For a sport with humble beginnings NASCAR’s $195 million Hall of Fame in Charlotte is conclusive proof that stock car racing stands on equal grounds with other major North American sports with their own halls of fame.
Sunday’s inaugural induction ceremony, however, was not about the commercial side but a day of high emotions honoring the giants of the stock car-based racing series as founder the late Bill France Sr., his late-son Bill France Jr., driver the- late Dale Earnhardt and owner/drivers Richard Petty and Junior Johnson were honored.
Brian France, the series current CEO, and grandson of Bill Sr. said "this was about a whole sport getting proper recognition for what's happened over the last six decades."
NASCAR was founded in 1947, and had its’ first sanctioned race in Charlotte in 1949, but series participants and officials felt that there was no single spot which honored the heritage of the series.
Once a very Southern American sport with mostly local races on clay tracks with teams sponsored by local garages and pick-up crews, it has grown into a series with forays in Canada, and formerly to Mexico. It has become the premier motor sport in the US.
Team owner, Rick Hendrick, one of today’s dominant players said that he couldn’t pick a favorite moment of the day, "it's been like a history lesson. I enjoy every piece of it."
“It kind of hit me today that it's really, really a big deal. I think it moved all of us up a notch," said seven-time series champion Richard Petty. "It's kind of heavy today," Petty added. "It's a really, really big deal that NASCAR's got their own Hall of Fame. I think now we're as big a league as anybody."
Friends and family of the honorees told recalled moments of the inductees lives sometimes with laughter and sometimes with tears, especially for those who were not present.
After Earnhardt was honored by his team owner, Richard Childress, his widow, Teresa, and four children, Kerry, Dale Jr. Kelley, and Taylor Nicole stepped up together on stage. And, if there was not a rapprochement between Dale Jr. and his stepmother, Teresa, there was the appearance of cordiality not seen in the past.
In a rare public expression of her feelings Teresa confessed, "yes, it's emotional. I'm the type that I really don't put my emotions out there, but I do have them."
Contrasting the induction ceremony to the glitzy Champion’s banquet Hendrick noted "today everybody was on the same team. Everybody was here celebrating our sport. ... We all won today.”
For one day it seemed rivalries were put aside and it was a day to appreciate NASCAR’s heritage, as Brian France said. "It was an emotional day, and I didn't anticipate that. This was different today. This was about everybody in this sport."
Sunday’s inaugural induction ceremony, however, was not about the commercial side but a day of high emotions honoring the giants of the stock car-based racing series as founder the late Bill France Sr., his late-son Bill France Jr., driver the- late Dale Earnhardt and owner/drivers Richard Petty and Junior Johnson were honored.
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| Richard Petty. Photo: Leon T Switzer/TotalPhoto.ca |
Brian France, the series current CEO, and grandson of Bill Sr. said "this was about a whole sport getting proper recognition for what's happened over the last six decades."
NASCAR was founded in 1947, and had its’ first sanctioned race in Charlotte in 1949, but series participants and officials felt that there was no single spot which honored the heritage of the series.
Once a very Southern American sport with mostly local races on clay tracks with teams sponsored by local garages and pick-up crews, it has grown into a series with forays in Canada, and formerly to Mexico. It has become the premier motor sport in the US.
Team owner, Rick Hendrick, one of today’s dominant players said that he couldn’t pick a favorite moment of the day, "it's been like a history lesson. I enjoy every piece of it."
“It kind of hit me today that it's really, really a big deal. I think it moved all of us up a notch," said seven-time series champion Richard Petty. "It's kind of heavy today," Petty added. "It's a really, really big deal that NASCAR's got their own Hall of Fame. I think now we're as big a league as anybody."
Friends and family of the honorees told recalled moments of the inductees lives sometimes with laughter and sometimes with tears, especially for those who were not present.
After Earnhardt was honored by his team owner, Richard Childress, his widow, Teresa, and four children, Kerry, Dale Jr. Kelley, and Taylor Nicole stepped up together on stage. And, if there was not a rapprochement between Dale Jr. and his stepmother, Teresa, there was the appearance of cordiality not seen in the past.
In a rare public expression of her feelings Teresa confessed, "yes, it's emotional. I'm the type that I really don't put my emotions out there, but I do have them."
Contrasting the induction ceremony to the glitzy Champion’s banquet Hendrick noted "today everybody was on the same team. Everybody was here celebrating our sport. ... We all won today.”
For one day it seemed rivalries were put aside and it was a day to appreciate NASCAR’s heritage, as Brian France said. "It was an emotional day, and I didn't anticipate that. This was different today. This was about everybody in this sport."
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