5 inductees were inaugurated into newest sports Hall of Fame, The Nascar Hall of Fame located in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday May 23,2010. The Speed Channel had live coverage of the “Nascar Star Studded Event” held at the Charlotte Convention Crown Ballroom which is connected to the $195 million dollar Nascar Hall of Fame facility, which opened its doors on May 11,2010. The facility was described by one former Nascar driver as “Mount Rushmore of Nascar”. Normally a television broadcast sports event doesn’t catch my attention enough for me to sit and watch it from start to finish, but this prestigious event did for some reason. Here is a list of the first 5 inductees into the new Nascar Hall of Fame and their accomplishments in the sport of Nascar.
1. Bill France Sr.: This is the man who started Nascar 62 years ago. The founder of the National Association of Stock Car Racing was quoted as saying “I did it my way”, and obviously it worked because look what Nascar has become over six decades later. France’s son Jim accepted his father’s induction ring and the donated back to the Nascar Hall of Fame for display in the facility.
2. Richard Petty: Richard Petty was the first Nascar driver inducted into the Nascar Hall of Fame. Petty has 200 victories under his belt. President Ronald Regan even attended one of Petty’s victory races and congratulated him in person. Petty put his heart and mind into winning races and did it for over 50 years. He was quoted by his peers as practically writing the book on Nascar.
3. Bill France Jr.: This gentleman took the Nascar reins over from his father, Bill France, Sr., and was at the helm of America’s top motorsport for 3 decades. He took the sport from regional, to national and then to international. He helped build both the Talladega and Daytona racetracks. He said,” Nascar is a lot bigger than one person”.
4. Junior Johnson: This colorful character came from the “Moonshine Capital of the World, Wilkes County, N.C.” He was a simple man with an amazing mind. After getting in trouble with the law for his moonshine shenanigans, he went into Nascar as a driver and ended up as part owner. He was known as one of the last American heroes and was a stockcar racing pioneer. He got major sponsors like R.J.Reynolds into Nascar. He’s a very genuine, authentic sincere individual.
5. Dale Earnhardt Sr.: This Nascar hero added most of the character and gave maximum effort to the sport. When this Wrangler Cowboy became The Man in Black, the Intimidator was born. He was described as the “John Wayne of Nascar”. This champion of champions in the Nascar world was always determined to win and was quoted as saying “if you’re afraid to go fast, you may as well stay home”. He was a family man, a friend, and probably the greatest Nascar driver that ever lived. Many didn’t realize just how big Dale Earnhardt really was until his untimely death at the Daytona raceway, doing what he loved to do the most.
Sources: Speed Channel Broadcast-May 23,2010
