By Jeremy Markovich
There are at least two statues of Dale Earnhardt (that we know of). The first sits outside of the Daytona International Speedway, where he died in a crash in 2001. The second sits in a little plaza in downtown Kannapolis, surrounded by bricks and trees. It’s a bit hidden, actually. So hidden that I’d had a hard time finding it the last time I was in Kannapolis, which was probably during the Mapquest era.
In any event, the 9-foot-tall Dale Earnhardt statue is the perfect place to start a 4-mile-long run through Kannapolis, a town that feels empty and alive at the same time.
Mile 1: Big Buildings and Wide Open Spaces
Heading north on Main Street, I passed what used to be Cannon Mills: the largest maker of towels and bed sheets in the world before it closed in 2003 and the whole factory was demolished in 2006.
In its place came the North Carolina Research Campus: the buildings are quite large and beautiful and resemble the sorts of things you’d seen on a big old college campus. But right next to those big buildings is… nothing.
A developer plans to fill the empty property with apartments, houses, and shops. Sometimes I’m a pessimist about things like this, but even so: remote work has changed the equation, as have skyrocketing housing costs in Charlotte that have pushed middle-class folks further and further out of the city, and into places like Kannapolis. I saw more evidence of that later in my run.
Mile 2(ish): Mystery Tunnel
As soon as I started my second mile, I veered off onto a greenway that basically took me from park to park. Greenways are underrated, man. This one runs between a bunch of places, and ends up at Village Park, which has a kid train. Kid trains! They’re almost as great as goat carts.
Also, this one has a tunnel. Where does it lead!?
I’m generally wary of tunnels with gates on them, but this one provides a worthy service: It keeps you from having to cross Loop Road, which is five lanes wide at this particular spot. The tunnel opened in 2012 and lets people walk to events at Village Park without having to worry about being hit by a car.
Mile 3: Ballin’ Out
I turned off of the main drag, and headed toward the ballpark. Once I got there, I saw something unexpected inside the fence in the off-season: people. Kannapolis has made the ballpark into an actual public park on days that the Cannon Ballers don’t have a home game. Hence, kids can play on the three-story-tall playground. There’s a splash pad too. You can also turn laps on the concourse. It’s all free when the team’s not around.
The ballpark opened in 2020, but the Cannon Ballers didn’t play there that year because of the pandemic. Even so, the whole thing ended up being the centerpiece of a lot of development around downtown. Which brings me to the final mile.
Mile 4: Downtown is Hoppin’!
One of the more striking things happening here is all of the housing going up. Just south of downtown, there’s a fairly large townhome development called Pennant Square, which features its own little putting green. Just ‘cause!
But right across the street from Pennant Square is… nothing. Another empty lot. It’s clear here that Kannapolis is still a work in progress.
Anyhow, go any direction from downtown and you’ll find old mill houses that were there when Cannon Mills was still alive and kicking. There are still plenty of churches too. Kannapolis is a town of 55,000 people, still small, but with a lot more happening than there used to be.
As I took my last turn back toward the Dale Statue, I saw an interesting water fountain and ran underneath. It reminded me of a much lower-key jumping water at EPCOT. It was in the middle of an area that didn’t feel like the Kannapolis that I once knew. Which is kind of great.
This is still Dale Earnhardt’s hometown. But it could be something else now, if you want it to be.
