Photo courtesy of the Charlotte Motor Speedway
When the new Cowboys Stadium in Texas debuted last season, the biggest attraction was not the team that was playing. Instead, it was the enormous video screen atop the stadium. Spanning between the field's 20-yard-lines, it provided a view for fans that no one had seen before.
However, come this May, the Charlotte Motor Speedway is ready to take that view to a whole new extreme.
The Sprint All-Star Race on May 21 will debut a brand new, HDTV to give the fans an entirely new way of watching a race at the legendary track.
Set on the backstretch, the new screen is a staggering 80-feet tall and 200-feet wide, larger than the screen at the Cowboys Stadium. It is set up on the backstretch between turns 2 and 3 beside the grandstands. Fans sitting from turn 4 all the way around to turn 1 will have a clear view of the screen.
To help break the screen in, Dale Earnhardt Jr. came to the track as president Marcus Smith set up the screen using an oversized remote to do a video-game simulation.
Thanks to iRacing, Junior, who is an avid video gamer, drove the Charlotte track. The screen showcased the view Junior would have in the car in full 720P HD vision.
"This giant Panasonic HDTV will be a game changer for our fans on race day," Smith said. "It will give them a whole new way to experience a NASCAR event at Charlotte Motor Speedway."
The structure weighs in at 332-and-a-half tons, making it officially the largest HD television in the world. Over 11,000 man hours were used to get the screen set up in a four-month span, sometimes using up to 57 workers a day. A total of 158 panels make up the face of the giant screen. Nearly nine million LED lamps will power the screen during select events.
For Junior, Charlotte is a special track for him and many other drivers, and sets the standard for other tracks to follow.
"They always do things first and do things the biggest and look, here we are today with another first from them," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Charlotte holds a special place in a lot of drivers' hearts, mine included, and the big TV makes this place even more special.
"The Coca-Cola 600 is one of the best events we have all year long. Now fans can get a ticket to the race and have the experience of the live event with the comfort of their own TV at home with this big TV. This place just keeps getting better."
Want to see the giant screen in-person? Tickets for both the All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 are still available.
Frontstretch tickets, delivering the best view of the new HD screen, start at only $49 for the All-Star Race. Fans can also purchase two frontstretch seats for the Coca-Cola 600 at only $99.
Tickets are available online at the track website, CharlotteMotorSpeedway.com, or calling the ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS.
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