|
|
The 13th Annual Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Honors Nine Heroes Of Horsepower |
|
Novi, Mich. – Nine new Heroes of Horsepower were inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame last night at the State Theatre in Detroit. The inductees were: Emerson Fittipaldi, open wheel racing; Andy Granatelli, at-large; Fred Lorenzen, stock car racing; Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen, drag racing; Freddie Spencer, motorcycle racing; Ken Miles, sports car racing; Mira Slovak, powerboat racing; Tony LeVier, air racing; and Earl Cooper, historic racing pre-World War II. In addition to representatives from corporations and sanctioning bodies, many current racing stars joined in the festivities, including John Force of NHRA; Jason Leffler and Elliot Sadler of NASCAR; and Christian Fittipaldi of CART. Former NASCAR Champion and current NBC broadcaster, Benny Parsons, served as master of ceremonies. Peter Pestillo, CEO of Visteon Corp. was the honorary chairman for the event. For their 100 years of commitment and contribution to motorsports, Ford Racing was the recipient of the Bob Russo Heritage Award. A touch of humor occurred when old rivals Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen traded friendly barbs during McEwen's induction. More sentimental emotions were stirred when sports car icon Carroll Shelby delivered a touching remembrance of his late friend and driver, Ken Miles. Inductee Mira Slovak received a standing ovation during his acceptance speech when he paid tribute to America and the ideal of freedom. At the height of the Cold War, Slovak overpowered a Czech airliner that he was co-piloting and landed in West Germany, where he requested political asylum. He later immigrated to the United States and became a champion of hydroplane racing. “Mira Slovak's patriotic words were truly inspiring, but that was just one of the highlights of an incredible event,” said Ron Watson, President of the Motorsports Hall of Fame. “The entire evening was a moving tribute to the nine outstanding individuals, who each in his unique way, exemplify the values of courage and innovation that the Motorsports Hall of Fame is all about.” The event was sponsored by Goodyear, Ford Motor Company, CART, Dodge Motorsports, GM Racing, NASCAR, Visteon, Ward's Communication, American Honda, JCK & Associates, Michigan Wholesale Printing, Phillip Morris, RACER Magazine, AMA, AutoWeek, Campbell & Company, NHRA, Porsche Cars North America and SCCA. The Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame houses numerous racing and high performance vehicles. The continually changing collection showcases racers and vehicles from the world of Indy cars, stock cars, Can Am, Trans-Am, sprint cars, powerboats, airplanes, truck racing and motorcycles. For more information, please call the Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame at (348) 349-RACE. |