A $20 Car, a Couple of Great Breaks and Prolonged Excellence Sends Richard Childress to the NASCAR Hall of Fame

Richard Childress made 41 starts in the NASCAR Grand Touring/Grand American division between 1969 and 1971 before moving on to Cup racing. He finished 22 of those races in the top ten.
Photo – ISC Archives via Getty Images

Note: This is the first in a five-part series of features detailing the careers of the five inductees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017. The inductees, who will be officially enshrined on January 20th at 8 pm ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, are Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin, Raymond Parks and Benny Parsons.

Journeyman stock car racer Richard Childress caught lightning in a bottle, not once but twice.

NASCAR’s only driver strike, on the eve of the 1969 inaugural race at Talladega Superspeedway, gave Childress the opportunity to earn enough money to build his first race shop and lay the foundation for Richard Childress Racing, the powerhouse Chevrolet organization which to date has claimed 11 owner titles across NASCAR’s three national series.

Nearly a decade later, the Winston-Salem, N.C. native met Dale Earnhardt. Together, the pair won six NASCAR premier series championships along with 67 races between 1984 and 2000.

Earnhardt entered the NASCAR Hall of Fame as a member of its 2010 inaugural class. Childress will be enshrined in the hall on January 20 in Charlotte, NC at 8 pm ET on NBCSN, along with Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin, Raymond Parks and Benny Parsons.

Childress, 71, grew up selling peanuts and popcorn at Winston-Salem’s legendary Bowman Gray Stadium.

Soon after, he bought a 1947 Plymouth for $20. Continue reading

Summary of Five NASCAR Off Season Storylines

Fan4Racing has taken a break since the NASCAR season finale at Homestead-Miami, but now it’s time to compile a summary from five of the biggest NASCAR news stories during the off-season as we gear up for the 2017 season to begin.

Also coming soon is our first 2017 Fan4Racing Radio show next Monday night starting at 8:30 pm ET with myself and co-host Sal Sigala on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk. Watch for more details about this show on Monday, January 16th.

Now let’s get started with a summary of the five biggest off-season NASCAR news count down. Continue reading

Five Legends Unveiled as 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class

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Photo - AP

Photo – AP

Five Legends Unveiled as 2017 NASCAR Hall Of Fame Class

Childress, Hendrick, Martin, Parks and Parsons Comprise Hall’s Eighth Class

NASCAR has announced the inductees who will comprise the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017. The five-person group – the eighth since the inception of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010 – consists of Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin, Raymond Parks and Benny Parsons. In addition, NASCAR announced that Martinsville Speedway founder H. Clay Earles won the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met today in a closed session at the Charlotte Convention Center to debate and vote upon the 20 nominees for the induction class of 2017 and the five nominees for the Landmark Award. Continue reading

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series News and Notes – April 15, 2016

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Up Next: Kansas Speedway

The high-octane NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has the next three weekends off before returning on Friday, May 6 for the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway at 8:30 pm ET.

Kansas was a dramatic race last season. Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suárez all ran out of fuel while in the lead, and Matt Crafton saved enough in the tank to pass them for the victory.

Crafton is the only full-time Truck Series driver with a win at Kansas. Johnny Sauter (third), Timothy Peters (fourth), Cameron Hayley (fifth) and Daniel Hemric (tenth) all finished in the top-ten in last season’s race. Continue reading

NASCAR Announces Nominees for NASCAR Hall of Fame

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NASCAR-HOF

NASCAR Announces Nominees

For NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017, Landmark Award

Hornaday, Roush, Rudd, Squier, Wilson Added To Ballot;

Guthrie Joins Landmark List 

Legendary engine builders, crew chiefs, owners, drivers and the most recognizable voice in motorsports. The talents, eras and levels may differ, but all share a common thread. They shaped NASCAR, and on Wednesday, they were recognized as nominees for the highest honor the sport bestows – enshrinement into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

NASCAR today announced the 20 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017, as well as the five nominees for the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. Included among the list are five first-time nominees, all legends who made excellence a habit through their various contributions to the sport. Continue reading