• Tickets Still Available for 36th Annual Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Induction Celebration Presented by Toyota Racing, March 11 – 12, 2024 in Daytona Beach
• 24 Hours of Le Mans Garage 56 Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Has Arrived at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
• Motorsports Hall of Fame of America's SPARK Student Education and Career Path Program Shines at the Rolex 24 At Daytona
• Kawasaki 1000 Z1R DragBike Ridden by Drag Racing Pioneer Vicki Farr Now on Display at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (February 9, 2024) – The last two editions of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America's (MSHFA) annual Induction Celebration presented by Toyota Racing have sold out but it is not too late to purchase tickets for next month's two-day 36th MSHFA Induction, March 11 - 12, in Daytona Beach. A limited number of tickets remain for both the Tuesday evening black-tie Induction Ceremony at the Shores Resort & Spa and Monday's PNC Bank Heroes of Horsepower reception at the MSHFA Museum. Both events were complete sell outs in 2022 and 2023. Ticket purchases for this year's MSHFA Induction events can be made at www.MSHF.com.
The MSHFA's Class of 2024 is a constellation of past and present motorsports stars and includes: Austin Coil (Drag Racing), Scott Dixon (Open Wheel), Earl B. Gilmore (Historic), Jim Downing & Dr. Robert Hubbard (Technology), Bud Ekins (Motorcycles), Jimmie Johnson (Stock Cars), Paul Newman (At Large), John Surtees (Sports Cars) and Phil Walters, aka “Ted Tappett” (Historic).
Tuesday's gala features the formal presentation of this year's induction class into the Hall of Fame of ALL motorsports while Monday's "HoH" reception is the chance for induction attendees to see the MSHFA Museum on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway (DIS) in a strolling dinner throughout the attraction. The evening ends with the unveiling of the handmade bronze induction plaques for each honoree that will be permanently placed in the Hall.
A third must-attend event on next month's two-day schedule is Tuesday's Inductee Brunch presented by Honda, which will be held at the 500 Club in the infield of DIS overlooking the start/finish line of the landmark tri-oval. The highlight of the brunch is the formal induction of each year's Historic inductees, which in 2024 includes Gilmore and Walters.
Another longtime and dedicated partner of the MSHFA is Firestone that in 2024 provides sponsorship for the Induction Celebration Welcome Lunch Presented by Firestone on Monday at The Shores. The Firestone luncheon is for returning inductees and each year's incoming inductees and their families and presenters to become familiar with the following days formal induction procedures.
Individual tickets for all events are available as well as a VIP Package offering discounted pricing for admission to all three events and access to additional VIP events during the two-day celebration. Ticket purchases for all MSHFA Induction events can be made at www.MSHF.com.
Garage 56 Camaro Arrives: After a show-stealing run at the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hour race, an encore performance a month later that introduced All-American smoky burnouts to the Goodwood Festival of Speed and a crowd-stopping appearance in the UNOH FanZone at last month's Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Garage 56 Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (pictured at top) has arrived at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America where it will be on display through at least next month's 36th Induction Celebration.
Mike Rockenfeller, Jenson Button and 2024 Hall inductee Jimmie Johnson (pictured at top) co-drove the specially built Next Gen Camaro at Le Mans as the race's designated Garage 56 entry and wowed the huge international motorsports crowd in attendance with the first appearance of a big-bore NASCAR stock car at "Circuit de la Sarthe" since 1976. The Camaro frequently turned laps quicker than the top-tier GT entries in the race and completed a stout 2,413.1 miles. Johnson drove the car to the finish in what was an emotional and uplifting moment for race fans and the dedicated crew of people that worked on the "NASCAR to Le Mans" Garage 56 project for several years. The Camaro can now be seen daily at the MSHFA Museum and will be used as part of the celebration of Johnson's induction into the Hall next month.
SPARK Shines at the Rolex 24: SPARK, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America’s student education program that guides high school, trade school and college-age aspirants to careers in motorsports, shined in more ways than one at the Rolex 24. SPARK stands for “Students Preserving American Racing Knowledge,” and the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 team called on the Hall and SPARK for both some needed manpower and to give something back to the motorsports community while competing in the team’s first Rolex 24.
SPARK student Parker Rossman (pictured above right), a senior at North Florida University in Jacksonville, embedded with the team from Friday on, including more than 24 straight hours of paddock and pitside work on race day. Rossman was primarily assigned to assist the team’s tire specialist and was joined by SPARK Manager Whitney Osborn and Robert Ryan in supporting the No. 80 team for the entirety of the race. Hall of Fame Senior Staff member Jim Habrowski also joined the crew while overseeing the trio of future motorsports professionals in their first Rolex 24. Meanwhile, Hall of Fame Executive Board Member and former IMSA President Scott Atherton toured the Rolex 24 paddock with SPARK student Nolan Lappin (pictured above left).
Through SPARK’s mentorship programs, Atherton has been serving as a more than well qualified adviser for Lappin, who is a junior at Stetson University.
Drag Racing Pioneer's Ride on Display: Following NASCAR Speedweeks is the 83rd Annual Bike Week at Daytona in early March and another new display at the MSHFA Museum has arrived just in time for the two-wheel crowd. Drag racing pioneer Vicki Farr was the first woman to be issued an NHRA Pro Stock and Pro Comp motorcycle competition license in 1978. She made her NHRA debut at Englishtown in New Jersey that summer and was also a trailblazer competing in IDBA where she won Pro Rooke of the Year later in 1978. Her motorcycle on display is a Pro Comp Kawasaki 1000 Z1R DragBike (pictured above) built and campaigned by Farr's Cycles, the family business and racing team run by Vicki and her husband Marshall Farr who served as her coach, trainer, tuner and builder.
Hall of Fame Hours During NASCAR Daytona Speedweeks: The MSHFA Museum is housed in the DIS Ticket & Tours Building located in front of the famed 2.5-mile DIS tri-oval on International Speedway Blvd. Admission is included with every Daytona International Speedway tour and the MSHFA Museum will be open during Speedweeks from Monday, February 12 through Friday, February 16, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST. The same hours are in place Saturday, February 17 for Museum-only admissions and all Daytona 500 race weekend ticket holders can visit the Hall for just $8, discounted from the regular price of $13. The MSHFA Museum will be closed Daytona 500 race day on Sunday, February 18, but reopens Monday, February 19 for Museum-only tickets available for $13. For Museum tickets call 1-800-PIT-SHOP.
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/
About the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America: The MSHFA is the only hall that honors all major American motorsports: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, off road and powerboats. Its mission is to celebrate and instill the American motorsports values of leadership, creativity, originality, teamwork and spirit of competition. Founded by Larry G. Ciancio and led by inaugural President Ronald A. Watson, it held its first induction in 1989. Watson spent the next 30 years tirelessly building it into the nation’s premier such hall until his passing in 2019. Originally based in Novi, Mich., it relocated to Daytona Beach, Fla., in 2016 and greets nearly 150,000 guests a year in its museum. The MSHFA is operated by the nonprofit Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation, Inc.
Adam Saal
(321) 890-2848