Five ready to be enshrined in Hall of Fame on May 23

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR will honor five men who have been instrumental in the creation and success of the sport on May 23 in Charlotte, N.C., with the induction of the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. That first class consists of Dale Earnhardt, Bill France, Bill France Jr., Junior Johnson and Richard Petty.

The historic event will take place in the Charlotte Convention Center's new Crown Ballroom beginning at 1 p.m. ET following red carpet arrivals of VIPs and celebrities as well as the inductees.

The first class

Dale Earnhardt, Bill France, Bill France Jr., Junior Johnson and Richard Petty will be enshrined on May 23.

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As part of the program, personalities from inside as well as outside the sport of NASCAR will be on hand to recognize the inductees. Each inductee and family members of inductees no longer with us have chosen people close to them to take part in the ceremony to acknowledge their achievements.

NASCAR personalities Dale Inman, Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Kyle Petty, members of the Earnhardt family and Darrell Waltrip will take part in the induction as well as NASCAR vice chairman and executive vice president Jim France, NASCAR vice chairwoman and executive vice president/International Speedway Corporation chief executive officer Lesa France Kennedy, NASCAR president Mike Helton and NASCAR vice president of corporate communications Jim Hunter.

Also participating is Bill France's long-time friend John Cassidy, NASCAR Hall of Fame executive director Winston Kelley, former NASCAR marketing executive Ken Clapp and more.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring the NASCAR Hall of Fame to our millions of fans and participate in a tremendous opening ceremony in Charlotte last week," said Brian France, NASCAR's chairman and CEO. "We are even more excited to officially and permanently enshrine those pioneers who made our sport what we enjoy today. When we honor my father and grandfather alongside great American heroes and champions Junior Johnson, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, it will be a signature day in NASCAR."

Long-time NASCAR television voice Mike Joy will serve as host of the induction ceremony while SPEED will bring live exclusive television coverage of the event beginning at noon ET with Steve Byrnes, Larry McReynolds, Krista Voda, Jeff Hammond and Randy Pemberton. Additionally, Motor Racing Network will carry live radio coverage of the induction ceremony hosted by Barney Hall and Joe Moore on nearly 100 affiliates nationwide. The broadcast can also be heard on SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.

In October 2009, the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting panel, consisting of members of the nominating committee along with 29 others representing NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, major race track ownership groups, retired drivers, owners and crew chiefs along with motorsports media representatives, met in a closed session in Charlotte, N.C., 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. The accounting firm of Ernst & Young presided over the tabulation of the votes.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame opened to great fanfare on May 11. The facility honors the history and heritage of NASCAR and the many who have contributed to the success of NASCAR.

The process to choose the next class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame will begin in July when the 25 nominees will be announced. The class of 2011 will be announced in October 2010.