NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
CUP: NASCAR Hall Shines In Debut
The NASCAR Hall of Fame opened Tuesday...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted May 11, 2010   Charlotte, NC
NASCAR Chairman Brian France recently said changes are coming to the Chase for the Sprint Cup. (Photo: Getty Images)
A little bit of rain in Uptown Charlotte didn’t put a damper on the grand opening of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Tuesday morning. In fact, the state-of-the-art facility drew smiles all around.

PHOTOS > CUP: NASCAR Hall of Fame Grand Opening

Hundreds of fans attended the 9 a.m. opening ceremonies, with a long list of past and present NASCAR champions and heroes including Richard Petty and Junior Johnson, the two living members of the inaugural Hall of Fame class. Also on hand were Bobby Allison, Rex White, Dale Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip, Terry and Bobby Labonte, Kyle Busch, Rusty Wallace, all past champion drivers, as well as championship team owners Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress, Bud Moore and others.

NASCAR officials were understandably pleased with the day and what the Hall of Fame represents for them.

“It was a really great day for us,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “Most importantly, our fans get to have a Hall of Fame where they can celebrate the past and look ahead to the future.”

France said the $200 million facility will help reinforce NASCAR’s image as a top-tier professional sport.

“This is going to do a lot for us as an industry,” said France. “You can’t be a top-five sports league in this country without having a world-class Hall of Fame, so I think today accomplishes something important for NASCAR and its fans.”

NASCAR President Mike Helton said he, too, was pleased with the grand opening.

“It’s impressive to gather with this group any time and any place when you’re sitting there with people who made the sport what it is today and that represent the history of the sport," Helton said. "But today, to be there with them when they’re cutting the ribbon on the NASCAR Hall of Fame, it’s just incredible. In less than 38 years, we’ll be celebrating our 100th anniversary. But this day will be talked about then.”

Helton said NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and his son and former CEO, Bill Jr., would approve of the new facility.

“Bill Sr. would have loved the celebration around the opening and the factors all collectively coming together,” Helton said. “He certainly would have enjoyed that. And Bill Jr. would certainly be pragmatic enough (to recognize) the ability that the Hall of Fame gives NASCAR to perpetuate its legacy.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup team owner Rick Hendrick. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

For some of NASCAR’s team owners and drivers, the Hall of Fame is an excellent way to promote the sport at a time when such attention is especially welcome.

“I think this is one more step that needs to happen to put a stamp on the history of the sport,” said team owner Richard Childress. “I think there’s so many young fans and new fans ... that don’t realize the pioneers and where this sport came from, and all the history that puts the sport where it is today.”

Team owner Rick Hendrick, who operates a small museum at the Hendrick Motorsports headquarters in Concord, N.C., said he was dazzled by the scope of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“It’s what we need to pay tribute to the people who are the pioneers of this sport,” said Hendrick. “I’m just real excited. I’m happy for our city, as a citizen of Charlotte. But I’m really excited because the fans can come here. This was the logical choice and the city is behind it. It’s just really phenomenal.”

Childress agreed.

“The neatest thing about the Hall of Fame is it’s for the fans and for the fans to understand how we got the sport to where it is,” Childress said.

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.

2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Week • The Stars Come Out. The Gloves Come Off. • Saturday, May 22nd at 7 pm ET
tom_jensen's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.