NASCAR Cup Series

Force to join Texas hall of fame

Published Mar. 8, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

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John Force is the newest inductee into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame.

But the 15-time NHRA Funny Car champion is only the fourth NHRA racer to be added to the Hall.

Force, who won titles in 1990-91, 1993-2002, 2004, 2006 and 2010, will be honored April 7 at the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame Gala held in the Speedway Club’s Grand Ballroom at Texas Motor Speedway during the NASCAR race weekend.

“Being inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame is a great honor,” Force said. “I have a lot of great memories racing in Texas. They say everything is bigger in Texas. I won my 100th race in Houston and that was a huge milestone. When you think of the other great Texas drag racers like Raymond Beadle, Kenny Bernstein, Eddie Hill, Lee Shepherd — to add my name to that list is amazing. The fans in Texas have always been some of my best. When I was in the hospital after my crash in 2007 (at the Texas Motorplex), they brought cakes to Baylor (University Medical Center in Dallas) for me and waited outside for days. I’ll never forget that.”

Force will become the 13th enshrinee to the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame. He joins previous inductees A.J. Foyt (2003), Johnny Rutherford (2003), Terry Labonte (2004), Shepherd (2004), Bernstein (2005), Jim Hall (2005), Hill (2006), Mark Martin (2007), Jim McElreath (2007), Bobby Labonte (2008), Bruton Smith (2008) and Joe Gibbs (2009).

Force joins Shepherd, Bernstein and Hill as the only NHRA racers inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame.

The Lone Star State has provided the best and one of the more terrifying moments of Force’s career. Entering the 2011 season, Force has registered 13 of his 132 career victories in the state of Texas. In 2007, Force was involved in a near-fatal accident when he blew a tire that sent his car careening into Bernstein. After six hours of surgery and several months of rehabilitation, Force returned to for the season opener in 2008.

Others being recognized at the April 7 event are seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Richard Petty, defending race winner of Texas Motor Speedway’s Samsung Mobile 500 and AAA Texas 500 Denny Hamlin, five-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon and veteran motorsports reporter Terry Blount.

Petty, one of NASCAR’s iconic figures, will receive the Bruton Smith Legend Award. Petty began his career as a driver in 1958, and since retiring from racing in 1992, he has remained active in the sport as car owner of Richard Petty Motorsports. Petty’s career is highlighted by his seven series championships (1964, '67, '71, '72, '74, '75, '79), which is tied for the most in history with the late Dale Earnhardt.

Hamlin will be awarded the Texas Motor Speedway Racer of the Year. Hamlin became just the second driver in speedway history to sweep both Sprint Cup Series races in the same season.
Johnson, the defending five-time Sprint Cup Series champion, will receive the Texas Motor Speedway Sportsmanship Award. Johnson has dominated the sport and is being honored because he also embodies the ideals of sportsmanship off the track. His charitable contributions through the Jimmie Johnson Foundation have helped raise more than $3.5 million.

Gordon, Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, also will be recognized for his contributions off the track with the Maj. General Thomas Sadler Award. He has championed the efforts of Speedway Children’s Charities through his contributions with the Jeff Gordon Foundation Corvette Raffle. Since beginning the raffle in 2006, he has helped raise more than $400,000 for Speedway Children’s Charities at Texas Motor Speedway.

Blount, a veteran motorsports journalist and Houston native, will receive the Excellence in Motorsports Journalism Award. He has missed only one major race at Texas Motor Speedway since it opened in 1997.

Fans will once again have a say in the voting for the top moment of 2010 at Texas Motor Speedway. The choices have been narrowed to three moments: Hamlin’s sweep of Texas, Kyle Busch’s record fifth consecutive Nationwide Series victory at TMS, and Gordon and Jeff Burton’s scrap on the backstretch during November’s AAA Texas 500. Fans can submit their vote by visiting www.texasmotorspeedway.com.