I'd recommend staying in Mooresville. Its home to DEI (err, whats left, I think the giftshop/viewing is still open to the public), JR Motorsports, Penske Racing, Braun Racing, Fitz Motorsports, Rusty Wallace, Inc, Wood Brothers, Roush/Fenway truck and Nationwide cars, Petty Racing and a lot of other truck/Busch shops.

We stay at the Sleep Inn or Hampton Inn - there are a lot of others. The Sleep Inn is really nice, but for a neat treat - the Hamption Inn is race themed (Dale Jr/Sr) in decor. Anything off Exit 36 on I-77 would be a good bet.

The other big shops aren't too far. Joe Gibbs is in Huntersville, just south on I-77 (exit 28 I believe). Michael Waltrip Race world is in Cornelius, also down I-77 - this one costs $15 for a tour, its neat if you've never been in a race shop before, but a lot of the other shops are open for free and you can see pretty much the same stuff.

Gillette Evernham/Petty Racing is north of Mooresville in Statesville, right up I-77.

Roush/Fenway, Hendrick Motorsports, Earnhardt-Ganassi and Yates/No Fear Racing is about 20 minutes away out towards Concord, near the race track. Stewart-Haas is out that way, too - they're only open to the public on Friday afternoons though, unless Tony changes that!

You can also head out to Welcome and check out the Richard Childress shops - the museum there is worth the entrance fee if you've got a Dale Sr fan! (Also check out the Dale Trail for more sights along the way) The winery isn't too far from there either. Kernersville has Kevin Harvick, Inc. Bill Davis Racing is down by High Point. The Petty museum and the Victory Junction Gang Camp are down in Randallville.

There is a van tour you can take of the shops, or you can drive there yourself. We've never done the tour, but have seen people there and they've enjoyed it. Its not hard to find the shops. You can find a great map of the area and directions to the shops at this website, along with a lot of great info on the Mooresville area: http://www.racecityusa.org/

I've been down that way many times, let me know if I can be of more help! Its a great trip. Be sure to have dinner at Lancaster's in Mooresville one day - its a neat NASCAR themed bbq joint that has amazing hush puppies! We've also seen drivers and crew members in there each time we've ate there.