MEMBERSHIP LOGIN
JOIN PRI
Motorsports Hall Of Fame Of America Grand Opening Set For Feb. 17 At Daytona Beach Speedway
Image
Many of racing’s greatest names will in attendance at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America’s (MSHFA) official grand opening at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 17.
The event, which is open to the public, is set to begin at 7:45 p.m. with veteran NASCAR on Fox personality Mike Joy to serve as the Master of Ceremonies. MSHFA inductees Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Richard Childress, Tom D’Eath, Hurley Haywood, Buddy Martin (Sox & Martin), Bill Seebold, Rusty Wallace and Humpy Wheeler are among the expected attendees.
As part of the long-awaited event, the MSHFA have a formal ribbon-cutting. It also will unveil and dedicate the new Robert E. Petersen Theatre, an impressive showpiece in the hall, which is located in Daytona International Speedway’s Ticket and Tours Facility. The MSHFA moved to Daytona Beach, Florida last year from Novi, Michigan. In advance of the Official Grand Opening, the MSHFA has been open to speedway tour visitors since last July.
“The racing immortals who will be with us on Feb. 17 will help us usher in a new era for the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America,” said MSHFA President Ron Watson. “The compelling stories of all of our inductees – our “Heroes of Horsepower’ – collectively form the foundation of our new facility. Combine those individual histories with our many classic racing vehicles and our other exhibits, and you have a fall of fame that is truly a ‘must-see’.”
Tickets for the event are $200 and can be reserved by visiting mshf.com or calling 386.681.6843. The evening will include a strolling banquet dinner, a premium open bar and the opportunity to meet some of the greatest names in the history of motorsports.
The 29th Annual MSHFA Induction Ceremony will be held in Daytona Beach on Wednesday, June 28. The 2017 class of inductees are listed below.
A rundown of the 2017 class:
• Steve Kinser (Inducted in the Open Wheel Category): The "King of the Outlaws" is one of the most successful Sprint Car drivers in history, with 577 World of Outlaw feature victories, 20 WoO championships and 12 Knoxville Nationals championships. He also competed in the 1995 Daytona 500 and 1997 Indianapolis 500. Through five decades, Kinser has accumulated 876 Sprint Car feature victories.
• Richard 'Dick' Klamfoth (Motorcycles): Klamfoth will forever be associated with the DAYTONA 200. At the age of 20, he burst onto the motorcycle racing scene in March 1949 when he rode to a surprise victory in the 200 on his very first attempt. Klamfoth won the beach-road classic again in 1951 and '52 to become the first three-time winner of America's most prestigious motorcycle race. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
• Terry Labonte (Stock Cars): In 25 full seasons, Labonte finished in the top five in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings seven times — including championships in 1984 and '96. Labonte broke Richard Petty's record of 513 consecutive starts in 1996 and continued his "Iron Man" streak until Aug. 5, 2000, when he missed the Brickyard 400 due to injuries. He and Bobby Labonte are the only brothers to win NASCAR's premier series championship. Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, Labonte also was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2016.
• Paula Murphy (Drag Racing): Murphy played a pivotal role in drag racing's formative years, as the first woman licensed to drive a Funny Car and by becoming a successful match racer through 1972, driving an STP-sponsored ride in an era when few drivers had sponsorships. Her career began in road racing. That caught the attention of STP's Andy Granatelli, who brought her to the Bonneville Salt Flats where in 1963, "Miss STP" set a 161-mph women's land-speed record in a Studebaker Avanti. She later boosted her record to 243.44 mph in Walt Arfons' "Avenger" jet car.
• Scott Pruett (Sports Cars): Pruett is one of North America's most accomplished drivers, with 11 major sports car titles from 1986-2013 including IMSA GTO (1986, '88), IMSA GT Endurance (1986), SCCA Trans-Am (1987, '94, 2003) and Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype (2004, '08 and 2010-12). Pruett was the 1989 Indianapolis 500 Co-Rookie of the Year and won two Indy Car races. He also had six top 10s in 40 NASCAR starts. Pruett began his career in karting at the age of eight and won 10 professional karting championships. Pruett dominated the Rolex Series with 41 wins in 132 starts. His record-tying five Rolex 24 victories came in 1994, 2007, '08, '11 and '13.
• Herb Thomas (Historic): Thomas was NASCAR's first two-time champion (1951 and '53) and has the highest career winning percentage in NASCAR's top series (21.053%). Overall, he won 48 NASCAR Cup races, 39 poles and was in a close battle for a third title when his career was cut short by injury. Thomas was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. Thomas, who died in 2000, was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2013.
• Brock Yates (At Large): Longtime executive editor of Car and Driver, Yates championed the role of the automobile in American life. Yates established the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, a cross-continental road race known as the Cannonball Run; Yates won the second installment in a Ferrari Daytona with 1991 MSHFA inductee Dan Gurney. The race became the inspiration for several Cannonball Run movies, for which Yates wrote the screenplays. Yates was a pit reporter for CBS and a commentator on TNN and the Speed Channel.
The event, which is open to the public, is set to begin at 7:45 p.m. with veteran NASCAR on Fox personality Mike Joy to serve as the Master of Ceremonies. MSHFA inductees Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Richard Childress, Tom D’Eath, Hurley Haywood, Buddy Martin (Sox & Martin), Bill Seebold, Rusty Wallace and Humpy Wheeler are among the expected attendees.
As part of the long-awaited event, the MSHFA have a formal ribbon-cutting. It also will unveil and dedicate the new Robert E. Petersen Theatre, an impressive showpiece in the hall, which is located in Daytona International Speedway’s Ticket and Tours Facility. The MSHFA moved to Daytona Beach, Florida last year from Novi, Michigan. In advance of the Official Grand Opening, the MSHFA has been open to speedway tour visitors since last July.
“The racing immortals who will be with us on Feb. 17 will help us usher in a new era for the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America,” said MSHFA President Ron Watson. “The compelling stories of all of our inductees – our “Heroes of Horsepower’ – collectively form the foundation of our new facility. Combine those individual histories with our many classic racing vehicles and our other exhibits, and you have a fall of fame that is truly a ‘must-see’.”
Tickets for the event are $200 and can be reserved by visiting mshf.com or calling 386.681.6843. The evening will include a strolling banquet dinner, a premium open bar and the opportunity to meet some of the greatest names in the history of motorsports.
The 29th Annual MSHFA Induction Ceremony will be held in Daytona Beach on Wednesday, June 28. The 2017 class of inductees are listed below.
A rundown of the 2017 class:
• Steve Kinser (Inducted in the Open Wheel Category): The "King of the Outlaws" is one of the most successful Sprint Car drivers in history, with 577 World of Outlaw feature victories, 20 WoO championships and 12 Knoxville Nationals championships. He also competed in the 1995 Daytona 500 and 1997 Indianapolis 500. Through five decades, Kinser has accumulated 876 Sprint Car feature victories.
• Richard 'Dick' Klamfoth (Motorcycles): Klamfoth will forever be associated with the DAYTONA 200. At the age of 20, he burst onto the motorcycle racing scene in March 1949 when he rode to a surprise victory in the 200 on his very first attempt. Klamfoth won the beach-road classic again in 1951 and '52 to become the first three-time winner of America's most prestigious motorcycle race. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
• Terry Labonte (Stock Cars): In 25 full seasons, Labonte finished in the top five in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings seven times — including championships in 1984 and '96. Labonte broke Richard Petty's record of 513 consecutive starts in 1996 and continued his "Iron Man" streak until Aug. 5, 2000, when he missed the Brickyard 400 due to injuries. He and Bobby Labonte are the only brothers to win NASCAR's premier series championship. Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, Labonte also was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2016.
• Paula Murphy (Drag Racing): Murphy played a pivotal role in drag racing's formative years, as the first woman licensed to drive a Funny Car and by becoming a successful match racer through 1972, driving an STP-sponsored ride in an era when few drivers had sponsorships. Her career began in road racing. That caught the attention of STP's Andy Granatelli, who brought her to the Bonneville Salt Flats where in 1963, "Miss STP" set a 161-mph women's land-speed record in a Studebaker Avanti. She later boosted her record to 243.44 mph in Walt Arfons' "Avenger" jet car.
• Scott Pruett (Sports Cars): Pruett is one of North America's most accomplished drivers, with 11 major sports car titles from 1986-2013 including IMSA GTO (1986, '88), IMSA GT Endurance (1986), SCCA Trans-Am (1987, '94, 2003) and Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype (2004, '08 and 2010-12). Pruett was the 1989 Indianapolis 500 Co-Rookie of the Year and won two Indy Car races. He also had six top 10s in 40 NASCAR starts. Pruett began his career in karting at the age of eight and won 10 professional karting championships. Pruett dominated the Rolex Series with 41 wins in 132 starts. His record-tying five Rolex 24 victories came in 1994, 2007, '08, '11 and '13.
• Herb Thomas (Historic): Thomas was NASCAR's first two-time champion (1951 and '53) and has the highest career winning percentage in NASCAR's top series (21.053%). Overall, he won 48 NASCAR Cup races, 39 poles and was in a close battle for a third title when his career was cut short by injury. Thomas was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. Thomas, who died in 2000, was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2013.
• Brock Yates (At Large): Longtime executive editor of Car and Driver, Yates championed the role of the automobile in American life. Yates established the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, a cross-continental road race known as the Cannonball Run; Yates won the second installment in a Ferrari Daytona with 1991 MSHFA inductee Dan Gurney. The race became the inspiration for several Cannonball Run movies, for which Yates wrote the screenplays. Yates was a pit reporter for CBS and a commentator on TNN and the Speed Channel.
