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Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris has had quite the racing season, celebrating a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship with Martin Truex Jr. with his company’s support along for the ride.
As the calendar year winds down, Morris is hungry for another big win in an entirely different field. Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium is among the nominees for Best New Attraction in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
Votes can be cast here through New Year’s Day at noon ET, and winners are scheduled to be announced Jan. 5. Wonders of Wildlife currently tops the leaderboard among the 20 nominated attractions.
“Wonders of Wildlife is an inspirational journey around the world that celebrates the role of hunters and anglers as America’s true conservation heroes,” Morris said. “We proudly invite families and sportsmen to come share the wonder with an unforgettable experience meant to inspire generations of future conservationists.”
The consideration is another accolade in a brief time for the 350,000-square-foot venue, which celebrated its grand opening Sept. 21 in Springfield, Missouri. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter attended the premier, with celebrities Kevin Costner and Mark Wahlberg on hand and country music stars Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley also on the guest list for the debut.
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The facility stays true to its environmental mission with an expansive array of wildlife galleries and an aquarium habitat with more than 35,000 live fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds in a vivid 1.5 million-gallon display. But Morris’ crown-jewel attraction also reserves nearby space for his other pursuit — motorsports.
As part of the Bass Pro Shops national headquarters is the Bass Pro Shops Motorsports Museum, which is a treasured collection of race-used vehicles, fire suits and helmets. Included is the No. 3 Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt to his lone victory in the Daytona 500 in 1998, one year after Bass Pro Shops first signed on as a NASCAR sponsor.
The collection also includes cars and memorabilia from other drivers who have carried the Bass Pro Shops flag to championships across all three NASCAR national tours, including Truex, Tony Stewart and Austin Dillon.
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The Wonders of Wildlife project and Bass Pro Shops’ reach has come a long way since Morris first started his company in 1972 in the back of his father’s liquor store. It’s now the leading national retailer of outdoor gear and marine equipment with more than 100 expansive locations in North America.
That level of achievement has helped Morris forge strong partnerships with some of stock-car racing’s most prominent figures and most successful drivers. But tasting championship success with Bass Pro Shops featured on Truex’s title-winning No. 78 Toyota is what keeps him coming back, season after season. The company will continue its sponsorship of Truex’s Furniture Row Racing team and the efforts of Richard Childress Racing in 2018.
“Martin is a true champion on and off the race track and we are proud to continue supporting him and the No. 78 race team in 2018,” Morris said in October, when Bass Pro Shops extended its partnership with the soon-to-be champion. “NASCAR is an excellent platform for Bass Pro Shops and we share in our customers’ enthusiasm and passion for racing. We’re very excited to continue our longstanding relationship with Martin Truex Jr., Barney Visser and our friends at Toyota.”