The late Bill France, Sr., President of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) from 1949 to 1972, founded the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Open since 1983, it attracts visitors from every state in the Union and many foreign countries.

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame displays and enshrines many Kings of the Road, and is actually home to six different Halls of Fame: The Alabama Sports Writers Hall of Fame; Automobile Racing Club of America Hall of National Champions; the Quarter Midgets of America Hall of Fame; the Western Auto Mechanics Hall of Fame; the World Karting Hall of Fame; and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum complex includes over 100 vehicles valued at more than $20 million dollars. The racing enthusiast's dream is adjacent to the world famous Talladega Superspeedway, fastest closed circuit track in the world and home of the Winston Select 500 and the Diehard 500 races.

Three of the five buildings in the complex feature enormous showrooms where a galaxy of racing vehicles in every color of the rainbow are displayed in mint condition, as if ready to take their next checkered flag.

One building is the Daytona Room, another, the International Room, and the third is the UNOCAL 76 Building, all of which contain racing vehicles and memorabilia. The main rotunda houses the ticket and administrative offices for the speedway and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame museum complex, and a Gift Shop. This large full time Gift Shop has a vast selection of modern race related items. The fifth addition to the complex is the McCaig-Wellborn International Motorsports Research Library. All of the buildings surround the newest edition, the Mark III Pavilion, a spacious courtyard which is used for temporary displays and car shows.

Entering the Daytona Room, a visitor's eye automatically focuses on Muscle Car Heaven. Seven muscle cars encircle the eighth, a Corvette, displayed on the central raised platform. These great cars include the Alabama Highway Patrol's 1972 AMC Javelin, a 1970 Dodge Challenger 440 Six Pack, a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split Window Coupe, a 1978 Limited Edition 25th Anniversary Chevrolet Corvette, a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport Limited Edition, a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS Pace Car and a 1968 Yenko SS Camaro.

Richard Petty's red-and-blue STP Dodge Charger, with its illustrious career record of 31 wins (three of which at Daytona) and 16 pole positions, can also be seen in the Daytona Room.

Opened on July 26, 1990, the UNOCAL 76 Building houses numerous race cars, displays and a Richard Petty Single Seat Race Car Simulator and also houses The International Motorsports Hall of Fame. A popular exhibit in the UNOCAL 76 Building is the Budweiser Rocket Car. Resembling a missle on wheels, this red, white and blue vehicle is more than 39 feet long and just 20 inches wide. It could accelerate from 1-140 mph in one second. On December 17, 1979, at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the Budweiser Rocket Car broke the speed of sound with a record run of 739.666 mph.

It takes more than a fancy set of wheels, however, to earn a place in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum Complex. Two cars got into the International Room with almost no resemblance to race cars: Phil Parsons' and Michael Waltrip's.

During the Winston 500 in 1983, Parsons' car tangled with the one driven by Darrell Waltrip. A frightening 11-car crash resulted, sending #66 somersaulting through the air. When things had calmed down, ten of the drivers, including Waltrip, had escaped serious injury. Parsons, however, suffered a minor fracture to his shoulder blade. Parsons' mangled car is now on display at the museum, looking as it did after the crash. Oddly enough, the spectacular smash-up damaged practically everything except for a fire extinguisher strapped in the middle of the car for emergency use.

On April 7, 1990, at the Bristol Raceway, Tennessee, Michael Waltrip experienced what many stock car veterans felt was the worst single-car crash in the history of stock car racing. Waltrip walked away from the crash and drove the next day in the Bristol Winston Cup Race. Anyone who doubts the existence of miracles need only view the photographs and car, both on display in the International Room.

A car linked to an emergency of a different sort, the energy crisis of the early seventies, is also on display. At first glance, the Sears XDH1 Experimental Electric Car resembles any other small automobile. On second glance, this sporty white car reveals a surprise. Originally made to be mass-produced and sold at all Sears stores, the electric car could travel only 100 miles before stopping and pluggin in. If the energy crisis had not subsided, this car might have redefined the meaning of "motor hotel."

Most of the cars at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum Complex were built with longer runs in mind. Bill Elliot's 1985 Ford Thunderbird, in the Daytona Room, is certainly no exception. Winner of the 1985 Winston 500 with an average speed of 186.288 mph, it holds the world record for the fastst 500-mile stock car race ever run. This flying Thunderbird also won the Daytona 500 and Southern 500 races that year.

Among the many other interesting cars on display is a 1989 Porsche 962 car. Drivers John Andretti, Bob Wollek and Derek Bell dominated the 1989 24 Hours of Daytona in the Miller High Life Porsche 962. Also on display is Don Garlits 1976-1977 Top Fuel Dragster known as Swamp Rat 23. Built by Glenn Blakely for Big Daddy in the fall of 1975, Big Daddy won the 1976 IHRA World Championship and the 1977 NHRA World Championship with this vehicle. There is also a 1956 Studebaker STP Special, #7, Novi Powered, Indianapolis Roadster owned by Andy Granatelli. In bright yellow, red and white, the Sugaripe #2 Indy car driven by Billy Vukovich is also on display. There are celebrity cars like the VW GTI driven by actor Gene Hackman, whose car won two real-life races; the late country musician Marty Robbins, whose car was left to the Hall of Fame according to a provision in his will; and race cars driven by Hall of Famers "Fireball" Roberts, Junior Johnson, and Tim Flock.

On April 20, 1992, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum Complex held a Grand Opening for its brand new McCaig-Wellborn International Motorsports Research Library.

This racing library is located in a 1,700 square foot addition, and has room for 14,000 volumes of books, magazines and other research material, of which over 2,700 publications are already in place. It has a new state-of-the-art computer system that will greatly assist in research. This computer system will be able to provide the complete history of every major race car driver that has cometed in Winston Cup, Indy, Formula 1, Sports Car, Drag and Motorcycle Racing. It will cover all major sanctioning bodies such as NASCAR, ARCA, IMSA, INDYCAR, CART, USAC, NHRA, IHRA, IDBA, SCCA, and others. We plan for it to have the history of all major tracks since motorsports was organized, and the history of all major racing mechanics, designers, innovators and automobile builders. Requests for research can be made by phone, in writing or in person.

A very special Bobby Allison Memorabilia display was unveiled at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum Complex. This very special $100,000 collection, consists of Bobby Allison Racing Memorablia including the 1991 Florida Governor's Cup Award, the 1983 Winston Cup Championship Trophy, the NASCAR Award of Excellence, a unique photograph addressed to Bobby from four living United States Presidents, racing helmets, race uniforms including one he wore while racing at Indy, and many other different awards and trophies.

In addition to displaying historic racing vehicles and memorabilia, and housing six different Halls of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum Complex also conducts an Annual Induction Ceremony. The Induction Ceremony consists of a black tie Reception, Banquet and the Awards Ceremony at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center, Birmingham, Alabama. The following day the inductees were enshrined in the UNOCAL 76 Building in Talledega, Alabama. The first three Induction Ceremonies were conducted the Wednesday evening prior to the Winston 500 at the Talledega Superspeedway. The 1990 Class of Inductees were: Buck Baker, Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Malcolm Campbell, Jim Clark, Mark Donohue, Juan Manuel Fangio, Bill France, Sr., Dan Gurney, Graham Hill, Tony Hulman, Junior Johnson, Parnelli Jones, Stirling Moss, Barney Oldfield, Lee Petty, Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Jackie Stewart, Mickey Thompson, Bobby Unser, and Smokey Yunick. The 1991 Class of Inductees were: Tony Bettenhausen, Ralph DePalma, Tim Flock, Phil Hill, Ned Jarrett, Fred Lorenzen, Bruce McLaren, Wilbur Shaw, Carroll Shelby, and Bill Vukovich. The 1992 Class of Inductees were: Alberto Ascari, Louis Chevrolet, Andy Granatelli, Peter Gregg, Louis Meyer, Wally Parks, Eddie Rickenbacker, Kenny Roberts, Curtis Turner and Roger Ward.

The Annual International Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony then moved to a new date. The Fourth and Fifth Annual Induction Ceremonies were conducted in December, at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. On December 13, 1993, as part of the Induction Enshrining Ceremonies, at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum Complex in Talledega, the brand new Mark III Pavillion was opened to the public during a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by the UNOCAL 76 Gas Pump permanent exhibit unveiling. The 1993 Class of Inductees were: Bobby Allison, George Bignotti, Henry Ford, Al Holbert, Niki Lauda, Rex Mays, David Pearson and Cale Yarborough. The 1994 Class of Inductees included" Colin Chapman, Enzo Ferrari, Tiny Lund, John Marcum, Ralph Moody, Benny Parsons, Mauri Rose, Herb Thomas and Joe Weatherly.

Also on December 13, 1993, a new exhibit was introduced into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, highlighting the twenty-five year history of the very prestigious Driver of the Year Award.

Here, the history of the Driver of the Year Award has found an appropriate setting, giving race fans from throughout the World and opportunity to learn first hand about the exploits that earned these drivers the dozens of honors that each accumulated over the years. In addition to large photos and capsule career chronicles of the 18 drivers who have won the Award, the exhibit displays a replica of the Driver of the Year Award trophy, a handetched crystal vase, mounted on an ebony base to which engraved platinum plates carrying the name of each year's winner have been attached.

The Fourth and Fifth Annual International Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies were selected by the Southeast Tourism Society as one of the top Twenty Events in the Southeastern United States for 1993 and 1994. The Southeast Tourism Society is an organization dedicated to the promotion of travel to and within the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Awards are presented annually to those who have made outstanding accomplishments in the promotion of tourism in the nine states.

The Sixth Annual International Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was held for the first time at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame Complex in Talladega on April 25,1996. The Inductees were selected after the closest voting in the history of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. The 1996 Class of Inductees included: Richie Evans, Donald Healey, Bobby Isaac, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, Johnny Rutherford and John Surtees.

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum Complex is just off I-20, between Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia, on Speedway Blvd, Talledega, Alabama. It is open seven days a week, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except for Christmas Day, Easter morning and Thanksgiving Day. The Hall of Fame is open extended hours during the Race Weeks.

For further information please contact the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at (205) 362-5002.