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Motorsports Hall of Fame of America facts for kids

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The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, Sports Cars, Aviation, At Large, Off-Road and Historic. Periodic recognition is given to specialty categories including Speed Records, Business and Technology. Its annual Induction Ceremony is attended by notables throughout the motorsports community and is reported on widely.

History

The MSHFA was incorporated in 1986 as an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by civic leaders of the City of Novi, Michigan, led by Founding Chairman Larry G. Ciancio. Its inaugural Induction Ceremony was held in 1989. Ron Watson was its founding President and continued to serve in that capacity until his untimely death in October 2019. He was succeeded as president at his request by noted motorsports author and historian and longtime MSHFA board member George Levy.

The mission of the MSHFA is to “further the American core values of leadership, creativity, originality, teamwork and spirit of competition embodied in motorsports.” The MSHFA is operated by the nonprofit Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation Inc.

Induction

Induction process

Eligibility for induction is extended to "any person who has driven, piloted, owned, designed, built, supported, maintained, prepared or promoted motorized vehicles in pursuit of speed, distance or other records." An inductee must either be retired for at least three years, or engaged in the top level for their area of motorsports for at least 20 years. Induction is limited to United States citizens, or non-citizens who have recorded significant motorsports achievements in the U.S.

Induction is decided by a straight vote among 200 racing experts: historians, experienced journalists, category experts and existing inductees. The voting process is overseen by certified accountants.

Every year there are two rounds of voting. The first is conducted among a 100-voter nominating committee to determine the six finalists in each category. The second, open to all 200 voters, decides that year's inductee in each category. Each inductee receives the Hall of Fame's prestigious “Horsepower” award — an original bronze statuette by renowned Ann Arbor, Michigan sculptor Michael Curtis. Curtis sculptures have been presented both to and by United States Presidents .

The inaugural Motorsports Hall of Fame of America class in 1989 featured Cannon Ball Baker (Motorcycles), James Doolittle (Aviation), A. J. Foyt (Open Wheel), Don Garlits (Drag Racing), Phil Hill (Sports Cars), Bill Muncey (Powerboats), Barney Oldfield (Historic) and Richard Petty (Stock Cars).

Induction ceremony

The annual Induction Ceremony is the MSHFA's premier event and takes place every March in Daytona Beach, Florida. The event incorporates motorsports legends past and present, just as it features new inductees on the main stage. Traditionally, each inductee is presented for induction by another prominent figure in the motorsports community. In 2019, multi-time champions Jimmie Johnson, Jack Beckman, Don Prudhomme and Scott Dixon, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles, former American Suzuki Vice President Mel Harris and automotive designer Peter Brock took the stage and presented Tony Stewart, Don Schumacher, Linda Vaughn, Dario Franchitti, Augie Duesenberg, Kevin Schwantz and Phil Remington respectively for induction at the black-tie ceremony.

The Class of 2020 includes Red Byron (Historic), Chris Carr (Motorcycles), Floyd Clymer (At Large), Wally Dallenbach (Open Wheel), Rick Hendrick (Stock Cars), Jacky Ickx (Sports Cars), Tiny Lund (Historic), “Ohio George” Montgomery (Drag Racing) and Ivan “Ironman” Stewart (Off-Road).

The two-day induction experience includes several other events as well, including the Heroes of Horsepower reception held in the MSHFA museum the night before the black-tie ceremony at which the new inductees unveil their permanent Hall of Fame sculptures. Additionally, the Heritage Luncheon spotlights the induction of the honorees in the Historic category. The Inductee Breakfast allows the incoming class and returning Hall of Famers to open up in a lively Q&A session. Admission to all events event is open to the public via tickets purchased in advance.

Museum

Hall of Heroes June 2019
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America museum on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway showcases vehicles and memorabilia from all forms of motorsports and attracts more than 100,000 visitors per year.

The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America museum on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway welcomes more than 100,000 visitors per year. The museum was originally located in Novi, MI, birthplace of the famous Novi Special Indianapolis 500 racecars. It later moved to the Detroit Science Center before relocating to Daytona Beach. The museum is housed within the Ticket and Tours Building at Daytona International Speedway. Admission is open daily as part of regular speedway tours.

On display are vehicles and artifacts related to the Hall of Fame's inductees and achievements. Examples include historic racing vehicles, memorabilia, informational displays and plaques honoring the MSHFA's more than 260 inductees. There are also two movie theaters featuring motorsports content.

Research

The MSHFA also serves as a research organization, with a network of experts on motorsports topics. It fields a broad range of questions on motorsports topics from journalists, historians, researchers and individuals.

Class of 2025

  • Skip Barber
  • Miguel Duhamel
  • Carl Haas
  • Ed Iskenderian
  • Dale Jarrett
  • Tony Schumacher
  • Bill Stroppe

Class of 2024

Class of 2023

  • Zora Arkus-Duntov
  • Henry Banks
  • Dick Burleson
  • Art Chester
  • Ray Evernham
  • Fonty Flock
  • Darrell Gwynn
  • Ab Jenkins
  • Stephen Olvey and Terry Trammell

Inductees

Person Category Inducted
J. C. Agajanian At Large 1992
Bobby Allison Stock Cars 1992
Davey Allison Stock Cars 2021
Donnie Allison Stock Cars 2011
Joe Amato Drag Racing 2004
Mario Andretti Open Wheel 1990+
Michael Andretti Open Wheel 2008
Art Arfons At Large 1991
Dale Armstrong Drag Racing 2010
Buck Baker Stock Cars 1998
Buddy Baker Stock Cars 2008
Cannonball Baker Motorcycles 1989
Ole Bardahl Power Boats 2014
Raymond Beadle Drag Racing 2014
Derek Bell Sports Cars 2012
Kenny Bernstein Drag Racing 2009
Tony Bettenhausen Open Wheel 1997
George Bignotti At Large 1993
John Bishop Sports Cars 2014
Keith Black Drag Racing 1995
Bob Bondurant Sports Cars 2003
Neil Bonnett Stock Cars 2012
Geoff Brabham Sports Cars 2004
Everett Brashear Motorcycles 2016
Clint Brawner At Large 1998
Craig Breedlove At Large 1993
Pete Brock Sports Cars 2022
Jimmy Bryan Open Wheel 1999
John Buttera Drag Racing 2018
Red Byron Historic 2020
Malcolm Campbell At Large 1994
Bill Cantrell Power Boats 1992
Ricky Carmichael Motorcycles 2015
Tom Carnegie At Large 2006+
Chris Carr Motorcycles 2020
Hélio Castroneves Open Wheel 2022
Colin Chapman At Large 1997
Dean Chenoweth Power Boats 1991
Gaston Chevrolet Historic 2002
Louis Chevrolet Historic 1995
Richard Childress Stock Cars 2016
Joie Chitwood Historic 2010
Art Chrisman Drag Racing 1997
Jim Clark Open Wheel 1990
Cook Cleland Air Racing 2000
Floyd Clymer At Large 2020
John Cobb Historic 2021
Jacqueline Cochran Air Racing 1993
Sid Collins At Large 2011
Betty Cook Power Boats 1996
Earl Cooper Historic 2001
Briggs Cunningham Sports Cars 1997
Glenn Curtiss Air Racing 1990
Wally Dallenbach Sr. Open Wheel 2020
Jimmy Davis Motorcycles 1997
Tom D'Eath Power Boats 2000
Roger DeCoster Motorcycles 1994
Ralph DePalma Historic 1992
Pete DePaolo Historic 1995
Larry Dixon Jr. Drag Racing 2021
Mark Donohue Sports Cars 1990
Ed Donovan Drag Racing 2003
Jimmy Doolittle Air Racing 1989
Pop Dreyer Historic 2012
Augie Duesenberg Historic 2019
Fred Duesenberg Historic 1997
Amelia Earhart Air Racing 1992
Dale Earnhardt Stock Cars 2002+
Chris Economaki At Large 1994
Vic Edelbrock At Large 2012
Bill Elliott Stock Cars 2007+
Walker Evans At Large 2015
Bill Falck Air Racing 1994
John Fitch Sports Cars 2007
Emerson Fittipaldi Open Wheel 2001
Tim Flock Stock Cars 1999
Carl Fisher Historic 2018
George Follmer Sports Cars 1999
Elliott Forbes-Robinson Sports Cars 2006
John Force Drag Racing 2008
Henry Ford Historic 1996
Danny Foster Power Boats 2005
A. J. Foyt Open Wheel 1989+
Bill France Jr. Stock Cars 2004+
Bill France Sr. Stock Cars 1990
Dario Franchitti Open Wheel 2019
Gary Gabelich At Large 2016
Chip Ganassi Open Wheel 2016
Don Garlits Drag Racing 1989
Richie Ginther Sports Cars 2008
Shav Glick At Large 2004
Bob Glidden Drag Racing 1994+
Paul Goldsmith Stock Cars 2008
Jeff Gordon Stock Cars 2018
Ricky Graham Motorcycles 2014
Andy Granatelli At Large 2001
Darryl Greenamyer Air Racing 1997
Peter H. Gregg Sports Cars 2000
Masten Gregory Sports Cars 2013
Dan Gurney Sports Cars 1991
Janet Guthrie Open Wheel 2021
Jim Hall Sports Cars 1994
Chip Hanauer Power Boats 1995+
Sam Hanks Open Wheel 2000
Bob Hannah Motorcycles 2000
Ray Harroun Historic 2000
C. J. "Pappy" Hart Drag Racing 1999
Nicky Hayden Motorcycles 2021
Hurley Haywood Sports Cars 2005+
Rick Hendrick Stock Cars 2020
Eddie Hill Drag Racing 2002
Phil Hill Sports Cars 1989
Tommy Hinnershitz Historic 2003
David Hobbs Sports Cars 2009
Al Holbert Sports Cars 1993
John Holman At Large 2005
Ted Horn Open Wheel 1993
Howard Hughes Aviation 2018
Tony Hulman At Large 1991
Denis Hulme Sports Cars 1998
Jacky Ickx Sports Cars 2020
Tommy Ivo Drag Racing 2005
Ned Jarrett Stock Cars 1997
Bill Jenkins Drag Racing 1996
Gordon Johncock Open Wheel 2002
Junior Johnson Stock Cars 1991+
Ricky Johnson Motorcycles 2012
Warren Johnson Drag Racing 2015
Parnelli Jones At Large 1992
Ted Jones Power Boats 2003
Connie Kalitta Drag Racing 1992
Chris Karamesines Drag Racing 2006
Tommy Kendall Sports Cars 2015
Mel Kenyon Open Wheel 2003
Carl Kiekhaefer Power Boats 1998
Steve Kinser Open Wheel 2017
Dick Klamfoth Motorcycles 2017
Alan Kulwicki Stock Cars 2010
Frank Kurtis At Large 1999
Terry Labonte Stock Cars 2017
Brad Lackey Motorcycles 2013
Dick LaHaie Drag Racing 2022
Eddie Lawson Motorcycles 2002
Joe Leonard Motorcycles 1991
Tony LeVier Air Racing 2001
Bernie Little Power Boats 1994
Frank Lockhart Historic 1999
Fred Lorenzen Stock Cars 2001
Tiny Lund Historic 2020
Arie Luyendyk Open Wheel 2014
Dick Mann Motorcycles 1993
Nigel Mansell Open Wheel 2006
Paul Mantz Air Racing 2002
Bart Markel Motorcycles 1999
Mark Martin Stock Cars 2015
Banjo Matthews Business 2022
Rex Mays Historic 1995
Dave McClelland Drag Racing 2016
Denise McCluggage Media 2022
Roger McCluskey Open Wheel 2011
Ed McCulloch Drag Racing 2011
Tom McEwen Drag Racing 2001
Jim McGee Historic 2007
Jeremy McGrath Motorcycles 2010
Hershel McGriff Stock Cars 2006
Bruce McLaren Sports Cars 1995
Rick Mears Open Wheel 1998
Leo Mehl Historic 2007
Fred Merkel Motorcycles 2018
Louis Meyer Historic 1993
Ken Miles Sports Cars 2001
Harry A. Miller Historic 1999
Robin Miller Media 2021
Tommy Milton Historic 1998
George Montgomery Drag Racing 2020
Ralph Moody At Large 2005
Shirley Muldowney Drag Racing 1990
Bill Muncey Power Boats 1989
Fran Muncey Power Boats 2021
Jimmy Murphy Historic 1998
Paula Murphy Drag Racing 2017
Ron Musson Power Boats 1993
Duke Nalon Historic 2015
Ray Nichels Historic 2021
Don Nicholson Drag Racing 1998
Gary Nixon Motorcycles 2003
Bob Nordskog Power Boats 1997
Fred Offenhauser At Large 2002
Barney Oldfield At Large 1989
Danny Ongais Drag Racing 2000
Augie Pabst Sports Cars 2011
Scott Parker Motorcycles 2009
Raymond Parks Historic 2022
Wally Parks Drag Racing 1993
Benny Parsons Stock Cars 2005
Johnnie Parsons Historic 2004
U. E. (Pat) Patrick Open Wheel 2018
David Pearson Stock Cars 1993
Bruce Penhall Motorcycles 2011
Roger Penske At Large 1995
Joe Petrali Motorcycles 1992
Lee Petty Stock Cars 1996
Richard Petty Stock Cars 1989+
Ed Pink Drag Racing 2012
Sam Posey Sports Cars 2016
Don Prudhomme Drag Racing 1991
Scott Pruett Sports Cars 2017+
Bobby Rahal Open Wheel 2004
Wayne Rainey Motorcycles 2008
Jim Rathmann Open Wheel 2007
Brian Redman Sports Cars 2002
Phil Remington Sports Cars 2019
Carroll Resweber Motorcycles 1998
Peter Revson Sports Cars 1996
Les Richter At Large 2009
Eddie Rickenbacker Historic 1994
Fireball Roberts Stock Cars 1995
Kenny Roberts Motorcycles 1990
Mauri Rose Historic 1996
Jack Roush Stock Cars 2022
Lloyd Ruby Open Wheel 2015
Johnny Rutherford Open Wheel 1996
Troy Ruttman Historic 2005
Don Schumacher Drag Racing 2019
Kevin Schwantz Motorcycles 2019
Bill Seebold Power Boats 1999
Wilbur Shaw Historic 1991
Carroll Shelby Sports Cars 1992
Lyle Shelton Air Racing 1999
Bill Simpson At Large 2003
Betty Skelton At Large 2008
Mira Slovak Power Boats 2001
Malcolm Smith Motorcycles 1996
Tom Sneva Open Wheel 2005
Freddie Spencer Motorcycles 2001
Jay Springsteen Motorcycles 2005
Ken Squier At Large 2010
Ivan Stewart Off Road 2020
Tony Stewart Stock Cars 2019
Judy Stropus Sports Cars 2021
Danny Sullivan Open Wheel 2012
Bob Sweikert Historic 2016
Marshall Teague Historic 2014
Herb Thomas Historic 2017
Mickey Thompson At Large 1990
Jerry Titus Sports Cars 2010
Bob Tullius Sports Cars 2018
Curtis Turner Stock Cars 2006
Roscoe Turner Air Racing 1991
Bobby Unser Open Wheel 1994
Al Unser Open Wheel 1991
Al Unser Jr. Open Wheel 2009
Terry Vance &
Byron Hines*
Motorcycles 2022
Linda Vaughn At Large 2019
Don Vesco Motorcycles 2004
Rich Vogler Midgets 2010
Bill Vukovich Open Wheel 1992
Rusty Wallace Stock Cars 2014
Darrell Waltrip Stock Cars 2003
Jeff Ward Motorcycles 2006
Rodger Ward Open Wheel 1995
A.J. Watson At Large 1996
Joe Weatherly Historic 2009
Humpy Wheeler Stock Cars 2009
Ed Winfield Historic 2011
Steve Wittman Air Racing 1998
Wood Brothers Stock Cars 2000
Gar Wood Power Boats 1990
Cale Yarborough Stock Cars 1994
Brock Yates At Large 2017
Smokey Yunick At Large 2000

+ Person inducted under special rule. Usually, an inductee must have been retired for at least three years in their field. However, inductees may also have been engaged at the top level of his or her area of motorsports for at least 20 years, and if that is the case, the retirement rule is waived.

* Terry Vance and Byron Hines were inducted together as "Vance & Hines."

See also

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