NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017
Richard Childress
As a driver, in 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 and 2000. … In addition to Earnhardt’s championships, Childress drivers have given him five others in NASCAR’s two other national series. … 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. … Childress also owned the vehicles driven by NASCAR champions Clint Bowyer (2008) and Austin Dillon (2013) in what is the Xfinity series, as well as the 2011 Truck series title with Dillon.
Rick Hendrick
The founder and owner of Hendrick Motorsports, which owns an all-time record 11 Cup series car owner titles – six 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 in 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.
Mark Martin
Martin finished second in the Cup 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 won 49 times in what has become the 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.
Raymond Parks
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.
Benny Parsons
Won the 1973 NASCAR premier series championship and won 21 races in 526 career starts. … Finished among the top 10 283 times – a 54 percent ratio. … One of Parsons’ biggest victories came in the 1975 Daytona 500. … He was a commentator for NBC and TNT until dying in 2007 at 65.
Source: NASCAR
This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 9:31 PM with the headline "NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017."