NASCAR announced that it will introduce the NASCAR Preview 2012 fan event that will follow the Jan. 21 NASCAR HOF Induction Ceremony. The all-day event at the Charlotte Convention Center will feature driver and show car appearances, simulators, games and other interactive activities (NASCAR). In Charlotte, David Scott writes the ‘12 induction ceremony, “already moved to January from May, now will have an even more fan-friendly feel to it.” The preview will be “similar to a preseason fan-fest held in Winston-Salem” from ’90-‘03, and “will allow fans to get autographs and attend question-and-answer sessions with drivers” at the Convention Center, adjacent to the HOF. Fox' Darrell Waltrip, one of the inductees, remembers the 14 years the preview was held in Winston-Salem, where it was put on by then-NASCAR sponsor R.J. Reynolds, and “he thinks it will help with the hall's struggling attendance.” Waltrip: "In Winston-Salem, the fans got to see everything first. If a driver has a new sponsor or new team, the preview always gave you the opportunity to see that, and it made it special. The hall should be a destination, and this will help with that” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/17).
