TheInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF) is ahall of fame located adjacent to the 2.66 mi (4.28 km)Talladega Superspeedway (formerly Alabama International Motor Speedway) located inTalladega County, east centralAlabama.[1][2] It enshrines those who have contributed the most to motorsports either as a developer, driver, engineer, or owner.[3][4]
The IMHOF was established in early 1970 followingNASCAR founderBill France Sr.'s decision to hire short track racing promoter Don Naman to build a museum and hall of fame in order "to preserve the history of motorsports and to enshrine forever the people who have been responsible for its growth."[2]George Wallace, theGovernor of Alabama, formed an 18-member observer commission in 1975 to choose a site and select a design.[1][5] Following the failure to pass a state-wide referendum on a state bond finance distribution to build the IMHOF,[5] France donated 35 acres (14 ha) of land from former race car driverJohnny Ray's family.[6][7] France opted to build the IMHOF in Alabama rather than in his hometown ofDaytona Beach, Florida because Floridian politicians threatened to levy a tax onDaytona International Speedway.[8][9]
Construction was undertaken with private and federal funding released with new Alabama governorFob James' approval.[10][11] The first phase of construction consisted of the building of three of the first six planned buildings on the IMHOF.[12] A groundbreaking ceremony occurred at the site on the afternoon of March 26, 1981, with approximately 100 individuals such as Wallace, Bill France Sr., andBill France Jr. present.[4][13] The first half was opened on April 28, 1983,[8][9] and the second half on July 28, 1990.[14] Track ownersInternational Speedway Corporation (ISC) rented office space from Alabama to run the IMHOF.[7] It has a museum containing racing vehicles,[1] banner, helmet, medals, posters and trophy displays,[2] the ISC offices, and ancillary spaces.[1][3] The Alabama Sports Writers Hall of Fame; the Automobile Racing Club of America Hall of National Champions; the International Motorsports Hall of Fame; the Quarter Midgets of America Hall of Fame; the Western Auto Mechanics Hall of Fame; and the World Karting Hall of Fame are the six halls of fame on-site.[1] The McCaig-Wellborn International Motorsports Research Library is also contained in the IMHOF.[2][3]
Naman had been appointed IMHOF director in 1988, and he began setting out his objective to establish a working hall of fame.[15] The first induction ceremony was broadcast live onThe Nashville Network, and was hosted by country music record artist and car sponsorT. G. Sheppard at theBirmingham–Jefferson Civic Center Theater, inBirmingham, Alabama, on the evening of July 25, 1990.[14] Induction ceremonies were held on the Wednesday evening prior to theWinston 500 in October at Talladega before being moved to December for both 1993 and 1994.[16] After the Speedvision Dome was opened in 1996, all subsequent induction ceremonies took place there,[3] four days prior to theWinston Select 500 at Talladega in late April.[2][17]
Individuals were nominated and voted on by a panel of between 120 and 153 international motorsport writers as well as IMHOF inductees,[18][19] who selected one or two new members or "old timers" (living inductees) from the nominations list.[2] The nominations list was formed by candidate names sent by panel members, and 20 finalists were chosen, from which all panel members cast preference votes.[20] Until 1996, 10 or more motorsports individuals were inducted annually, before no more than 10 nominees qualified for the final ballot, and a limit of six inductees for every subsequent year was imposed.[17] All nominees had to be retired from participating in their respective categories for at least half a decade;[1][21] they could be active elsewhere in their respective series in a different capacity.[22] Some active racers could be inducted if they were over the age limit of 61.[23] Individuals had to wait 15 years before become eligible for induction, with a 51 percent vote share required for induction.[24] Unlike other sports halls of fame, waivers were not granted to major racing figures to enable their induction before the five-year waiting period had elapsed.[25]
In November 2025, Alabama governorKay Ivey replaced all members of the IMHOF commission, after an audit found 35 issues including a misspending of $236,000 by a former employee, and four historic cars sold in an auction without authorization.[31][32]
^ab"Hall of Fame funds sought".The Anniston Star. May 29, 1978. p. 5A.Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. RetrievedOctober 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"State approves Hall of Fame".The Anniston Star. July 10, 1980. p. 4C.Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. RetrievedOctober 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Groundbreaking Set At Talladega".Alabama Journal. Associated Press. March 26, 1981.Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. RetrievedOctober 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Harwell, Hoyt (March 22, 1989)."France is close to getting wish".The Anniston Star. The Associated Press. p. 1B.Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. RetrievedOctober 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^abcGarland, Michelle (July 21, 1991)."'Gentleman Ned' leads 91 inductees".The Anniston Star. p. 4B.Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. RetrievedOctober 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Spotlight on Hall of Famers".The Anniston Star. Associated Press. July 23, 1992. p. 11B.Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. RetrievedOctober 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Tutor, Philip (April 25, 1997)."Induction humbles engineer".The Anniston Star. p. 4B.Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. RetrievedOctober 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Jackson, Colin (2013)."Mike Hailwood".Classic British Motorcycles. Brimscombe, England: Fonthill Media.ISBN978-1-78155-086-1.Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. RetrievedOctober 26, 2021 – via Google Books.
^McKee, Sandra (November 18, 2001)."Entering The Hall".The Baltimore Sun.Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. RetrievedOctober 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Creed, Jimmy (November 14, 2002)."Fox's long road ends at IMHoF".The Anniston Star. p. 6C.Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. RetrievedOctober 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Cavalaris, Chuck (April 22, 2004). "France Jr. to enter NASCAR's Hall of Fame".Knoxville News Sentinel. p. D2.
^"Hanauer inducted into Hall of Fame; Motorsports | Hydroplane driver joined by four race-car drivers".The Seattle Times. April 29, 2005. p. C14.
^Bradley, Bill (November 11, 2004)."Race Hall is special for Waltrip".The Tennessean. p. C1.Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. RetrievedOctober 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^abPoole, David (November 9, 2006)."Speedway builder headed to hall".The Charlotte Observer. p. C5.Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. RetrievedOctober 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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