CONCORD, N.C. – Next month’s Southern 500 is all about honoring NASCAR’s storied history and heritage, including legends past and present.
So it is fitting that three men who will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017 will serve as Grand Marshals for the event at Darlington Raceway.
Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick, fellow team owner Richard Childress and driver Mark Martin – who raced for Hendrick Motorsports from 2009 to 2011 – will give the command to start engines for the Sept. 4 race.
“Darlington is very special to me, and I’m so grateful to the track for this honor,” Hendrick said. “It’s still sinking in that I’m a part of such an incredible Hall of Fame class. Richard and Mark are great friends and competitors, and it means a lot to share these experiences with them.”
Hendrick Motorsports has earned 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Darlington, including Jimmie Johnson’s in 2012, which gave the organization its 200th trip to Victory Lane.
Since its founding in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has amassed a total of 242 wins, 209 pole positions, 1000 top-five finishes, 1,668 top-10 finishes and 65,417 laps led.
Hendrick will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame with his fellow honorees on Jan. 20, 2017.