Carlos Moore: Still Quietly Making Noise - Getting to Know Carlos Moore

Into His 60’s, Moore a Staple of the Masters

by Matt Kentfield

Years ago, musician Jimmy Buffett penned a tune titled, “Quietly Making Noise,” an autobiographical tale about how rather than making too much of a scene, he would rather let the young people do all the crazy stuff, while he still has a good time being low key.

That kind of description fits Carlos “Mercury” Moore to a T, so it only figures that it is one of Moore’s favorite songs.

“Quietly making noise…that’s what I like to think I do in a racecar,” said Moore.

Moore has become a staple of the Summer Shootout Series at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, as well as many other Legends Car events around the region when his time away from the architecture firm he owns allows.  In the Masters Division, Moore is a solo-car effort.  No teammates in any other divisions, no big multi-car trailer or fancy pit box.  It’s just Moore and any help that may want to stop by the garage stall to lend a hand.

The 63-year-old lets the rest of the Masters get into trouble.  He stays away from the drama that often is a product of the close racing during the Shootout.  While he knows that he will never make it anywhere other than the Legends ranks, he’ll just continue to quietly make some noise and have one heck of a time doing it.

“I like being competitive,” said Moore.  “I don’t like being left behind.  I like being able to keep up with the front runners.  I don’t ever expect that I’ll get to the winner’s circle, but I want to beat the guy that’s in front of me.  The rush that you get from going fast is great.  I like to go as fast as I can without spinning out or taking somebody out.”

Moore has been a fixture in the Masters Division for the past three years at the Shootout, but he still has yet to win a feature event at Lowe’s.  He does have one crowning achievement in a Legends Car, however.

“I may never make it to victory lane at the Summer Shootout, but I have won a race legitimately at Concord.  But that day, I only had to beat one other guy.  But, I still beat him.  A win is a win.  Old Larry Thomas (of Concord Motorsports Park) called me up.  I wasn’t even going to pick up the trophy.  He called me and told me I had to get up there.  I said ‘yeah, but I only beat one guy.’  He told me, ‘that’s not what it’s going to say in the record books.’  It was pretty exciting even beating one guy. 

“And I beat him solidly, too,” said Moore with a smile.

Moore admittedly got a late start on the racing game.  He had never driven any kind of racecar until his 60’s, pretty much the antithesis to the typical Shootout story, where most of the drivers on the Lowe’s quarter-mile weren’t born until Moore hit the half-century mark in age. 

But it was a couple of chance occurrences that steered Moore away from being a race-fan-slash-architect (and a big Dale Earnhardt fan at that) and more towards getting more hands-on with the racing experience.

Carlos "Mercury" Moore has been one of the good guys in Legends racing. (LN Photo)

“The first thing I raced was my tricycle.  I was pretty good on that,” joked Moore.  “Then I could handle my bicycle pretty good too, but I was racing against people my own age.  Around 1987, I was sitting in my office and a guy walked in asking me if I could build him a race shop.  I said ‘well, okay,’ and we started comparing notes to build a shop for Bahari Racing.  From there, I started building a lot more shops for a lot of race teams.  We’ve worked with probably about half of the Cup race teams on their race shops. 

Moore takes a spin in Judy Folice's Legends car. (photo courtesy JudyFolice.com)

“I got more involved a few years ago, though.  I eat downtown at T&J’s Deli all the time, and Jody Folice had her picture up on the wall.  She was one of the first women that raced a Legends Car.  She ran all over the United States.  Me and another guy decided we were going to put her in a race car.  We did for one year and she raced in the Pro Series.  Everybody she raced against was mad that they were getting beat by a girl.  She just never really had an opportunity to get a break on the racetrack. 

“She drove the car for a year, but then the following year, I just decided I would drive it to see how I liked it.  That was just three years ago.  I’ve run the Summer Shootout for three years now.  I’ve run Concord, Bowman Gray three times, went to the Winternationals at Orlando and raced there twice.  Probably if I get to retire, I’ll probably race more.”

Now that Moore has the on-track experience, he has become an even bigger race fan.

“I always pulled for Dale Earnhardt because I’m from Kannapolis.  I was a mild race fan, though.  I was never as involved in it as I am right now.  I have a 1980 Chevrolet school bus.  That’s my infield bus.  I converted it into a camper and it even has a platform on the top.  My electrical engineer lets me use his spot on the backstretch almost right beside the tunnel where they’re doing about 200 miles an hour at Lowe’s.”

Moore and his company have built numerous race shops and other race-related buildings, working with teams such as Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Racing and Evernham Motorsports on several projects.  When Moore leaves his architecture office in Concord and sits in his office inside his #9 Legends Car, there is one big parallel between the two phases of his life.

“Everything’s just alike in business and in racing.  Some of my customers wait until the last minute to throw the green flag on a project so I can go to the office and prepare their drawing.  An example of that is 600 Racing.  I’m designing their engine shop right now.  They waited two months to throw the green flag on us doing this.

Moore races for one rreason: to have fun.  (LN Photo)

“But just like every other racing operation, they want it right now.  I’m trying my best to get it to them right now because I understand the philosophy of racing.  You prepare, you get ready, you set on the grid and then you’ve got to be ready to go.  When they throw the green flag, you’ve got to be ready.”

Moore is still having fun, even if he’s into his 60’s now, racing his #9 car whenever he can.  Rather than get into the drama and the controversy that can sometimes occur during the Summer Shootout and beyond, Moore hopes to continue to quietly make noise on the racetrack for a few more years.

“I probably won’t race forever, but maybe two or three more years.  Then, I’d really like to put someone in my car.  I think that would be really neat to put someone in the car.  Maybe a young person, but also maybe a person whose family doesn’t necessarily have a lot of money or can’t afford it.  I’d like to put that young person in the car to become a NASCAR driver.

“For now, I’m just going to have as much fun as I can…maybe I’ll win one, but maybe I won’t.  Either way, it’s still a lot of fun to come out here and that’s what it’s all about for me.”