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Benny Parsons, Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin, Raymond Parks and Richard Childress were inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Jan. 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Scroll on to see historic photos of each throughout their careers.
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Benny Parsons won the 1973 NASCAR premier series championship and could be called an everyman champion: winning enough to be called one of the sport's stars but nearly always finishing well when he wasn't able to reach Victory Lane. He won 21 times in 526 career starts but finished among the top 10 283 times -- a 54 percent ratio. One of Parsons’ biggest victories came in the 1975 Daytona 500. Parsons also was known as a voice of the sport making a seamless transition to television following his NASCAR career. He was a commentator for NBC and TNT until his passing in 2007, at the age of 65.
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Benny Parsons, 1973
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Benny Parsons, 1978
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Benny Parsons, 1977
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Benny Parsons, 1975
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Benny Parsons, 1969
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Benny Parsons, 1969
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Benny Parsons, 2006, with Jeff Gordon
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The founder and owner of Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick's organization is recognized as one of NASCAR's most successful. Hendrick Motorsports owns an all-time record 12 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car owner championship titles -- seven with Jimmie Johnson, four with Jeff Gordon and one with NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte. Hendrick also has 14 total NASCAR national series owner championships, most in NASCAR history. Gordon and Labonte combined to win four consecutive titles from 1995-98. In 2010, Johnson won a record-extending fifth consecutive championship. Hendrick's 242 owner wins in the premier series rank second all-time.
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Rick Hendrick, 2002
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Rick Hendrick, 2010
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Rick Hendrick, 2015
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Rick Hendrick, 2012
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Rick Hendrick, 2015
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Rick Hendrick, 2006, after Jimmie Johnson's first title
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Rick Hendrick, 2016, after Jimmie Johnson's seventh title
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He is often described as the 'greatest driver to never to win a championship,' but Mark Martin's legendary career is so much more than that. He came incredibly close to that elusive title many times -- finishing second in the championship standings five times. Over the course of his 31-year premier series career, Martin compiled 40 wins (17th all time) and 56 poles (seventh all time). Martin saw success at every level of NASCAR. He won 49 times in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, holding the series wins record for 14 years. He retired with 96 wins across NASCAR's three national series, seventh on the all-time list. In 1998, Martin was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers.
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Mark Martin, 1981
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Mark Martin, 1997
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Noted rap fan Mark Martin, 2013, with rapper 50 Cent
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Mark Martin, 2013
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Mark Martin, 2013
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Raymond Parks is one of stock-car racing's earliest -- and most successful -- team owners. Funded by successful business and real estate ventures in Atlanta, Parks began his career as a stock-car owner in 1938 with drivers Lloyd Seay and Roy Hall. His pairing with another Atlantan, mechanic Red Vogt, produced equipment good enough to dominate the sport in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Red Byron won the first NASCAR title (modified, 1948) and first premier series title (1949) in a Parks-owned car. Parks' team produced two premier series wins, two poles, 11 top fives and 12 top 10s in 18 events.
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Raymond Parks, 1950
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Raymond Parks, 2009
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Raymond Parks, 1947
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Raymond Parks, 1952
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Raymond Parks, 2009
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Long before he became one of the pre-eminent car owners in NASCAR history, Richard Childress was a race car driver with limited means. Childress, the consummate self-made racer, was respectable behind the wheel. Between 1969-81 he had six top-five finishes and 76 top 10s in 285 starts, finishing fifth in the NASCAR premier series standings in 1975. Having formed Richard Childress Racing in 1972, Childress retired from driving in 1981. He owned the cars that NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt drove to six championships and 67 wins between 1984-2000. In addition to Earnhardt's championships, Childress drivers have given him five others. Childress was the first NASCAR owner to win owner championships in all three of NASCAR's national series, and his 11 owner titles are second all-time.
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Richard Childress, 1973
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Richard Childress and Dale Earnhardt
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Richard Childress with grandsons Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon
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Richard Childress, 2010
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Richard Childress, 2011
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Richard Childress, 2014
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Richard Childress, 1969