Our Impressions of Charlotte/Concord

We have been to the Charlotte / Concord area twice and plan to visit more. Obviously, it is a big race area, and that is how we spent most of our time.

There are many restaurants in the area, but most are familiar national chains. You do not necesaily go to Concord for the fine dining! Having said that, we have been back to Midwood Smokehouse in Charlotte more than once!

Attractions

At the Charlotte Motor Speedway, we did the Fast Track Tour and had a chance to drive the Jeep around the Charlotte Motor Speedway! This was an amazing experience!

We watched Cobra Mustangs racing on the Z Max Dragway. There is something called Cobra Camp where you attend a 2 day “camp”. The first day you learn about driving on a dragway, and the second day you get to put your knowledge to the test with your classmates. This is a bucket list item!

The Dirt Track is near the Dragway, across the road from the Speedway. Built in 2000, it is a 4/10-mile dirt track. We didn’t see anyone racing on this track.

There is also a Kart Track in the infield near turns 3 and 4 of the Speedway. When we were there, there were kids as young as 5 years old racing go-karts on the track. It is a 13-turn, 0.65-mile track.

Mustang Owner’s Museum is down the road from the Speedway. The museum houses many one-of-a-kind older Mustangs, most in pristine condition. There is even one old Mustang that had recently been found untouched with all matching numbers in a local barn!

Food and Drink

Midwood Smokehouse in Charlotte has the most flavorful barbecue and salmon of pretty much anywhere in the country. Once we find a restaurant we like, it is difficult for us (me!) to go anywhere else! If you know you are going to get perfection, why try somewhere else? Needless to say, we were repeat customers!

Razzoo’s Cajun Café is a chain restaurant, not something we usually go to. The owner has 24 Razzoo’s throughout the south and southeast. We went to the one in Concord Mills. Colorful, fun interior with attentive waitstaff. I had the crawfish boil. It wasn’t as spicy as I would get in Louisianna, but not bad for a place so far removed from Louisiana Cajun cooking!

Home Base: The Campground

For us, a campground is not our destination. Our RV is self-contained. Except for water, electric and sewer rarely do we use campground services or amenities. We are explorers, not campground reviewers!

This was our second time staying at the Charlotte Motor Speedway RV Park.

We stayed on site G4/10 this time and G6/14 last time at the RV Park. 30 and 50 amp service were available. The campground was clean and well-maintained. The staff were friendly. Our pull-through was water, electric and sewer. During a race, this very long site is divided in two, ending up as two back-in sites. All sites (except the 2 handicapped sites which are paved) are on crushed stone.

The site was plenty long and wide enough to have the RV and Jeep side by side. There was a lot of space between us and our neighbors on either side, with a white fence separating sites. There was good cell phone coverage (Verizon) and a good open southern sky for our satellite.

We would definitely return.

Fun Facts

1. Charlotte residents had referred to the downtown area as “Uptown” for years before it was officially designated the historic sector of “Uptown Charlotte” in 1974. Not many know that “uptown” actually sits at a higher elevation than the rest of the city.
2. The Charlotte professional basketball team’s mascot is a hornet. It is a historical reference. In 1780, General Cornwallis led his troops into Charlotte, but due to the strong fight the locals put up, they didn’t stay long. Thus, Cornwallis dubbed Charlotte a “Hornet’s Nest of Rebellion.”
3. 75% of all NASCAR teams in the world are headquartered within two hours of Charlotte!
4. Charlotte Motor Speedway became the first modern superspeedway to host night racing in 1992.
5. In 2011, Charlotte Motor Speedway set a Guinness World Record with the debut of the world’s largest HDTV at a sports venue, spanning nearly 16,000 square feet of viewing pleasure for fans.
6. Charlotte was the first drag strip in the world to feature two pedestrian tunnels underneath the strip to increase fan mobility.
7. Charlotte has the world’s first four-lane racing surface.
8. In 1799, Conrad Reed found a 17-pound gold nugget on his family’s property in Charlotte. This would become the first documented gold find in the U.S.
9. The very first Family Dollar opened in Charlotte in 1989. Now there are over 8,000 stores across the country.

Statistics as of 2026:

	Charlotte	Concord
Population:	943,474	112,400
Founded:	1768	1796
Elevation:	673 ft.	633 ft.
Average Income:	$83,205	$87,400
Average Housing:	$401,923	$374,437
Average Age:	35 yrs.	37 yrs.

Websites:
https://www.charlottenc.gov/
https://concordnc.gov/

Summary

This is our second time being in the Charlotte/Concord area. It is a very race-oriented community. When there are no races, it is a pretty quiet place. If you are in the area, be sure to go to Midwood Smokehouse. Dave says it is #1 or #2 on his list of best smokehouses in the country!

Since beginning our full-time journey to discover the country, we have found something to appreciate in every city and town we have passed through. We hope you enjoy reading about them as much as we have enjoyed discovering them!

Your partners in travel,
Kathryn and Dave
RVing Nomads

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• We have visited each town, attraction and restaurant we are writing about. • No person, business or attraction has paid us for an endorsement. • AI has not been used to write any of the content of this blog. • All the photos in this blog were taken by Dave or Kathryn Harrington.