Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Best photos from 2016 Hall of Fame induction

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bruton Smith didn’t make good on the opportunity to become a legendary race car driver.

So he did the next best thing. He became a promoter. He ran race tracks. And then he built and bought speedways. And then he improved those speedways. And then he improved them some more.

Folks noticed.

And pretty soon, everyone else was scrambling to catch up.

Smith, along with drivers Curtis Turner, Bobby Isaac, Terry Labonte and Jerry Cook, was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Saturday. It was fitting – Smith had dealings of some sort with each of his fellow inductees through the years.

Higher powers got him out from behind the wheel. A savvy business sense put him on the road to success operating race tracks.

“I wanted to be a race driver,” Smith, 88, said during his induction speech inside the Crown Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center. “I had a real strong desire to do that so I bought a race car for $700 … that’s a lot of money then. …

“So I started driving, and I learned how to drive, and it was not as difficult as I thought it was. I thought, ‘OK, now I’ve got my career going.’

His father, he said, didn’t have an issue with his career choice at the time. His mother felt differently.

“He just said, ‘Be careful, boy.’ I was, but my mom had a problem with it,” Smith said, “And she said, ‘I wish you wouldn’t do that,’ and I heard that a dozen times, I guess, and my mother was a very religious person, and my mom started praying I would quit.

“Well, I knew then when she did that it was time for me to quit because I was not going to compete with that. That’s when I quit, and I went over on the other side, and I started promoting races.”

Today Speedway Motorsports, Inc., owns and operates eight tracks that host 12 of the 36 annual premier series points races on the NASCAR schedule. Charlotte Motor Speedway, built by Smith and Turner in 1959, also hosts the series’ annual all-star (non-points) event.

MORE: NASCAR Hall of Fame inducts Class of 2016

 

CMS was the first facility to offer condominiums overlooking the track, and was the first intermediate track to feature lights, allowing races to be run at night.

Atlanta and Texas Motor Speedway, both SMI properties, also feature condominiums; there’s “Big Hoss,” the world’s largest HDTV screen along the backstretch at TMS and a 16,000-square-foot HD screen at CMS. Among the many features at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the Neon Garage to get fans close to the action, while Bristol Motor Speedway officials are constructing the world’s largest outdoor, permanent, center-hung digital display.

RELATED: Bristol to get ‘Colossus’ for 2016

“I’ve told people before that he doesn’t do things to get awards,” son Marcus Smith said. “He doesn’t really relish a victory as much as he does a challenge, and that’s probably something in common with a lot of Hall of Famers, I would guess.

“He’s certainly someone who just relishes the challenge, loves the climb and when he achieves a goal, he quickly moves to the next opportunity and the next challenge.”

Saturday’s induction ceremony, delayed one day by Winter Storm Jonas, was the seventh since the Hall opened in 2010. Smith, who grew up east of Charlotte in tiny Oakboro, North Carolina is the third non-competitor (driver, owner, crew chief or engine builder) to be inducted. NASCAR founder William H.G. France and son Bill France Jr., were among those in the inaugural class.

“Bruton should have been in the Hall before now,” NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick said earlier this week. “I remember him calling me one day, wanting me to buy a condo at the track. I said ‘Bruton if I buy a condo it’s going to be overlooking the ocean somewhere and not at a race track.’ About two years later, I paid more to get one.

“His mind is racing all the time; he’s done so much for the sport. He’s so brave to step out and try things that have never been tried before. It’s past time for him to go in the Hall.

“He’s a sharp guy. He helped build this sport and it’s well deserved.”

Fellow team owner Roger Penske called Smith “special,” and “someone who has brought so much to NASCAR.”

“When you think about the Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol, and tracks like New Hampshire and Sonoma and Atlanta, he’s been the best,” Penske said. “There’s no question. He set the bar.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Steve Byrnes passes away at 56

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The NASCAR Hall of Fame honored late broadcaster Steve Byrnes on Saturday at the weather-delayed induction ceremony at the Charlotte Convention Center. His son Bryson accepted the Squier‑Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence earlier this afternoon at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on behalf of his father, who passed away from cancer in April.

 

“This day is about those who paved the way in our sport,” FOX Sports broadcaster Krista Voda said during Byrnes’ introduction. “Each of us has a person, the one who guided us, who gave us a blueprint. Steve Byrnes was my person, my mentor, my friend. In April, Steve lost his courageous battle with cancer but not before serving as an inspiration to the entire NASCAR community.”

 

The Squier-Hall award is named in honor of legendary broadcasters Ken Squier and Barney Hall and has been presented to influential members of NASCAR media for the past three years. Byrnes’ wife, Karen, and son, Bryson, were among the many family members present at the induction ceremony.

 

“Just be nice to others,” Bryson Byrnes said on lessons his father taught him. “You know, just enjoy what you do, have a great attitude while doing it, and just always going full out when you do do something, and do what you love, and when you do do it, just do it with a heart and a passion of doing it.”

RELATED: Through the years photo gallery

Drivers Darrell Wallace Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were among those to tweet tributes and remebrances of Byrnes after Saturday’s ceremonies at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: NASCAR inducts Class of 2016 into Hall of Fame

For one wintry Saturday afternoon at least, the Iceman almost cracked.
 
Terry Labonte struck the perfect blend of class and appreciation in his NASCAR Hall of Fame induction speech Saturday afternoon, joining four additional worthy members of the Class of 2016. His accomplishments were celebrated, but so was the manner in which he achieved them — with a steady, understated style that earned him the Iceman nickname.
 
There was plenty of ice in the Charlotte area with accumulation still lingering from the fringes of Winter Storm Jonas, which delayed the ceremony from its original Friday date. But the two-time premier series champion, rarely given to heavy doses of emotion, nearly melted during his heartfelt 12-minute, 15-second acceptance speech.
 
“Well, if I ever have to give another speech or anything like that, I’m not going to let my wife sit on the front row because I looked at her and she was crying, and I looked at my mother and she was crying, and I thought, ‘Oh, God, I’m going to cry, too,’ ” Labonte said after the ceremony, the seventh induction gala for the NASCAR shrine. “I can’t look at them no more. I don’t know, I wasn’t anticipating that at all.



“But you know, my family is very excited about it, and it’s quite an honor to be in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”
 
Provided with a tough act to follow after Bruton Smith’s entrancing speech before him, Labonte welcomed the crowning accolade with exceptional grace. The soft-spoken Texan showed his appreciation for the NASCAR Hall of Famers who preceded him in enshrinement before thanking NASCAR for their devotion to the sport of stock-car racing.

SEE THE SPEECHES: Bruton Smith | Labonte | Jerry Cook | Turner’s daughter | Isaac’s family
 
When Labonte’s speech turned to his family — many of whom were in attendance at the Charlotte Convention Center — the emotions hit home.
 
“He was telling a story about his parents and he knew they hadn’t heard that, and he told me that he might get a little emotional at that point,” said Kim Labonte, Terry’s wife of 37 years who sat front and center for the ceremony. “I was trying to keep it together. It means a lot when you look back at his career and just the things he’s accomplished and sacrifices that people made, like his parents. It just brings all the memories back closer this last week, getting ready for the Hall of Fame induction.
 
“I kept trying not to tear up, but they were just there and I couldn’t stop them. When he saw me, it triggered the same response in himself.”
 
For Bobby Labonte, who joined his brother as a premier-series champion in 2000, the quiver in his older brother’s voice resonated as he mentioned the measures his parents took to further their racing careers.
 
“It probably didn’t hit me until his speech just how big it really is,” Bobby Labonte said. “I kind of came in here like, this would be a nice little dinner or lunch, so anyway, when it was all said and done, I was watching like, ‘Holy cow.’ I’m looking around and going, ‘This is pretty big.’ It’s exciting to see.
 
“Being his little brother and watching him all those years, good gosh, I got to see all that stuff. So it really is cool to see his accomplishments and what all he’s done and being able to follow right behind him watching him. It gave me goosebumps when I was listening to him.”

RELATED: Best images from the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction
 
The elder Labonte’s on-track prowess did much of the talking for him. His 22 wins and 27 pole positions in NASCAR’s top division were only surpassed by the two championships, spread a record 12 years apart in 1984 and ’96. He transformed from Iceman to Iron Man by setting the sport’s longevity record with 655 consecutive premier-series starts, a mark that stood until 2002.
 
Asked to pull a favorite memory from his 37 seasons behind the wheel, Labonte actually recalled a race where he finished fifth. The 1996 season finale came on a chilly November day at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Labonte led 28 laps and recorded his 21st top-five result in 31 races. It was enough to make him a two-time champion.

RELATED: See the past champions of the sport’s top series
 
His younger brother joined the celebration in Victory Lane, but his attendance there was compulsory. Bobby Labonte led a dominant 147 of 328 laps to win the season-ending race from the pole position, touching off a brotherly bash in one of the sport’s most memorable moments.
 
“For our parents, they’re standing there and kid No. 1 and kid No. 2 are both in Victory Lane on the same day, at the same time, the moment, in the same race,” Bobby Labonte said. “How does that work? How many times does that happen? That was a pretty surreal moment that that all took place for me to be able to win, he was able to win — all in the same day. It was like, wow — that kind of blew us away. Our emotions don’t get too high, but that blew us away.”
 
The emotions ran high for most of the two-hour ceremony for Terry Labonte, his family members, and the estimated two dozen “rowdy friends” who made the long-distance trek from his home state. Labonte ended his speech by saying that he’ll fondly recall being introduced as a champion two times over, but that recognition as a NASCAR Hall of Famer trumps all.
 
“You don’t start out saying, ‘I want to be in the Hall of Fame someday,’ ” Labonte said. “It’s something that, you know, when you look back and you kind of race from week to week and season to season and you win some races and win some championships and when it’s all over and said and done with and you’re selected to be in the Hall of Fame, then that’s quite an accomplishment.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Check out the rings and jackets that the inductees receive


Four legendary drivers and one titan of a track owner are the latest additions to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
 
On Saturday afternoon at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., O. Bruton Smith, executive chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., entered the Hall with “Iceman” Terry Labonte, six-time NASCAR Modified champion Jerry Cook, 1970 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bobby Isaac and flamboyant Curtis Turner, who was instrumental in raising the profile of stock car racing during NASCAR’s early days.
 
Introduced by current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman, Isaac was first to be inducted during a ceremony delayed for one day by winter storm Jonas. Son Randy Isaac performed the honors, with wife Patsy accepting on behalf of her late husband.


MORE: Best photos from 2016 induction ceremony

“Bobby Isaac is a true American rages-to-riches story,” Patsy Isaac said. “He was born into a poor family in Catawba County in 1932. He was the second youngest of nine children and was on his own by the age of 12.
 
“One fateful night, Bobby attended a race at Hickory Speedway. Not having enough money to purchase a ticket, he watched the race from a tree outside the track. He was inspired to believe that racing was his opportunity for a better life.
 
“He loved to win, but he hated to lose, and he used this passion to drive his success.”
 
Isaac passed away in 1977, seven years after winning his championship in NASCAR’s premier division, and those who weren’t fortunate enough to have seen him on the track missed one of the fiercest competitors in the history of NASCAR racing.
 
In 308 starts, Isaac won 37 races and 49 poles, 10th most all-time in the latter category. Remarkably, he converted 20 of those poles into race wins. Thirty-six of his victories came during a prolific period from 1968 through 1972, when Isaac was driving the No. 71 K&K Insurance Dodge owned by Nord Krauskopf.
 
During his championship season, Isaac visited Victory Lane 11 times in 47 starts, a year after winning an extraordinary 17 times in 50 races and finishing sixth in the series standings. Isaac still holds the record for poles in a single season (19 in 1969).
 
Cook, part of a remarkable era in NASCAR Modified racing, was the second member of the class of 2016 to enter the Hall. During a 15-year span, Cook and Richie Evans, a nine-time champion and a 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, kept the Modified trophy in Rome, New York, where they both lived.

    
WATCH THE SPEECHES: Isaac’s family | Jerry Cook | Curtis Turner’s daughter | Bruton Smith | Labonte’s speech


It’s a tribute to Cook’s talent and tenacity that he was able to win six titles, including four straight from 1974 through 1977, going head-to-head against the foremost Modified driver in the history of the sport.
 
Cook’s contribution, however, isn’t limited to his on-track performance. As a long-time NASCAR executive, Cook has been instrumental in the streamlining, development and promotion of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
 
Three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart introduced Cook with the words “Today one of my favorite drivers takes his rightful place among the immortals in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”
 
An emotional Cook humbly accepted the honor, which was conferred on him by old friend and former NASCAR senior vice president of competition Robin Pemberton.
 
“I have been very fortunate to make a living doing something that I really love, and I would not trade it for anything,” Cook said during his induction speech. “When I first started racing, I wondered how long I could do this before I had to get a real job, but somehow, I always had money in my pocket, so I just kept racing.
 
“In fact, my Mother never thought that I had a real job until I went to work for NASCAR … NASCAR’s a family, and this is our house. Thanks for bringing me to our house.”
 
Always larger than life, and sometimes controversial, Turner earned the well-deserved nickname “Babe Ruth of stock car racing” for his hard-charging aggressiveness on the race track and his equally full-throttle lifestyle off the dirt and pavement.
 
A 17-time winner at NASCAR’s highest level, Turner collected most of his victories on short asphalt and dirt ovals, but he also triumphed in the 1956 Southern 500 at Darlington and the 1965 American 500 at Rockingham, driving a No. 41 Ford fielded by the Wood Brothers in the inaugural Cup race at the one-mile track.
 
Turner is the only driver in the history of NASCAR’s top division to have won from the pole while leading every lap in two consecutive races, a feat he accomplished at Rochester, New York, and Charlotte in 1950.
 
“Curtis was recognized nationally as THE race driver,” said fellow inductee Bruton Smith, who joined forces with Turner in spearheading the construction of Charlotte Motor Speedway.
 
Turner, who also won 38 races in 78 starts in NASCAR’s Convertible Series was introduced by 2014 Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick and inducted by Hall of Fame member Leonard Wood. Turner’s daughter, Margaret Sue Turner Wright, accepted the honor.
 
“Curtis Turner was really many things to many people,” Wright said. “He was a star to some people, a great race car driver to many people, a track president, track promoter and an owner—and entrepreneur. But we just called him ‘Dad’ or ‘Daddy.’
 
“…If there was anything he ever wanted to do—a project or a new business—he never let doubt get in the way. He just went full speed ahead into his dreams, and that’s inspiring.”
 
Smith, the fourth inductee from the 2016 class, set a new standard of opulence in NASCAR facilities. Many consider Bristol Motor Speedway his most visionary contribution to the sport. There, he took a half-mile short track in rural Tennessee and transformed it into a 160,000-seat racing coliseum.
 
Charlotte Motor Speedway, however, was the foundation of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which has grown to include eight race tracks that host a combined total of 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races, as well as the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
 
Introduced by 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski, Smith, the top vote-getter in the 2016 class, was ushered into the Hall by three-time Cup champion and Hall of fame member Darrell Waltrip.
 
“I want to thank all the people that voted for me,” the effervescent Smith said. “That was wonderful. You took a chance, but you know how it is. When you got married, you took a chance. I’m glad you voted for me—and I’m here!”
 
Smith said originally he wanted to be a race car driver and bought a car for $700.
 
“But my mom had a problem with it, and she said, ‘I wish you wouldn’t do that.'” Smith said. “I heard that a dozen times, I guess, and my mother was a very religious person. My mom started praying I would quit.
 
“I knew then, when she did that, it was time for me to quit, because I was not going to compete with that. So that’s when I quit and went over to the other side, and I started promoting races.”
 
Known as “Iceman” for his cool demeanor and “Iron Man” for his streak of 655 straight starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (fifth most all-time), Labonte was the fifth and final inductee of the day.
 
Labonte won championships in NASCAR’s top series 12 years apart, the first for owner Billy Hagan in 1984 and the second for Hendrick Motorsports in 1996. Labonte’s primary competition for the second title was teammate Jeff Gordon, who finished second in the standings during a run of three championships in four years.
 
“He battled Jeff Gordon for the championship when Jeff Gordon was in his prime—and beat him,” team owner Rick Hendrick said during a question-and-session with reporters on the recent Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour. “He’s one of the toughest people I’ve ever met, but he’s a team player, and such a good person.”
 
Labonte was introduced by reigning Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch and inducted by daughter Kristy Garrett. Labonte then gave a nod to the corps of drivers who had preceded him into the Hall.
 
“I might be in the Hall of Fame today with you guys, but you guys will still always be my heroes, and I appreciate everything that you guys did for our sport,” he said.
 
In his acceptance speech, the typically reticent champion couldn’t resist a joke at the expense of his wife Kim.
 
“We were riding down the road the other day, and Kim looked at me and said, ‘Hey, have you even thought about a speech for the Hall of Fame?’
 
“And I looked at her and said, ‘That’s news to me. Nobody’s told me anything about a speech for the Hall of Fame’ … I thought right there, you know I’ve got the perfect wife. We’ve been married 37 years, and she still believes everything I tell her.”
 
Labonte got uncharacteristically emotional, however, in address brother Bobby Labonte, who won the Cup championship in 2000.
 
“It’s not everybody who gets to do this and race in this series, much less do it with your brother,” Labonte said. “And I’ll tell you what, we had some great years that we raced together. We have some memories that will last a lifetime. And I love you, too, buddy.”
 
Also honored on Saturday were Darlington Raceway developer Harold Brasington, who was named Landmark Award Winner for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR, and popular Fox Sports broadcaster Steve Byrnes, who earned the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence.
 
Beloved by colleagues, competitors and fans alike, Byrnes passed away in April after a long, courageous and inspirational battle against cancer.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Official NASCAR release on postponement

Wintry weather postponed Friday night’s NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony, pushing the Class of 2016’s enshrinement to Saturday afternoon.

The Hall’s seventh class — Jerry Cook, Bobby Isaac, Terry Labonte, Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner — will be inducted at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The event will be broadcast live on NBCSN and NBC Live Extra, with radio coverage from MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Plans to hold the induction as scheduled were in place until Friday morning, but accumulations of snow and ice that made travel around the Charlotte, North Carolina area treacherous forced the postponement.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame planned an early closing Friday at 2 p.m. ET with Hall of Famer autograph sessions canceled. Saturday’s altered schedule will kick off with a 1 p.m. ET luncheon.

With winter precipitation expected to continue overnight Friday and into the morning hours, the NASCAR Hall of Fame also canceled Saturday’s Fan Appreciation Day. Autograph sessions and driver meet-and-greets were canceled. According to a release provided by the venue, the Hall is exploring options to accommodate fans who obtained autograph session tickets, with a decision to be announced later next week.

The Hall announced reduced hours Saturday from noon-5 p.m. ET with free admission.

The postponement means a mere one-day delay for five stock-car legends. Modified stalwart Cook, early star Isaac, two-time premier series champ Labonte, speedway mogul Smith and the hard-charging Turner will have their names called Saturday, bringing the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s list of inductees to a total of 35.

RELATED: For more updates see Official NASCAR release

Posted on by Zack Albert

Alex Bowman said he learned of his dismissal from Tommy Baldwin Racing on Thursday through social media, bringing an abrupt end to his one-year term in the No. 7 Chevrolet.

The 22-year-old driver’s remarks came Friday afternoon — one day after parting ways with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team — on the “Tradin’ Paint” program on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“I went to the gym yesterday morning on my way to the shop to go work on my midget and I refreshed Twitter, and Twitter says I’m fired,” Bowman said. “I don’t know. I guess you’ll have that in big-time auto racing.”

Just hours after a Thursday morning news report about a changing of the guard in the No. 7 ride, Tommy Baldwin Racing issued a news release saying that it had parted ways with Bowman. Approximately five hours later, the Tommy Baldwin-owned team announced that former Southern 500 winner Regan Smith would take over as TBR’s primary driver.

Bowman competed in 35 of 36 Sprint Cup races for Tommy Baldwin Racing last year, failing to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500. His best finish was 16th place at Talladega Superspeedway last spring.

Just last month, Bowman stood alongside Baldwin at the NASCAR Hall of Fame to announce a multiyear deal with Nikko RC/Toy State, a sponsor that Bowman helped woo. Bowman spent part of Thursday reaching out to his business contacts at Toy State to show his appreciation.

“I really don’t have any answers. I’m as baffled and puzzled as you guys are,” Bowman told SiriusXM. “I know the sport’s changing a lot and a lot of business models are changing, and Tommy felt like he needed to make a change. If he feels he needs to make a change and that I’m not the right person to be in that, then I shouldn’t be there. If you don’t have faith in your driver, there’s no reason to even go to the race track.

“Like I said, I’m really appreciative for everything they did and it’s no hard feelings. It’s a business and it’s what has to happen and it’s the way this deal works. It’s pretty ruthless, but that’s just the way it is — it’s big-time auto racing. I’m just really thankful that I do have some races on the table and just ready to go win, hopefully.”

Tommy Baldwin Racing issued a statement Friday afternoon, saying that the team wished Bowman well, but expressed regrets about how the news was conveyed.

“The circumstances surrounding Alex’s release via social media was unfortunate and certainly unintentional. The culture of doing business in motorsports has become more complex and involves many parties such as agents, business managers, attorneys and sponsors. A comment in passing may be overheard and subsequently conveyed to the media.

“Our intention, as it always is, was to follow business protocol and notify Alex and his management of our decision. Again, it’s unfortunate that confidentiality was compromised, and the news delivered in this manner.”

Bowman told SiriusXM that as of Friday afternoon, he hadn’t had a conversation with his former team owner since the change of plans. Bowman said he had spoken with Baldwin as recently as Wednesday evening and left with the impression that “everything was good.”

The move comes with less than a month before the season-opening Daytona 500 with Sprint Cup Series vacancies in ultra-short to nonexistent supply. Bowman does have a nine-race schedule lined up with JR Motorsports in the NASCAR XFINITY Series next year, but the prospects for a third consecutive campaign in NASCAR’s premier series appear slim.

“It’s unfortunate that it worked out that way, but I’m really appreciative of everything that TBR did for me,” Bowman said. “Tommy and everybody were like a big family to me for a little over a year now. It’s unfortunate that it has to end that way, but just really looking forward to my nine races with JR Motorsports and doing what I moved to North Carolina to do, which is to focus on winning races.

“That’s the most important thing to me right now, and I don’t know, maybe I’ll go run my midget some and do some stuff like that, but my main focus is just to go win those nine races and do everything I can to prove there’s a reason I should be here.”

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

RELATED: NASCAR Hall of Fame induction postponed due to weather

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Jan. 22, 2016) — Due to the inclement weather conditions in the Charlotte region, the NASCAR Hall of Fame will amend its Induction Ceremony and NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day activities this weekend.
 


The NASCAR Hall of Fame will remain open on Friday, Jan. 22. Due to the anticipated ice and snow accumulations during the course of the day, the venue will close early at 2 p.m. ET. The Induction Ceremony scheduled for this evening will be moved to Saturday, Jan. 23 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET and will be aired live on NBCSN, MRN and SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio.

The Induction Dinner will be adjusted to a luncheon format on Saturday at the Charlotte Convention Center beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Activities that were scheduled for today leading up to the Induction Ceremony such as Hall of Famer autograph sessions and the Red Carpet event will be canceled altogether.
 


In addition, Fan Appreciation Day activities including autograph sessions and programs will be canceled for tomorrow at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The venue will have a delayed opening at 12 p.m. ET and will honor the free admission that Fan Appreciation Day offers guests. The venue will close at 5 p.m. ET.
 
For those guests who secured autograph session tickets, the venue is exploring options to accommodate fans, which will be announced by the end of next week.

Due to the complexity of NASCAR and driver schedules, unfortunately the Hall will not be able to reschedule a complete day of Fan Appreciation Day programming.

For more details, visit nascarhall.com. Updates are available at facebook.com/nascarhall or by following @NASCARHall on Twitter.

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Stewart through the years

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tony Stewart made it clear he wasn’t interested in rehashing an incident with a fan that took place during this year’s Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
Stewart, a three-time NASCAR premier series champion and co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, was brief and to the point when asked about the incident during Thursday’s Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour.
 
“If you were in Tulsa, you would have seen it,” he said when the subject was raised during individual interview sessions with each of the SHR drivers and crew chiefs. “Next year, go to Tulsa and you’ll see what’s going on.”
 
Stewart, a former IndyCar champ as well as NASCAR title-holder, has also enjoyed quite a bit of success in various types of sprint cars. He has attended the Chili Bowl, one of the premier midget car races of the year, in recent years to help with track preparation in addition to taking in a week’s worth of racing action.
 
On Jan. 15, Stewart went into the grandstands to confront a fan who, according to reports and video posted on social media, had repeatedly heckled Stewart.
 
The fan, identified as Cpl. Kyle Hess, and Stewart exchanged words before Hess appeared to be pushed back in his seat by track security, which was on the scene during the entire altercation.
 
Hess is employed by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office. According to reports, he was not on duty at the time of the incident.

Stewart said anyone wanting to know what took place in Tulsa “should have been there to see for themselves.
 
“I’m not going to waste my time on a NASCAR media day talking about an event that happened a week ago,” he said. “Everybody that was there knew what happened. I think you guys are smart enough to see in social media now, people are coming out and talking about what happened, and we’ll leave it at that.”

Posted on by

RELATED: No pressure, but Rick Hendrick wants a Daytona win

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s hard to imagine Dale Earnhardt Jr. not fitting in.

As a 13-time recipient of the NMPA Most Popular Driver Award, beloved by fans and a star-studded symbol of stock car racing, Earnhardt is hardly the guy anyone would pinpoint as the one who wasn’t quite jelling with the group.

But there was a time when Earnhardt would sit down at the table with Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick and his teammates then leave the meeting having made little contribution to the discussion.

“For the longest time, I felt like maybe I was the odd man out or I just didn’t fit in,” Earnhardt recalled at Charlotte Media Tour on Thursday. “For whatever reason, it just didn’t feel like I was a piece of the puzzle. … We couldn’t get our team going, we couldn’t find success, I was unhappy.

“I just never wanted to push myself to or involve myself in too much of any of the conversation because I was not accomplishing my goals on Sunday. So, what do I got to say? I’ve got to get my crap together first before I can come to the table with any kind of new ideas or direction.”

Happiness began to trickle in when Junior’s trips to Victory Lane increased. After one lone win in five seasons, Earnhardt and crew chief Steve Letarte came back with a roar in 2014, winning the season-opening Daytona 500 and making three more trips to Victory Lane that year. He followed suit last season, winning three races with new crew chief Greg Ives.


That’s when Junior’s mindset began to shift.

“I’m glad that we’re winning races and we’re like an asset to everybody there and that we’re a good team … and they’re excited to work on our cars and build our motors and all that stuff because we go to the track with a chance to win,” Earnhardt said. “That’s all you want as a mechanic or engine builder — put your motor in the guy that’s got a shot. So I’m glad we’re finally at the level with the company.”

As Earnhardt tallied more wins, he seemed to mature off the race track, too. He celebrated his 40th birthday with longtime girlfriend Amy Reimann by his side, whom he proposed to during their trip to Germany in 2015. The Dale Earnhardt Jr. of 2016 seems more settled, more confident than his old self.

It’s something even Rick Hendrick noticed.

“I think he enjoyed being young, and I think now that he’s older, he’s just now coming into maturity,” Hendrick said with a laugh. “Maybe I shouldn’t even have said that and it’s going to come back to bite me, but I think he’s just all of a sudden, he’s planning a future with his wife — he’s comfortable. Then to win and know that he can go out there and win any race, any time, he’s having fun. And you know what, I want him to stay that way. I want him to continue to have fun.”


MORE: Superhero schemes for Junior, Johnson


And when Earnhardt’s riding high, coming down seems tough, almost impossible. Despite his peers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart announcing their own retirements, Earnhardt’s improvement on the track makes it difficult to answer one of the biggest questions that confronts the 41-year-old driver: When will he hang up his fire suit for good?

For Earnhardt, it’s a delicate balance.

“I don’t want to be here too long, (but) I don’t want to (retire) too early,” Earnhardt said. ” You want to feel like the time’s right.

“(Gordon and Stewart) felt like the time was right. And hopefully I’m in the same position. I’ve said before, that you want it to be your decision. You don’t want to be fired out of the sport. You want it to be on your terms.”

Earnhardt’s own terms deem that the retirement process also be steady, well thought-out — he wants to avoid saying “what if?” when the curtain does eventually fall.

“I’d be a fool to turn this off right now,” Earnhardt said. “To slow down this machine would take about a two-year plan. I will talk to Jeff and I’ll talk to Tony about how they went about that decision and structured it.

“But I can’t even imagine when that would be because things are going so well … We’ve got a job to do. Every year we keep getting better, we’re racing better, we’re winning. I feel like I’ve got to be here in that next step.

“If it flat lines, or I feel like I’ve flat lined or I feel like I’m part of the problem or I’m holding the team back, then we’ve got to start thinking about it. But everything’s going in the right direction right now.”


The day Earnhardt decides to step aside from racing is yet to be determined. But it doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon.

He has too much to say at the team meetings now.