NASCAR’s Hall inducts its latest class

The NASCAR Hall of Fame inducted its eighth class Friday at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons, Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick and Mark Martin – who each made their own indelible marks on the sport – comprised the hall’s eighth class.

Here’s a snapshot of the night’s activities:

Raymond Parks

Credentials: NASCAR’s first championship car owner

Introduced by: Kevin Harvick. Inducted by: Kyle Petty

From his granddaughter Patricia DePottey’s speech: “He speaks a whole book in two words. If you went over to look at one of the trophies, he would stand there and he’d say, ‘well, oh, I got that when Red Byron won the championship.’”

Benny Parsons

Credentials: 1973 Cup champion

Introduced by: Brad Keselowski. Inducted by: Dale Jarrett

From his wife Terri: “The first thing he’d say is there are so many people he’d like to thank. I hope all the fans understand how much they all meant to him. This is not sad, this is happy. I’m the only one that’s sad.”

Richard Childress

Credentials: 11-time car owner champion in NASCAR’s three national series

Introduced by: grandsons Ty Dillon and Austin Dillon. Inducted by: wife Judy

From his speech: “Only in America could a kid selling peanuts and popcorn at Bowman Gray Stadium, then buys him an old ’47 Plymouth, pays $20 for it (that was the best investment I ever made) and have a dream of being a NASCAR driver some day, be standing up here tonight to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”

Rick Hendrick

Credentials: 14-time car owner champion in NASCAR’s three national series

Introduced by: Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Inducted by: wife Linda.

From his speech: “My mom and dad taught pillar of life: You need to take care of other people if you want people to take care of you. Take care of your neighbors. It’s your faith, family and friends that get you through life.”

Mark Martin

Credentials: 96-time winner in all NASCAR national series competition, seventh all-time

Introduced by: Matt Kenseth. Inducted by: Jack Roush

From his speech: “I don’t remember them telling me what to do. But they never told me what I couldn’t do. We stand in the greatest victory lane of all. We made it to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”

Special awards

Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR: H. Clay Earles built and opened Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in 1947, and it remains the only track to host a race every year since the Cup series’ inception in 1949. In 1964 Earles, who died in 1999, began awarding race winners a grandfather clock, one of the sport’s most treasured trophies.

Squier-Hall Award for Media Excellence: The late Benny Phillips was the sports editor of the High Point Enterprise for 32 of the 47 years he was with the newspaper. Phillips, who died in 2012, also wrote for Stock Car magazine and was a motorsports reporter for TBS for 12 years.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 10:22 PM with the headline "NASCAR’s Hall inducts its latest class."