Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team that the late seven-time NASCAR champion founded in 1980, has its headquarters on Highway 3 just south of Mooresville. The "Garage Mahal" — a massive, mirrored fabrication-and-showroom complex — is open to the public free of charge, with a glass-walled garage from which you can usually watch crews working on cars below.
The showroom holds a rotating selection of championship cars, trophies, Dale Sr's racing memorabilia, and equipment used in the team's IndyCar and ARCA programmes. For NASCAR fans this is the closest you can get to the heart of one of the sport's most important teams. There is also a gift shop large enough to be a small department store.