Click on the image to see the complete photo gallery tour. (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)

The Charlotte area is home to dozens of motorsports teams, with homes for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series mega teams ranging from the 200,000 square foot range to some of the smaller, independent teams in the Busch and Truck Series preparing their fleets in buildings in the 10,000 square foot range.  While it is considerably larger than 10,000 square feet in size, one would be hard pressed to find any NASCAR team that makes more efficient use of available space than ppc Racing.

With a complete complex of buildings in a campus that houses three teams in the NASCAR Busch and Truck Series - and a fourth team, which competed in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series earlier this season as well - ppc Racing is one of the most versatile organizations in NASCAR racing today.

(Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)

The organization earned the 2000 NASCAR Busch Series championship with Jeff Green, and collected several other wins and contended for championships with drivers Jason Keller and Scott Riggs.  In 2004, the team brought Terry Cook and sponsor Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International on board and have been working hard to build the newly-formed Truck Series team into a winner.  In addition to Cook's program, ppc Racing also fields Busch Series cars for Kenny Wallace and now Brent Sherman, and ran three Cup Series races earlier this season with John Andretti behind the wheel.

When you walk into the building, you immediately notice the beehive of activity throughout.  Above the reception desk is a reminder that the building is home to the 2000 NASCAR Busch Series champions, and you are surrounded by reminders of past glory and wins as trophies and pictures ring the office.  The office and reception area divides the Truck Series operation from the Busch Series operation, although the two do share several common areas within the building. A turn to the left takes you to the Truck Series shop area.

(Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)

The shop is home to 40 employees, 17 of which are devoted to the No. 10 Fords Cook drives in the NCTS.   Building 1, where the shop itself is located, is 21,270 square feet, while the Truck Series team works out of 6,800 square feet.

The room dedicated to the Truck team is efficient and functional.  With the team's fleet of trucks split between the setup area, located in Building 1, and the fab shop located just up the street in Building 2, the space can be then dedicated to making the trucks go fast rather than building them from the ground up.

With the setup and minor repairs done in the main work room, the heavy fabrication is done in a separate work space located just a short distance up the road.

(Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)

The fab area is where all of the bodies are hung, and any major body repairs are made.  In addition to the dozen men in a constant state of perpetual motion working inside, the fab shop is also home to a shop dog - Chopper, a part of the team since it's inception in 2000- who keeps an eye on all the work going on inside and are there to greet any and all visitors.

Coming back from the fab shop you get a clear view of the back of the ppc Racing shop.  There is a fully functional pit box in back where the over-the-wall crew practices pit stops four times a week.  In addition to practicing live pit stops, there is also an extensive exercise and workout room inside to allow the crew members to stay in top physical form.

With Cook now regularly running among the top-10 and challenging for top-5s and even wins, the next step is now erecting a sister banner to the one over the desk in the lobby, welcoming you to the home of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champions.