Junior Johnson was one of two living members inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Sunday. (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)

And one of the most emotional moments of the day was the simplest. It came when 16-year-old Robert Johnson concluded his induction of his father, Junior Johnson, with a simple “I love you, Dad.”

Junior, the former moonshiner and one of NASCAR’s most colorful personalities, recalled a breakfast meeting with NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., who wanted Johnson to commit to running every race instead of a part-time schedule.

Johnson said he pointed to his bacon-and-egg breakfast and said, “The hen that laid these eggs is involved, but the hog that gave up the bacon is committed.”

Darrell Waltrip inducted Johnson, his former boss, and the two exchanged some good natured barbs about the old days. Johnson recalled when Waltrip started his own NASCAR Sprint Cup team. “Well, he’ll finally have an owner who’s as smart as his driver,” Johnson said of Waltrip.

Jim France, son of the late NASCAR founder Big Bill France, said his father would have approved of the day.

“If Dad were here today, he would be proud, as well, but in a different way,” Jim France said. “He would be proud mostly for NASCAR. He would be proud of this Hall of Fame, a commitment made to honor our past and to recognize the individuals who are responsible for making NASCAR what it is today, for their great accomplishments. The NASCAR Hall of Fame in many ways is the ultimate tribute to my father, the hopes and dreams that he had for our sport.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.