HOF adds Gant's Southern 500 trophy, Pearson's seat

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The NASCAR Hall of Fame opens May 11 and to celebrate the final 50 days until the opening, news is revealed each day at www.nascarhall.com/50days.

A recap of reveals for April 19-25:

Monday, April 19
• 22 days until opening: No. 22 Triple Play -- Red Byron's Ford Coupe, Fireball Roberts' Bonneville and Bobby Allison's Buick Regal

About the Hall

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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Highlighted by 18 historical cars, Glory Road features three No. 22 cars from three different eras of NASCAR.

Red Byron drove his 1939 Ford Coupe to victory in NASCAR's first race on Feb. 15, 1948. Owned by Atlanta businessman Raymond Parks and prepared by ace tuner Red Vogt, the car carried Byron to NASCAR's first season championship.

The Bonneville made its showroom debut in 1957 and quickly became Pontiac's performance pacesetter. This was the beginning of Pontiac's "Wide Track" era, a few extra inches between wheels compared with corresponding Buicks and Oldsmobiles. Wide Track handling advantages and Pontiac's powerful V-8 added up to 60 wins between 1959-1962, culminating in Fireball Roberts' dominance of the 1962 July race at Daytona and Joe Weatherly's 1962 championship run.

Originally a 1986 Buick Regal, Bobby Allison drove this car to a remarkable victory at his home track of Talladega, beating Dale Earnhardt by .19 seconds. It was the first Cup win for his team, the Stavola Brothers. Allison closed out the season with 15 top-10 finishes.

Tuesday, April 20
• 21 days until opening: The Original seat from David Pearson's 1972 Wood Brothers Mercury

From 1972-79, David Pearson and the Wood Brothers created one of the most successful partnerships in NASCAR history. The history of Wood Brothers Racing started with founder and driver, Glen Wood. The Wood family is celebrating 60 years of racing this year. They also have earned bragging rights for fielding cars for 20 of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers.

Pearson primarily ran superspeedways for Wood Brothers Racing. He only ran one short track, Martinsville, because of the close proximity of the Wood's family home to the track. Throughout his career, Pearson often finished first or second when racing against Richard Petty. They exchanged places more often than any other drivers.

Guests can view the original seat from Pearson's 1972 Mercury in Heritage Speedway.

Wednesday, April 21
• 20 days until opening: Induction Ceremony tickets on sale

Tickets for the Inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony are on sale through Ticketmaster. The event is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET May 23 in the Charlotte Convention Center's Crown Ballroom at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C.

The prestigious ceremony will feature presentations about each inductee from prominent members of the NASCAR community. The highlight of the event will be the official induction of the inaugural class of 2010: Dale Earnhardt, Bill France, Bill France Jr., Junior Johnson and Richard Petty. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000.

The five inaugural inductees were selected by a voting panel consisting of 50 members representing NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, major race track ownership groups, retired drivers, owners and crew chiefs along with motorsports media representatives. The group met in a closed session in Charlotte, N.C., on Oct. 14, 2009, to vote on the induction class of 2010. The class was determined by the 51 votes cast by the panel and the nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.COM. More than 670,000 votes were submitted online at NASCAR.COM as part of the fan voting process.

Thursday, April 22
• 19 days until opening: The Great Hall compass identifying 20 race tracks in U.S.

Charlotte, N.C., is considered the home of NASCAR. The design team at the NASCAR Hall of Fame created a compass in The Great Hall which identifies 20 NASCAR race tracks. Each race tracks' name and destination is identified by compass lines, denoting the number of miles the race track is from Charlotte.

Considered the "Times Square" of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, The Great Hall features rotating exhibit displays, an interactive 14 foot x 18 foot video billboard displaying lively video scenes and messages, the majestic Glory Road and the compass lines drawn on the floor pointing toward current and historic race tracks.

SPEED kicks off its support of the historic NASCAR Hall of Fame induction with a series of one-hour specials celebrating each of the five members of the inaugural class:

Inductee	Date	Time (ET)
Bill France	April 16	9:30 p.m.
Bill France Jr.	April 23	8:30 p.m.
Junior Johnson	April 30	10 p.m.
Richard Petty	May 8	2:30 p.m.
Dale Earnhardt	May 14	11 p.m.

Friday, April 23
• 18 days until opening: Glory Road's 14-degrees and 33-degrees walk-out experiences

Glory Road is highlighted by 18 historical cars. It also mimics the various degrees of banking at race tracks including the impressive 33-degree incline found at Talladega. Fans have the opportunity to walk on the surface and experience the high banks at 14 and 33 degrees.

The highest banking degree found in NASCAR is at Talladega. Daytona is a close second with 31 degrees of banking. Bristol, the impressive half-mile oval in Tennessee, is 30 degrees.

The attraction of Glory Road is a delight for the senses as our visitors see the beauty of the 18 historic cars and feel the sensation of standing at 14 and 33 degrees.

Saturday, April 24
• 17 days until opening: Harry Gant's winning trophy from the 1991 Southern 500 race

Harry Gant earned the nickname "Mr. September" for winning four consecutive races in September 1991. These races were held at Darlington, Richmond, Dover, and Martinsville. To win four races in a row is among the most difficult feats for a driver in NASCAR and a very rare occurrence. To make it all the more amazing, Harry was 50 years, 9 months old when he accomplished this momentous achievement.

In Heritage Speedway, history buffs and NASCAR novices alike can explore authentic artifacts and educational films depicting the story of NASCAR's exciting six-decade history. The most artifact-rich area of the facility, guests can view hundreds of historical, NASCAR-related items. Harry Gant's winning trophy from the 1991 Southern 500 Race is featured in Heritage Speedway.

Sunday, April 25
• 16 days until opening: Bill France Jr.'s brass ship wheel

Bill France Jr. took the reins of NASCAR in January 1972 from his father, Bill France. Growing up in the original NASCAR family, he learned the business through his "grass roots" experiences in the sport. France Jr. did everything from flagging events to driving a race car.

France Jr. is credited with taking NASCAR to a new level of success as it became America's number one form of motorsports and the nation's second-most popular sport. He remained the president until 2000 before passing the torch to Mike Helton.

On display in the Hall of Honor is the brass ship wheel presented to France Jr. as a thank you from RJ Reynolds, sponsor of the Winston Cup Series. The Hall of Honor is the sacred area where NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees will be enshrined, celebrated and honored through the years. France Jr.'s brass ship wheel and a variety of artifacts honoring the inaugural 2010 class of inductees will be revealed after the induction ceremony on May 23.

Related:
• Items 50-44: Waltrip title car among early reveal of Hall items
• Items 43-37: Jarrett's race-day jacket, Evans No. 61 part of Hall
• Items 36-30: Fireball Roberts' jacket, Scott's Ford door in HOF
• Items 29-23: Reagan's jacket from '84, France nameplate in Hall