‘Honoring The Drive’ Set To Recognize Senator Jon Kyl In Phoenix On November 8th!

Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber announced today that  United States Senator Jon Kyl will be presented with the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame’s “Outstanding Achievement Award” at PIR’s ‘Honoring the Drive’ charitable fundraiser on November 8 at the Arizona Biltmore. ‘Honoring the Drive’ marks the start of NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup semi-final week in Phoenix.

NASCAR personalities, including 7-Time champion Richard Petty, “The King”, and Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, will be on-hand to honor Senator Kyl’s exemplary career serving Arizona and our nation in the U.S. Senate.

“Senator Kyl has been involved with racing and Phoenix International Raceway since he was a young man,” said Sperber.  “His support of racing over the years has been critical to the growth and health of the sport.”

Turner Television (TNT) and SPEED Channel personality Ralph Sheheen will be hosting the evening’s festivities. In addition to recognizing Senator Kyl’s career and contributions to motorsports, ‘Honoring the Drive’ will be raising funds for the non-profit West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame and The MVP Foundation.

Phoenix International Raceway’s ‘Honoring the Drive’ will be held at the legendary Arizona Biltmore Resort at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 8. Tickets for the event are $250 a piece and will provide attendees with the chance to spend an evening with honored NASCAR guests while enjoying food & beverage, as well as an exclusive charity auction.

Tickets for Phoenix International Raceway’s ‘Honoring the Drive’ are available online at www.themvpfoundation.org. Interested sponsors for the event can contact Phoenix International raceway at 602-463-5400.

Tickets to the Nov 8-11 AdvoCare 500 NASCAR event weekend at Phoenix International Raceway are also available, with prices starting at just $25. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.PhoenixRaceway.com or call 1-866-408-RACE.

Watch the Semi-Final Race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at PIR on Sunday, Nov. 11. Tickets for the entire Nov. 8-11 NASCAR event weekend at Phoenix International Raceway can be purchased online at PhoenixRaceway.com/Tickets or by calling 1-866-408-RACE (7223). For more information, visit PhoenixRaceway.com, Facebook.com/PhoenixRaceway and Twitter.com/PhoenixRaceway.

About The MVP Foundation

The MVP Foundation is an Arizona-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization that leverages the power of professional sports to provide opportunities, support and resources to children and families in need.

Inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class Announced!

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame today that includes: Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Junior Johnson and Richard Petty.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel, consisting of members of the Nominating Committee along with 29 others representing NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, major race track ownership groups, retired drivers, owners and crew chiefs along with motorsports media representatives, met in a closed session in Charlotte, N.C. to vote on the induction class of 2010.

The class was determined by the 51 votes cast by the panel and the nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.COM. The accounting firm of Ernst & Young presided over the tabulation of the votes.

The Class of 2010 will be officially inducted in a ceremony on May 23, 2010 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

The results of the voting for the final five chosen in this inaugural class proved competitive. Also receiving votes were David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison.

As part of the inclusive voting process, more than 670,000 NASCAR fans submitted votes online at NASCAR.COM as part of the fan voting process. This remarkable fan feedback once again demonstrates fans’ passion and knowledge of the sport and its heritage. The fans voted Petty, Earnhardt, Bill France Sr., Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison as their top five.

The nominees included many of the sport’s legendary names:

Bobby Allison, Buck Baker, Red Byron, Richard Childress, Dale Earnhardt, Richie Evans, Tim Flock, Bill France Jr., Bill France Sr., Rick Hendrick, Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson, Bud Moore, Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons, David Pearson, Lee Petty, Richard Petty, Fireball Roberts, Herb Thomas, Curtis Turner, Darrell Waltrip, Joe Weatherly, Glen Wood and Cale Yarborough.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame broke ground in Charlotte on Jan. 25, 2007 and will open May 11, 2010. The facility honors the history and heritage of NASCAR and the many who have contributed to the success of NASCAR.

Highlighting the Class of 2010:

-Dale Earnhardt-

Earnhardt co-holds the record for most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships (seven) with Richard Petty. In only his second full season, 1980, Earnhardt nabbed his first championship. He won consecutive titles on three separate occasions (1986-87, ’90-91 and ’93-94). Earnhardt’s 76 victories rank seventh all-time.

He is the all-time leader in race victories at Daytona International Speedway with 34, though the most prominent of them was a while in the making.

In 1998, Earnhardt won his most coveted race – the Daytona 500. The scene was a memorable one, forever etched in the minds of race fans. As Earnhardt’s black No. 3 rolled down pit road, a Daytona 500 winner at last, every crew member from every team lined up to congratulate one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history.

-Bill France Sr.-

Called “Big Bill,” only partly because of his 6-foot-5 stature, France spearheaded NASCAR from its beginning and directed it to its present status as the world’s largest stock-car racing organization. In 1936, he helped lay out the first beach/road course in Daytona Beach; in the first race on the course he finished fifth. Starting in 1938, he helped promote races on the sands of Daytona Beach. In 1947, France became the driving force behind the establishment of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. NASCAR, it was called, resulting from a famous meeting at the Streamline Hotel on State Road A1A in Daytona Beach – a structure that stands to this day, as a racing landmark. “Big Bill” France passed away in June 1992. He left behind a lasting legacy.

-Bill France Jr.-

William Clifton France is remembered – and revered – as the man who followed his visionary father at NASCAR’s helm, in the process becoming a visionary himself, as he guided NASCAR to unprecedented levels of popularity.

France became NASCAR’s president in January 1972, replacing his father and becoming only the second president of the world’s largest auto racing sanctioning body. His emergence coincided with the sport’s emergence, and its eventual ascent to become America’s No. 1 form of motorsports and the nation’s second-most popular sport overall.

France, often referred to as “Bill Jr.,” remained president until November 2000. At that time, France announced the formation of a NASCAR Board of Directors on which he served as chairman and CEO until October 2003 when he was replaced by his son, Brian Z. France. After that, he continued to serve the sport for the remainder of his life as NASCAR Vice Chairman.

-Junior Johnson-

Robert Glenn “Junior” Johnson is unique in NASCAR history, with tremendous success both as a driver and a car owner.

Johnson won the second annual Daytona 500 in 1960 and in the process, became credited with the discovery of “drafting” on the massive superspeedways. He won 50 races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series then surprised many people by retiring from driving to become an owner. As an owner, Johnson never missed a beat; through the years, his drivers won 132 races. There also were six series championships produced with Cale Yarborough (1976-78) and Darrell Waltrip (1981-82, ’85).

Named one of NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers” in 1998, Johnson resides in Wilkesboro, N.C., and remains one of the sport’s most enduring – and endearing – personalities, at the age of 78.

-Richard Petty-

Known as “the King”, Richard Petty’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series records are staggering: Most wins (200), most poles (123), tied for most championships (seven), most wins in a season (27), most Daytona 500 wins (seven), most consecutive wins (10) and most starts (1,185).

Petty’s success continued even after his retirement from driving in 1992. He would still hold the top spot in the family business – Petty Enterprises, and now, Richard Petty Motorsports. In all, Petty Enterprises totaled 268 victories before merging with Gillett Evernham Motorsports for the 2009 season to become Richard Petty Motorsports.

PIR and Richard Petty Create One-of-a-Kind Fan Experience!

Phoenix International Raceway has teamed up with the legendary Richard Petty on a joint venture to create the first-ever high performance kart track within a NASCAR facility. This experiential innovation will put race fans behind the wheel and into the action at the brand new Richard Petty Raceway – located on PIR’s Midway – beginning this November for the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 weekend.

The 1/16th-mile Richard Petty Raceway will be located just inside Gate 4 at PIR, providing fans the chance to test their racing mettle for just $20 a session. The permanent one-of-a-kind venue will allow first-hand entertainment for fans 16 and older. Several artist renderings are attached to this press release in a 4-page PDF.

“Throughout his career Richard Petty has done so much for the fans. We’re very excited to be able to partner with him on what promises to be a truly unique offering for PIR’s patrons,” said PIR president Bryan R. Sperber. “Providing race fans the opportunity to turn laps at the brand new Richard Petty Raceway will add to PIR’s engaging appeal and we’re very excited to unveil Richard Petty Raceway in November.”

A grand opening for Richard Petty Raceway is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday, November 13. Petty – NASCAR’s all-time wins leader and Raceway namesake – is scheduled to appear, along with Reed Sorenson, the current driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of the Grand Opening of Richard Petty Raceway at PIR,” said Petty. “The fans deserve to have fun and be entertained during their entire experience at the race track. I hope Richard Petty Raceway can be part of that.”

Richard Petty Raceway will open on Thursday, November 12 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The facility will stay open throughout the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 weekend at PIR, with racing from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, November 13, and action beginning at 8 a.m. and lasting until 30 minutes before the checkered flags of the Able Body Labor 200 and Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, respectively, on Saturday and Sunday.

The raceway’s structure will include a pit and garage area, as well as grandstand seating where each driver’s “fans” can gather and show support – just as they would for the Chase for the Sprint Cup competitors on PIR’s one-mile oval. Each race at Richard Petty Raceway can include five competitors.

At 20 feet wide and featuring a flagman’s tower, tire barriers, and a layout quite similar to that of the main Phoenix International Raceway oval, Richard Petty Raceway is designed to give NASCAR fans yet another exciting racing surface – with the added thrill of participation in 9hp high-performance karts, provided by Richard Petty Driving Experience (RPDE). Competitors will put on firesuits and helmets and receive detailed instruction from RPDE professionals prior to racing.

Fans will have the chance to win a spot to compete in a race at the grand opening against the Sprint Cup Series professionals by entering the Richard Petty Raceway Grand Opening Sweepstakes. More information is available online at www.phoenixraceway.com/rpraceway.

Tickets for the November NASCAR event weekend at Phoenix International Raceway can be purchased online at www.phoenixraceway.com, or over the phone at 1-866-408-RACE (7223). Follow Phoenix International Raceway 365 days a year on the Web at www.phoenixraceway.com and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PhoenixRaceway, and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PhoenixRaceway. Be a part of it all at PIR!