NASCAR Racing Experience and Richard Petty Driving Experience — Attraction in Concord

I attended the NASCAR driving experience advertised by the North Carolina-based organization, but the event itself was held in Richmond, VA. I don’t usually leave reviews, but this experience was so poorly handled that I feel compelled to share.

Let’s start with expectations: they advertise the “150 mph club” and promote the thrill of speed and a professional-grade driving experience. In reality, they tell you once you arrive that the Richmond track is too short to reach that speed. While I completely understand and respect weather delays, the overall event was disorganized from the moment we arrived. We were greeted with confusion—staff looked at us like we were lost, barely explained the process, and took our licenses with no clear system for returning them. We actually had to ask several times just to get our IDs back.

For $600, I expected an adrenaline-filled experience. What we got was the exact opposite. The advertised 8 minutes on track felt like 3 short laps, driving at speeds between 25–35 mph. By the time they let you really accelerate, they’re already waving you into the pit. I literally drive faster on my daily commute. And the “ride-along” with a pro that cost an extra $200? We skipped it after seeing how slow and disorganized everything was. Not worth the added cost—or the wait.

The pit crew, to their credit, were professional, kind, and ran things as tightly as they could. This review is not about them. The real issue is with the admin team and concession staff—who lacked communication and customer service skills. At one point, we tried to purchase an item and were treated like we were bothering them. It felt like they didn’t want to be there and certainly didn’t care about the experience we paid for.

The cherry on top: we paid for a plaque with a photo, which they were supposed to take on site. We watched the staff member take my photo in the car, and we even have video proof from our family. But when we went to pick it up, she handed me a photo of a completely different person. When we pointed it out, she looked embarrassed and literally ran off for 15 minutes. Another staff member told us to “just scroll through the phone” to find it ourselves. The problem? She never actually saved my photo—so we couldn’t even get the plaque we paid for. Instead, they offered a duplicate t-shirt (we already had one included in the package), which felt like a cheap consolation prize for a botched experience.

Bottom line: I wouldn’t pay $20 for this experience, let alone $600. You’d get more thrill driving your own car down the highway. If you’re considering this event—save your money. It’s not worth the hype, and it’s certainly not what...

On 09 November, 2019, I attended the NASCAR experience at Charlotte with 8 buddies. I made the reservations by phone—-that was lengthy, as they needed everyone’s name and email. The person on the phone [sorry—don’t have the name] was exceptionally patient and polite. And got every spelling and email correct. Once we arrived, the same courteous professionalism continued. From check-in, photos, uniform retrieval, to the safety briefing, all was first class. Once at the car, you have a crew member assigned to you. They will explain everything they are doing——assisting you in the car, fitting your HANS, buckling you up, etc.

My ‘spotter’ [I think George??] was awesome. Thank you Sir.

I highly recommend the NASCAR experience. I definitely plan on going...

We were there to observe a family member participating in the driving experience. We are unfamiliar with the area, so stopped in the ticket offce/gift shop for directions. When we got to the driving experience entrance, we received additional instructions on where to park and access the observation area. The multiple-step directions were somewhat confusing - additional signage or perhaps a small map would have been helpful. Once we arrived at the right place, there was plenty of parking. The event is somewhat observer-friendly, but they could definitely do better. Of course, they aren't making any money off of spectators. Overall, those employees that we interacted with were friendly and welcoming, and certainly...