NASCAR inducts five new Hall of Fame members

New members during the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Charlotte Convention Center on January 19, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo, NASCAR)

Red Byron, Ray Evernham, Ron Hornaday Jr., Ken Squier and Robert Yates  were inducted Friday night into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Byron, was a man of many "firsts." He won NASCAR's first sanctioned race on the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1948. That same year, he claimed NASCAR's first season-long championship - in the NASCAR Modified Division.

Evernham guided Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 team to three championships in four seasons (1995, '97, '98), and a series-leading 49 wins in the 1990s. Under his direction, the "Rainbow Warriors" revolutionized the art of the pit stop. In 2001, Evernham tried his hand at ownership, leading the return of Dodge to NASCAR. His drivers won 13 times, including Bill Elliott's triumph in the 2002 Brickyard 400.

Hornaday was one of the forefathers of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and gave back to the sport by allowing young West Coast upstarts to stay at his home while pursuing their stock car racing dreams; those drivers included such future premier series champions Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, who is about to embark on a broadcasting career with NBC Sports, introduced the second inductee, Ken Squier, the 1970 co-founder of the Motor Racing Network. It was Squier who called the watershed 1979 Daytona 500 - the race that put NASCAR on the map - for CBS television.

"He made watching a race an introspective portrait of our own journey," Earnhardt said of the legendary broadcaster. "And tonight, fittingly, the NASCAR Hall of Fame becomes part of his journey."

The most emotional moment of the evening accompanied the posthumous induction of team owner and engine builder Robert Yates, who, stricken with cancer, wrote a message for the special occasion before his death on Oct. 2.

Dale Jarrett, who claimed the 1999 championship driving for Yates, read and recorded the message Yates left for the NASCAR community to hear. Edsel B. Ford II, a member of the board of directors for Ford Motor Company inducted the champion car owner.

"When I started in racing, this was not the goal," Yates said through Jarrett. "All I wanted to do throughout my career was win races. I would always say, 'I don't race for the money, I race to win.' For me, that's what it's always been about, but to be part of this year's induction class is a true honor. There are a lot of other people I want to thank because this isn't really about me; it's about those who gave me the opportunity to do something I love."

Current NASCAR drivers attended the HOF ceremony and shared their thoughts on social media:

Cheryl Wray covers motorsports and other sports for the Alabama Media Group Follow her on Twitter @cwray_sports and email her at cwray@al.com.

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