While millions of fans tune in each weekend to watch their favorite NASCAR drivers race to the checkered flag, there are a lot of people who work behind the scenes to make the on-track success happen. I’ve written before about the truck drivers who haul the race cars from race to race each week, but the real work starts even further behind the scenes in the offseason at each race team’s headquarters.
For years, Richard Petty Motorsports was based in a 45,000 sq. ft. shop in Concord, NC. That changed recently as the race team moved a mere 20 mi. to a nearly 90,000 sq. ft. location in Mooresville, NC. To make that move happen, Richard Petty Motorsports chose a moving company with more than 100 years of experience.
E.E. Ward Moving & Storage got its start in 1881 moving items with the original horsepower – horses. The Columbus, OH-based business was founded by William S. Ward and his father John T. Ward as The Ward Transfer Line. The original company featured two horses, a wagon and two helpers. The U.S. Dept. of Commerce now recognizes the company as one of the oldest minority-owned businesses in the U.S.
This particular move required several months to plan and 24 trailers. Among the items moved were more than 100 axles, 50 chassis and 200 pallets of office and racing supplies. The actual move took 8 days to complete and required the use of four forklifts and 56 pizzas for the crew.
“This move epitomized the capabilities of E.E. Ward and Richard Petty Motorsports. It was quality work with attention to detail that was also fast-paced, like living life by a stopwatch,” said Brian Brooks, president, E.E. Ward. “It took more than 40 team members to make this move possible. It was the project of a lifetime.”
To thank E.E. Ward for a job well-done, Richard Petty Motorsports is placing the E.E. Ward logo on the No. 43 car of NASCAR XFINNITY Series driver Dakoda Armstrong for the XFINITY Series Race Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
In addition, E.E. Ward and its partner northAmerican Van Lines will have its own show car at an event in Columbus prior to the XFINITY Series race at the Mid-Ohio Sport Car Couse in Lexington, OH, in August. northAmerican Van Lines will also serve as the official moving partner of Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2015 and 2016 NASCAR seasons.
