and some pics of the media tour also at Cupscene.com.

redriderbob

 

Penske's new shop is a former air conditioner plant set on 104 acres in Mooresville, N.C. Credit: AP

Notes: Penske Racing opens shop 'standard'

New facility is 425,000 square feet and houses three Cup teams

The Associated Press
January 29, 2005
02:16 PM EST (19:16 GMT)

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Penske Racing South has opened the doors of its new race shop, showing off the enormous building that will house its Nextel Cup operation.

"We had our people scattered over several buildings not too far from here and, half the time, you couldn't find anybody you were looking for," Roger Penske said. "Now, we at least know they're going to be somewhere in the building."

It still may not be easy for Penske or anyone else to find someone in the new building.

The team is now using 300,000 of the available 425,000 square feet in the former air conditioner plant set on 104 acres in rural Mooresville, north of Charlotte. The building includes wide-open areas for each of the team's three Cup entries, including newcomer Travis Kvapil.

Overlooking the main work area is a 330-foot-long fan walk from which spectators can watch the teams work on Penske's new Dodge Chargers.

The sprawling building also includes a 120-seat auditorium, cafeteria and dozens of spacious offices.

Penske said there is enough room on the property that he is considering building a test track.

"Years ago, Rick Hendrick built the prototype of the modern race shop," said Humpy Wheeler, president of nearby Lowe's Motor Speedway. "Then Dale Earnhardt built his building that they still call the Garage Mahal. Now, Roger has built a shop that sets the standard, not just in NASCAR, but all of auto racing."

NASCAR.com

redriderbob