NASCAR legend Parks to donate collection to Hall

HAMPTON, Ga. -- The NASCAR Hall of Fame struck gold with the announcement Saturday that legendary car owner Raymond Parks is donating his collection of trophies and memorabilia to the Charlotte facility, including the championship trophies from NASCAR's first two seasons.

The Hall of Fame will bring NASCAR's history to life and preserves that history in the appropriate environments. The facility will allow fans to have the opportunity to relive the sport's greatest moments.

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On display in Parks' office for the past six decades, the 1948 NASCAR Modified and 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock trophies are the anchors of a donation that "is one of the most amazing and valued collections we could have envisioned," according to NASCAR Hall of Fame executive director Winston Kelley.

"It is both an honor and humbling to be entrusted with a collection such as [this] and to be able to share it with the millions of NASCAR fans," Kelley said. "We pledge to treat and preserve it with the respect and care that it deserves."

Parks, now 94, has been involved in racing as a car owner since the mid-1930s -- and was a member of the group that met at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach in 1947 to discuss rules that would lead to the formation of NASCAR. His collection of memorabilia is extensive. In addition to the two championship trophies, he plans to donate the trophy Roy Hall earned for winning the 1941 Daytona beach race, Bob Flock's 1946 race-winning trophy from Thomaston Speedway, the 1950 Mexican Road Race trophy won by Red Byron.

"I'm proud of my involvement in NASCAR over the year and with the opportunity to partner with the NASCAR Hall of Fame," Parks said in a statement. "[My wife] Vi and I are thrilled that my artifacts will be housing in the Hall of Fame for future generations of fans to enjoy."

Parks and his wife attended a presentation ceremony at Atlanta Motor Speedway, along with NASCAR president Mike Helton and seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty, who was 1 when Lloyd Seay won driving a Parks car at Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway in 1938. NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. -- who also drove for Parks -- claimed that Seay was the greatest driver he ever saw.

"When we sit around and talk about NASCAR, I think it's very important for us to remember the beginning of our sport, and Raymond Parks was there," Helton said. "We've got characters there today, just like we have in our own families -- when you sit around the table with a great-grandfather or a great-uncle who can tell you about the Depression or World War II -- we've got people in our midst today who call tell you what it was like before NASCAR."

Parks

Parks was a trailblazer when it came to hiring the best drivers and providing the best equipment, according to Petty.

"He set the standard," Petty said. "When racing first started, it was pretty rough. Rough characters, rough cars, rough situations. Mr. Parks brought the sport class. A lot of people looked at that and said, 'If he can do it, we can do it. We can clean the sport up. We can clean ourselves up.'

"It took people like Mr. Parks to lay the foundation that we're still living off of. And without people like him, we wouldn't have the history we have and we wouldn't be where we are today. He was the No. 1 guy -- racing before he ever knew Bill France."

Currently under construction in Charlotte, the NASCAR Hall of Fame is expected to open in May of 2010. Plans are to honor the history and heritage of NASCAR, with interactive exhibits and displays, a state-of-the-art theater and Hall of Honor. The Hall will be owned by the city of Charlotte and operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.