Members of the eighth NASCAR Hall of Fame class joined their rightful place among other NASCAR legends Friday night in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin, Raymond Parks and Benny Parsons officially answered the call in a most prestigious ceremony.

The class

Richard Childress

Long before he became one of the pre-eminent car owners in NASCAR history, Richard Childress was a race car driver with limited means. Still, he persevered, which is what you do when you purchase your first race car for $20 at the age of 17. Having formed Richard Childress Racing in 1972, Childress retired from driving in 1981. Eventually he would hire Dale Earnhardt as his driver. The rest, as they say, is history. | WATCH CHILDRESS’ SPEECH