NASCAR 75: One of a series of 75 stories that helped define the first three quarters of a century of NASCAR.
Six decades after the first Cup race, NASCAR opened the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte in May of 2010.
While Charlotte seemed an obvious choice for the Hall of Fame—most NASCAR teams are based in that region—Daytona Beach and Atlanta had been finalists, and Richmond, Kansas City, Detroit, and a site in Alabama had shown interest.It was a long and winding road, this journey from idea to approval to planning to location to building to opening with great hype and hoopla.
Every other major American sport had built and maintained halls of fame for decades upon decades before NASCAR got around to it. They included pro, college, and high school football halls of fame. Ditto for basketball, baseball, and hockey at almost every level. And halls for open-wheel racing, tennis, golf, boxing, “real” wrestling, swimming, field hockey, track/field, and soccer.
And, not surprisingly, there was some controversy within the inaugural Class of 2010. It featured NASCAR executives Bill France and his son, Bill Jr., plus seven-time driving champions Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, and winning driver and championship-winning team owner