International Motorsports Hall of Fame facts for kids

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame building

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a special place that honors people who have made a huge difference in the world of auto racing, motorcycle racing, and motorized boat racing. It's like a museum for racing heroes! These heroes can be drivers, team owners, car designers, or engineers.

The Hall of Fame opened in 1990. You can find it in Lincoln, Alabama, in the United States. It's right next to the famous Talladega Superspeedway race track. Bill France Jr., who was the head of NASCAR, helped start this amazing place.

Many people from different countries have been honored here. Famous racers like Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, and Ayrton Senna are included. However, most of the people chosen are American drivers. They often competed in races held in the U.S., especially NASCAR events. Since 2003, only three people from outside America have been inducted.

How People Get Chosen

To be considered for the Hall of Fame, a person usually needs to have stopped their racing career for at least five years. Sometimes, there are special exceptions for older people or those who deserve early recognition.

A group of 150 experts from American auto racing media votes on who gets in. They pick the people who have contributed the most to motorsports.

There was no new group of inductees in 2010. This was because the NASCAR Hall of Fame had just opened.

List of Honored Members

Here is a list of some of the amazing people who have been inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. It shows their names, when they were inducted, and what kind of racing they were famous for.

Name	Inducted	Lived	Active years	Main form of motorsport	Further career
J. C. Agajanian	2009	1913–1984	1931–1971	Indianapolis 500
Bobby Allison	1993	b. 1937	1959–1988	NASCAR
Davey Allison	1998	1961–1993	1979–1993	NASCAR
Donnie Allison	2009	b. 1939	1966–1988	NASCAR
Joe Amato	2005	b. 1944	?–2000	NHRA Drag racing
Mario Andretti	2000	b. 1940	1953–1994	Formula One, IndyCar, NASCAR, sports car racing
Art Arfons	2008	1926–2007	1952–1971	land speed record, tractor pulling
Alberto Ascari	1992	1918–1955	1930s–1955	Formula One
Buck Baker	1990	1919–2002	1939–1976	NASCAR
Buddy Baker	1997	1941–2015	1959–1992	NASCAR	Color commentator
Kenny Bernstein	2012	b. 1944		Drag racing	Team owner
Tony Bettenhausen	1991	1916–1961	1940s–1961	Indianapolis 500
George Bignotti	1993	1918–2013	1950s–1970s	Indianapolis 500	Mechanic
Neil Bonnett	2001	1946–1994	1974–1990	NASCAR
Jack Brabham	1990	1926–2014	1946–1970	Formula One	Founder of Brabham Motor Racing Developments
Craig Breedlove	2000	b. 1937	1963–1965	land speed records
Jimmy Bryan	2001	1926–1960	1952–1960	Indianapolis 500
Ettore Bugatti	2002	1881–1947	N/A	None	Founder of Bugatti
Red Byron	2008	1915–1960	1932–1951	NASCAR	SCCA manager
Malcolm Campbell	1990	1885–1948	1920s–1930s	Grand Prix motor racing	Land speed record breaker
Rudolf Caracciola	1998	1901–1959	1922–1952	Grand Prix motor racing
Colin Chapman	1994	1928–1982	N/A	Formula One	Founder of Lotus
Louis Chevrolet	1991	1878–1941	1915–1920	Indianapolis 500	Founder of Chevrolet and Frontenac
Richard Childress	2012	b. 1945		NASCAR	Team owner
Jim Clark	1990	1936–1968	1958–1968	Formula One, Indianapolis 500
Jerry Cook	2009	b. 1943	1969–1982	NASCAR Modified series
Briggs Cunningham	2003	1907–2003	1930–1966	Various	Founder of Cunningham Racing
Ralph DePalma	1991	1884–1956	1906–1925	Indianapolis 500	Land speed record breaker
Junie Donlavey	2007	1924–2014	N/A	NASCAR
Mark Donohue	1990	1937–1975	1959–1975	sports car racing, Indianapolis 500, NASCAR
Dale Earnhardt	2006	1951–2001	1975–2001	NASCAR
Ralph Earnhardt	1997	1928–1973	1956–1964	NASCAR
Richie Evans	1996	1941–1985	1962–1985	NASCAR
Juan Manuel Fangio	1990	1911–1995	1934–1958	Formula One
Charles "Red" Farmer	2004	b. 1928?	1946–present as of 2007	NASCAR
Enzo Ferrari	1994	1898–1988	1919–1927	Formula One, Sports car racing	Founder of Ferrari
Emerson Fittipaldi	2003	b. 1946	1966–1996	Formula One, Indianapolis 500
Tim Flock	1991	1924–1998	1949–1956	NASCAR
John Force	2012	b. 1949		NHRA Drag racing
Henry Ford	1993	1863–1947	1902	Various	Founder of Ford
A. J. Foyt	2000	b. 1935	1956–1985	Champ Car, NASCAR, sports car racing	Founder of A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Ray Fox	2003	1917–2014	1955–1972	NASCAR
Bill France Jr.	2004	1933–2007	1960s–1970s	NASCAR
Bill France Sr.	1990	1909–1992	1936–1946	NASCAR, IMSA	Founder of NASCAR; founder of IMSA
Harry Gant	2006	b. 1940	1967–1996	NASCAR
Don Garlits	1997	b. 1932	1950s–1992	NHRA Drag racing
Bob Glidden	2005	1944-2017	1960s–1997	NHRA Drag racing
Andy Granatelli	1992	1923-2013	1948	Indianapolis 500, CEO of STP
Peter H. Gregg	1992	1940–1980	1958–1980	IMSA GT Championship
Dan Gurney	1990	1931-2018	1958–1980	Formula One, Indianapolis 500, sports car racing	Owner, Chairman and CEO of AAR
Janet Guthrie	2006	b. 1938	1963–1980	Indianapolis 500, NASCAR
Mike Hailwood	2001	1940–1981	1957–1979	Formula One, Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Jim Hall	1997	b. 1935	1950s–1996	Formula One, Indianapolis 500, sports car racing
Chip Hanauer	2005	b. 1954		Hydroplane racing
Donald Healey	1996	1898–1988	1920s–1930s	Rally	Founder of Donald Healey Motor Company
Ray Hendrick	2007	1929–1990	1956–1970s	Modified racing
Rick Hendrick	2013	b. 1949	1984–present	NASCAR	Modified racing; founder of Hendrick Motorsports
Graham Hill	1990	1929–1975	1958–1975	Formula One, Indianapolis 500, Sports car racing
Phil Hill	1991	1927–2008	1949–1967	Formula One, Sports car racing
Al Holbert	1993	1946–1988	1971–1988	Sports car racing
John Holman	2011	1918-1975	1952–1972	NASCAR
Tony Hulman	1990	1901–1977	1946–1977	Owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Denny Hulme	2002	1936–1992	1961–1974	Formula One, sports car racing
Harry Hyde	1999	1925–1996	1965–1991	NASCAR
Dale Inman	2013	b. 1936		NASCAR	Crew chief
Jack Ingram	2007	b. 1936	1960s–1991	NASCAR
Bobby Isaac	1996	1932–1977	1956–1977	NASCAR	Land speed record breaker
Jacky Ickx	2002	b. 1945	1965–1985	Formula One, Sports car racing
Ned Jarrett	1991	b. 1932	1952–1965	NASCAR	NASCAR Commentator
Bill Jenkins	2008	1931–2012	1950s–1976	NHRA Drag racing
Gordon Johncock	1999	b. 1937	1965–1992	Indianapolis 500
Junior Johnson	1990	1931–2019	1955–1966	NASCAR
Warren Johnson	2007	b. 1943	1971–present	NHRA Drag racing
Parnelli Jones	1990	b. 1933	1950s–1974	Indianapolis 500, Can Am Series, Trans Am Series, NASCAR
Mel Kenyon	2003	b. 1933	1954–2005	Midget car racing
Alan Kulwicki	2002	1954–1993	1973–1993	NASCAR
Frank Kurtis	2008	1908–1987	1930s–1962	Various, chassis and engine builder
Niki Lauda	1993	1949-2019	1960s–1979, 1982–1985	Formula One
Fred Lorenzen	1991	b. 1934	1950s–1972	NASCAR
Tiny Lund	1994	1929–1975	1940s–1975	NASCAR
Nigel Mansell	2005	b. 1953	1976–1995, 1998	Formula One, Indianapolis 500	Sports car racing
John Marcum	1994	1913–1981	1930-mid-1940s	Stock car racing	ARCA founder NASCAR official
Banjo Matthews	1998	1932–1996	1952–1963	NASCAR
Rex Mays	1993	1913–1949	1934–1949	Indianapolis 500
Bruce McLaren	1991	1937–1970	1952–1970	Formula One, Sports car racing	McLaren founder
Rick Mears	1997	b. 1951	1970s–1992	Indianapolis 500
Louis Meyer	1992	1904–1995	1920s–1939	Indianapolis 500
Ralph Moody	1994	1917–2004	1935–1957	NASCAR owner
Bud Moore	2009	1925–2017	1961–2001	NASCAR owner
Stirling Moss	1990	1929-2020	1948–1962	Formula One, Sports car racing
Shirley Muldowney	2004	b. 1940	1970s–1984, late 1980s–2003	NHRA Drag racing
Bill Muncey	2004	1929–1981	1950s–1981	Hydroplane racing
Tazio Nuvolari	1998	1892–1953	1920–1940s	Grand Prix motor racing, Mille Miglia
Fred Offenhauser	2001	1888–1973	1913–1946	Various, engine designer
Barney Oldfield	1990	1878–1946	1902–1918	barnstormer, land speed record
Jan Opperman	2011	1939–1997		Sprint cars
Cotton Owens	2008	1924–2012	1950s–1964	NASCAR
Raymond Parks	2009	1914-2010	1938–1951	NASCAR
Wally Parks	1992	1913–2007		NHRA Drag racing	NHRA founder
Benny Parsons	1994	1941–2007	1960s–1988	NASCAR	NASCAR commentator
David Pearson	1993	1934–2018	1960–1986	NASCAR
Roger Penske	1998	b. 1937	1958–1965	Formula One, NASCAR, Indy Car, Sports Car
Lee Petty	1990	1914–2000	1949–1964	NASCAR
Maurice Petty	2011	1939–2020		NASCAR	Engine builder
Richard Petty	1997	b. 1937	1958–1992	NASCAR
Nelson Piquet	2000	b. 1952	1971–1991	Formula One
// Ferdinand Porsche	1996	1875–1951		Porsche founder
Alain Prost	1999	b. 1955	1969–1993	Formula One
Don Prudhomme	2000	b. 1941	1959–1994	NHRA Drag racing
Bobby Rahal	2004	b. 1953	1970s–1998	CART, Formula One	Co-founder of Rahal Letterman Racing
Wayne Rainey	2007	b. 1960	1982–1993	Grand Prix motorcycle racing/AMA Superbike
Brian Redman	2011	b. 1937	1968–1989	Formula racing, Sports car racing
Tim Richmond	2002	1955–1989	1976–1989	NASCAR, Indianapolis 500
Eddie Rickenbacker	1992	1890–1973	1912–1916	Indianapolis 500	Also owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Fireball Roberts	1990	1929–1964	1947–1964	NASCAR
Kenny Roberts	1992	b. 1951	1974, 1978–1983	Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Mauri Rose	1994	1906–1981	1941–1951	Indianapolis 500
Jack Roush	2006	b. 1942		NASCAR, sports car racing, NHRA Drag racing	Founder of Roush Performance Racing
Johnny Rutherford	1996	b. 1938	1960s–1988	Indianapolis 500	NASCAR
Don Schumacher	2013	b. 1944		NHRA Drag racing
Wendell Scott	1999	1921–1990	1947–1973	NASCAR
Ralph Seagraves	2008	1929–1998	?–1995	NASCAR, NHRA Drag racing	initiated R. J. Reynolds sponsorship of motorsports
Ayrton Senna	2000	1960–1994	1973–1994	Formula One
Wilbur Shaw	1991	1902–1954	1920s–1941	Indianapolis 500
Carroll Shelby	1991	1923–2012	1950s–1941	Sports car racing, Formula One	Founder of Carroll Shelby International
Bruton Smith	2007	b. 1927	N/A	NASCAR
Louise Smith	1999	1916–2006	1949–1956	NASCAR
Jackie Stewart	1990	b. 1939	1963–1973	Formula One
John Surtees	1996	1934–2017	1952–1972	Formula One, Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Herb Thomas	1994	1923–2000	1949–1962	NASCAR
Mickey Thompson	1990	1928–1988	1949–1962	Various - Drag racing, Off-road racing	Speed and endurance record breaker
Curtis Turner	1992	1924–1970	1946–1961, 1965–1967	NASCAR
Al Unser	1998	b. 1939	1957–1994	CART
Bobby Unser	1990	b. 1934	1960s–1993	Indianapolis 500
Bill Vukovich	1991	1918–1955	1945–1955	Indianapolis 500
Rusty Wallace	2013	b. 1956	1970s-2005	NASCAR, USAC	NASCAR commentator
Darrell Waltrip	2005	b. 1947	1960s–2000	NASCAR
Rodger Ward	1992	1921–2004	1950–1966	Indianapolis 500
A. J. Watson	2003	1924–2014	1948–1982	Indianapolis 500 engine builder
Joe Weatherly	1994	1922–1964	1946–1964	NASCAR, AMA nationals
Humpy Wheeler	2006	b. 1938		NASCAR	None
Rex White	2011	b. 1929	1956–1964	NASCAR
Glen Wood	2002	1925–2019	1953–1964	NASCAR
Cale Yarborough	1993	b. 1939	1957–1988	NASCAR, Indianapolis 500
Smokey Yunick	1990	1925–2001	1947–1973	NASCAR	Motorcycle racing, Indianapolis 500

Class of 2014 Honorees

The following people were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014:

• Chuck Yeager
• Leonard Wood
• Lee Shepherd
• Sir Henry Seagrave
• Troy Ruttman
• Les Richter
• Marvin Panch
• Danny Ongais
• Tom "Mongoose" McEwen
• Roger McLewskey
• Joe Leonard
• Connie Kalitta
• Ted Horn

Images for kids

• 

  Juan Manuel Fangio, inducted in 1990

• 

  Graham Hill, inducted in 1990

• 

  Ned Jarrett, inducted in 1991

• 

  Alberto Ascari, inducted in 1992

• 

  Henry Ford, inducted in 1993

• 

  Colin Chapman, inducted in 1994

• 

  John Surtees, inducted in 1996

• 

  Richard Petty, inducted in 1997

• 

  Ayrton Senna, inducted in 2000

• 

  Alan Kulwicki, inducted in 2002

• 

  Shirley Muldowney, inducted in 2004

• 

  Dale Earnhardt, inducted in 2006

• 

  Wayne Rainey, inducted in 2007

• 

  Donnie Allison, inducted in 2009

• 

  Richard Childress, inducted in 2012

See also

In Spanish: Salón Internacional de la Fama de los Deportes a Motor para niños